Heavy equipments in construction are used for various purposes in large commercial, residential, and industrial projects that require heavy-duty tools and machinery to get the job done. The construction equipment makes the process safer, easier and faster, thus saving time and becoming economical.
The selection of different types of heavy equipments for construction depends on the size of the construction work and the economy of the project. Whether it is a construction site, conducting road maintenance on a busy highway, industrial construction, commercial project, or searching for the right tool for a large-scale landscaping project, there are different types of heavy construction equipments available that make the work easier and faster.
Types of Heavy Equipments Used in Construction
Different types of heavy construction equipments commonly used are:
1. Excavators
Excavators are important and widely used equipment in the construction industry. Their general purpose is for excavation but other than that they are also used for many purposes like heavy lifting, demolition, river dredging, cutting of trees, etc.
Excavators contain a long arm and a cabinet. At the end of the long arm, the digging bucket is provided and a cabinet is provided for the machine operator. This whole cabin arrangement can be rotatable up to 360 degrees which ease the operation. Excavators are available in both wheeled and tracked forms of vehicles.
Excavators in various sizes are used for different applications:
- Mini excavators: Mini excavators can navigate small, hard-to-reach areas on construction sites, and are ideal for home-based or small-scale construction projects.
- Medium excavators: Medium construction excavators can handle larger works than mini excavators, without taking up as much space as a large excavator. Large-scale renovations, home improvement projects, and medium to large-scale construction sites can benefit from medium excavators.
- Large excavators: Large excavators are very large and powerful. They are best suited for high-volume, large-scale operations, and commercial and industrial projects.
2. Backhoe Loader
A backhoe loader is another widely used heavy equipment that is suitable for multiple purposes in construction. The name itself tells that the hoe arrangement is provided on the backside of the vehicle while the loading bucket is provided in the front.
A backhoe is useful for excavating trenches below the machine level and using front bucket loading, unloading, and lifting of materials can be done.
A backhoe loader can handle so many different jobs like:
- Farming
- Excavation
- Construction
- Hauling
- Digging
3. Motor Grader
Graders also called motor graders are another type of heavy equipments used for the construction of roads. It is mainly used to level the soil surface.
It contains a horizontal blade in between the front and rear wheels and this blade is lowered into the ground while working. An operating cabin is provided on the top of the rear axle arrangement.
Motor Graders are also used to remove snow or dirt from the roads to flatten the surface of the soil before laying the asphalt layer, to remove unnecessary soil layer from the ground, etc.
A motor grader is used to cutting and move terrain for:
- Roadway installation or maintenance
- Fine grading
- Building projects
- Drainage ditches
- Snow removal
- Spreading materials
4. Wheeled Tractor Scrapers
Wheel Tractor Scrapers are heavy earth-moving heavy equipments used to provide flatten soil surfaces through scrapping. The front part contains a wheeled tractor vehicle and the rear part contain a scrapping arrangement such as a horizontal front blade, conveyor belt, and soil collecting hopper.
When the front blade is lowered onto the ground and the vehicle is moved, the blade starts digging the soil above the blade level and the soil excavated is collected in a hopper through a conveyor belt.
When the hopper is full, the rear part is raised from the ground, and the hopper is unloaded at the soil dump yard.
Wheeled tractor scrappers work as:
- A sharp, angled scraper cuts into the dirt, loosening it.
- A hopper uses a conveyor belt system to collect and store this loose dirt.
- Once the hopper is full, you can then dump or transport the dirt wherever needed.
There are several types of wheeled tractor-scrapers, including elevating, open bowl, push-pull, and tandem scrapers.
5. Dragline Excavator
A dragline excavator is another heavy equipments used in construction that is generally used for larger depth excavations. It consists of a long-length boom and a digging bucket is suspended from the top of the boom using a cable.
For the construction of ports, for excavations underwater, sediment removal in water bodies, etc. can be done by a dragline excavator.
6. Bulldozer
Bulldozers are another type of soil excavating equipment that is used to remove the topsoil layer up to a particular depth. The removal of soil is done by the sharp-edged wide metal plate provided at its front. This plate can be lowered and raised using hydraulic pistons.
Bulldozers are widely used for the removal of weak soil or rock strata, lifting of soil, etc. for the following types of projects:
- Farming
- Land clearing
- Road construction
- Demolition
- Home renovation
7. Wheeled Trencher
Trenchers or Trenching machines are used to excavate trenches in the soil. These trenches are generally used for pipeline laying, cable laying, drainage purposes, etc.
