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Motor Grader Tricks

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Grading has always been considered as one of the most important functions in the construction industry and particularly in road building work. Therefore it becomes quite crucial for the construction company to buy the best grading machines available in the market and also hire the best men who know how to work on those machines. The operators need to be really experienced as far as their job is concerned. They need to know the tricks of the trade more than anything else.

Operating the machine is one thing but knowing the tricks to complete the work is what many construction companies expect from the operators. So if you are the one who knows motor grader tricks you might find your place as an operator or also as an instructor in major construction companies that are involved in grading works. Since construction companies gives more stress on the tricks of using a motor grader, it makes more sense to know what tricks in particular are they looking for in an operator to know so that the operator can work in those areas that is required for him to get into the best of the company.

Knowing your machine well:-

This is perhaps the most important trick that one should learn first. Just by the noise of the machine when you start the engine that you should know if it will work fine the whole day or will there be some sort of problem that may crop up as the day progresses. You can expect quick work only when the machine is in good shape or else there is a possibility that it will run slow during the major part of the day. Other than that, knowing the various functions in a grader is way too crucial for any operator. You just do not have run the machine but you have to run it effectively and in order to do so you need to ensure that you know the various functions attached to machine. Heavy equipment companies provide 2 functions for the same job. One will be a quicker one and the other will be the normal one. So if you are the genre of conventional operator who shies away from trying new things then it is a problem. You got to learn the new part of the story to become highly productive.

Soil composition and blades:-

Different types of blades are required to work on different types of soil. You can’t use the same type of blade on all kinds of soil. The trick again begins with knowing which blade should be used for what type of soil. One particular type of blade can be used for a soil that is not meant for it but it will be very time consuming and will lead to many days to grade a small plot of land. You should use the right kind of blades for grading work and it is the responsibility of the operator to know which blade to be used on what type of soil.

Can’t think of landscaping business without a grader

Landscapes have become quite an important part of the construction business. It is seen as a different genre altogether and also a thriving one. This means that guys who are connected to this part of the business has more to gain if they know to do their work well. One of the most important heavy equipment that is needed to form a landscape is a grader. A grader is heavy equipment which has big long blades in the front and two other blades beneath the cabin and the third is beneath the engine of the machine and it is run on uneven land surface so that the soil can be eroded with the help of the blades which eventually gets accumulated inside the blade and then it is deposited in a dump truck. It is not mandatory for all grader to have all the 3 blades. For landscape work, only a couple of blades are sufficient. However, it depends on what kind of land the operator has to work and it is absolutely on the knowledge and experience of the operator that he suggests the utility of the blades.

Estimate the right price for the work:-

For a contractor it is important to know if he needs to bring his grader for the landscape work or will he be provided with one. Construction companies at times offer their construction equipment for the job but that needs to be known before a price is quoted for the job. Once that is known, the contractor also needs to check with the operator the kind of land they have to work on, how big it is and how many days it will take for them to complete the work. Now this is a difficult task. You are dealing with deadlines when you do not know how the soil will react. This is one risk which every contractor has to take. This is where the contractor also needs to keep his grader handy. While working on tough land there is a wider chance for the machine to exhaust sooner and may also break down. This is when he needs to chip in his machine to complete the work.

Maintain good health of the grader:-

Contractors firmly believe that the health of all heavy equipment that they possess should be cared of and well maintained. Therefore when you are part of the landscape business you have to ensure that your grader gets the right treatment every time. Your overall work depends on that one machine and you will not want that to go wrong in any way. It is for this reason that it is a mandate for every contractor or for that matter everyone who possesses a grader to check if the machine is throwing any signals that indicate towards an internal problem within it. An operator should be in a position to comprehend those signals and act swiftly. It should never be delayed for another day. Try to get it resolved if the problem is not a big one.

 

How to operate a grader

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Landscape in the construction sector has gained prominence over the years. This means the construction equipment required to do landscaping work is in much demand and also the people who know to operator it. When we talk about landscapes or leveling land, the heavy equipment that comes in our mind in the first stance is a grader. Grader plays immense role when it comes to leveling the land and making a path for the workers to move. We can imagine how crooked the paths are on a jobsite and therefore how difficult it must be for the workers to move on it. If not leveled at the right time, the soil gets hardened and then it becomes a problem to get it removed. Same is the case with creating landscapes. We have to get the work done at the right time or else the effort that we have to put to get the work done just multiplies.

To know all the functions of a grader is crucial:-

One can become an efficient operator only when he/she is aware of the various functions that are available in a grader. Jumping in inside the cabin and driving/operating the machine can be part of the basic function but if you find yourself in a difficult situation and you do not know all the functions then you are at a greater risk. The operator is expected to know all the functions in a grader and if you fail to do so then you will be jeopardizing the prospect of the project and also to a larger extent your career in the industry. If you are a trainee, it is important that you sit along with your mentor and check how he/she is operating the machine. Learn from him the functions that he uses and ask to show stuffs that are important for you to know.

Learn the signals properly:-

A grader throws lot of signals to the operator and every signal has a different meaning attached to it. If the clutches are not functioning properly then it may throw a certain type of signal or for that matter if there is some issue with the engine or parts related to the engine it will indicate through means of a signal. Now it is for you to comprehend and understand them so that you do not overlook the signal and continue your work as usual. Unable to comprehend signals can have catastrophic effect on the machine and also at times to the life of the people on the jobsite.

Do some basic checks on your own:-

Conducting certain basic checks like ensuring the brakes are in order and when applied it stops the machine from moving, the clutches, gears, levers are all in place and are working absolutely fine is very crucial. You should not have problem to stop the machine from moving when you are working on a steep land or to your amazement you find out the machine is not moving as it should as there are issues with its clutches. These should be examined well in advance.

How to level the land using a grader

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For a construction activity to begin on a site, it is very important that you have the site leveled so that when the heavy equipment moves on the roads, they do not feel the unwanted jerks and bumps. The work of a heavy equipment operator is never so easy and when you do not have the land leveled it causes all the more trouble to the person working inside the cabin of the machine. He is just not able to position himself properly and this might have some serious implication on his work. It is therefore very crucial to have the ground at a same level so that it makes working for every individual safe and hassle free. Now the machine that can do the work for the construction laborers as well as for the operators is nothing else but a grader.

Generally, a grader is made up of 3 axles. The first axle is located with the engine and on top of the cabin, the second axle is at the front end of the machine and the third one is located at the rear end. It also has a blade in between which does most of the cutting work. So the operator who will be working with the machine needs to check if the blade is sharp enough to do the job and once he is sure about its efficiency, he can begin with grading the land. When we talk about grading it means removing the unwanted substance which is the reason to bumpy roads. So the work of the grader is to cut lose those unwanted substance which can then be disposed in the dump yard truck. A grader is also used to set native soil foundation pads which helps to finish grading quickly before large buildings could be constructed.

Since not all lands are the same. In the same way we can’t use just one type of grader. Graders are of many types but with the basic function to weed out anything and everything that comes in its way. We will normally see a grader with a blade in between but now we can also find graders without blades. Instead of a blade, they have a fork front which becomes fruitful to knock down the hard substance that is quite solidly attached to the ground. The fork fronts of the grader are of different sizes and it also largely depends upon the kind of land it has to work on. If the land is rock solid and quite vast, then the bigger size will be brought to use but if it is for a small place with not much to cut then perhaps the smaller one can do the trick.

The blade of the grader is not only restricted to cutting process but is also used for spreading and leveling. You can flatten a surface if you do not spread soil over it and it sounds absolutely insane for someone to use another machine for spreading soil. Therefore we have the grader taking care of this part of the work.

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Caterpillar 140K Motor Grader is the ultimate choice of many

Be it flattening the road or leveling a piece of land, a motor grader is the equipment one will vouch for. One can put the motor grader for many other uses as well. For instance, this particular equipment can be used extensively for agricultural purpose and simultaneously has shown great performance in the construction segment. A grader is a machine that has a long blade at the front of it which is used to level the land. Ideally, a grader is equipped with a single blade in the front. However, some construction companies use double blade graders. These types of graders have 2 blades situated in the front of the front axle. The motor grader is also known as “Blade”.

Construction companies have huge requirement of good graders. For them, good leveled roads mean fast work. It becomes very difficult for the workers to work on crooked roads as it may lead to accidents and this is why it is a must to have leveled roads. Simultaneously, other heavy equipment working on the construction site may have a tough time working due to improper roads. Therefore, getting the roads repaired becomes their first priority. Heavy equipment manufacturing companies are aware of the varying needs of the clients and thus they always bring technologies that will lessen human effort and increase productivity.

But out of the many models manufactured by various heavy equipment manufacturing companies, one specific model that has caught the attention of many is none other than Caterpillar 140K. This particular grader seems to be the ultimate choice specifically with users who like to use CAT equipment. The overall length of the equipment is 28.6 feet with around 2464 mm tire width. The total height of the machine is 3131 mm and the wheelbase is 6169mm. The important feature in the machine is its blade base which is 2561 mm. This means that it will not take long for the machine to level a very bumpy piece of land. The maximum power of the grader is 185 hp with a displacement of 10.3 liter. The total fuel capacity is 105 gallon and the fluid capacity for the cooling system is around 10 gallon.

It has 8 front gears and 6 reverse gears. Concurrently, the maximum forward speed is 27.4 miles per hour and the maximum reverse speed is 21.6 miles per hour. The machine is fitted with hydraulic systems that benefits the equipment is every possible way, thus increasing its efficiency and productivity and lowering the fuel consumption. By launching the K-series and replacing the H-series, Caterpillar has tried to reach to customers at all levels. This machine is not only meant for big construction companies but can also fit the budget of medium sized companies and to certain extent small companies as well. Though the H-series model was doing extremely well but had few issues pertaining to the sustainability which has been perfectly taken care by the new model. Cat 140K can be the grader that all can rely on as far as its performance and sustainability is concerned.