Trenching machines are available in two types namely chain trenchers and wheeled trenchers. Chain trenchers contain a fixed long arm around which a digging chain is provided. Wheeled trenchers contain a metal wheel with a digging tooth around it.
To excavate hard soil layers, wheeled trenchers are more suitable. Both types of trenchers are available in tracked as well as wheeled vehicle forms.
8. Wheeled Loader
Wheeled Loaders are used on the construction site to load the material onto dumpers, trucks, etc. The materials may be excavated soil, demolition waste, raw materials, etc. A wheeled loader contains a large-sized bucket at its front with a shorter moving arm. The loader may be either tracked or wheeled.
Wheeled loaders are widely used in sites while tracked or crawled loaders are used in sites where wheeled vehicles cannot reach.
9. Feller Bunchers
Feller buncher is tree-cutting heavy equipments used to remove large trees in the construction field. They cut the tree and grab it without falling, likewise gathering all the cut-down trees in one place which makes jobs easier for loaders and dump trucks.
10. Dump Trucks
Dump trucks are used in construction sites to carry the material in larger quantities from one site to another site or to the dump yard. Generally, in big construction sites, off-road dump trucks are used. These off-road dump trucks contain large wheels with huge space for materials which enables them to carry huge quantities of material in any type of ground conditions.
Off-Road Dump Trucks are used for many types of work:
- Mining
- Recycling and scrapping
- Material and aggregate hauling
- Utility construction
11. Wheel Compactor
Smooth Wheel Compactor or Rollers are used to compact the material or earth’s surface. Different types of compactors are available for different soil compacting purposes.
Smooth wheel rollers are used for compacting shallow layers of soil or asphalt etc.
Sheep-foot rollers are used for deep compaction purposes.
Pneumatic tired rollers are used for compacting fine-grained soils, asphalt layers, etc.
12. Plate Compactor
Plate compactors are heavy equipments, that use a heavy, vertically vibrating plate to crush and compact a surface into a level, flat area. The force behind the plate and the quick and repetitive movements breaks down and compact debris. In addition to industrial applications, plate compactors are also used to flatten the expanse of soil, sand, or gravel.
Depending on the applications, there are three types of plate excavators, a single, reversible, or heavy-duty plate compactor.
- Single plate compactor: Single plate compactors are suitable for small-scale asphalt or building projects, like home renovations or laying sidewalks and driveways.
- Reversible plate compactor: For projects that require more versatility, reversible plates operate in multiple directions.
- Heavy-duty plate compactor: Heavy-duty plate compactors are the best option for large-scale industrial, construction, or roadway projects.
13. Telehandlers
Telehandlers are hoisting equipment used in construction to lift heavy materials up to the required height or to provide construction platforms for workers at greater heights etc. It contains a long telescopic boom that can be raised or lowered or forwarded.
Different types of arrangements like forklifts, buckets, cabins, lifting jibs, etc. can be attached to the end of telescopic boom based on the requirement of the job.
14. Tower Cranes
Tower cranes are fixed cranes that are used for hoisting purposes in the construction of tall structures. Heavy materials like pre-stressed concrete blocks, steel trusses, frames, etc. can be easily lifted to the required height using this type of heavy equipment.
Tower cranes consist of the mast which is the vertical supporting tower, Jib which is the operating arm of the crane, a counter jib which is the other arm that carries the counterweight on the rear side of the crane, and an operator cabin from which the crane can be operated.
15. Asphalt Paver
Paver or Asphalt paver is pavement laying heavy equipment that is used in road construction. Paver contains a feeding bucket in which asphalt is continuously loaded by the dump truck and the paver distributes the asphalt evenly on the road surface with slight compaction. However, a roller is required after laying the asphalt layer for perfect compaction.
Pavers are used to lay asphalt on places such as:
- Public and private roads
- Driveways
- Parking lots
- Bridge decks
- Recreation courts
- Industrial sites
- Building construction
Asphalt pavers are available in a variety of paving widths and speeds.
16. Pile Boring Equipment
A pile boring machine is a heavy equipment used to make boreholes in the construction site to install precast piles.
Pile Boring machine.
17. Pile Driving Equipment
Another heavy equipment used on the construction sites is a pile-driving machine for the construction of pile foundations. This equipment lifts the pile and holds it in proper position and drives it into the ground up to the required depth.
Different types of pile driving equipment are available namely, piling rigs, piling hammers, hammer guides, etc. in any case the pile is driven into the ground by hammering the pile top which is done hydraulically or by dropping.
Also Read: 10 Types of Shovels With Pictures and Uses
References: Heavy Construction Equipment and Their Uses
