Heavy equipment refers to heavy-duty vehicles used for construction tasks involving earthwork. They usually have five systems: implement, traction, structure, power train, and control. Heavy equipment functions through mechanical advantage to exert greater force. Some use hydraulic drives. The pile driver and tunnelling shield were invented in the 1500s and 1800s. Common heavy equipment includes articulated trucks, asphalt pavers, backhoe loaders, cold planers, compactors, dozers, excavators, feller bunchers, forwarders, harvesters, knuckleboom loaders, motor graders, off-highway trucks, skid steer loaders, skidders, telehandlers, wheel tractor-scrapers,

1. Heavy Equipments
Introduction..
Heavy equipment refers to heavy-duty vehicles, specially designed for
executing construction tasks, most frequently ones involving earthwork
operations. They are also known as heavy machines, heavy trucks,
construction equipment, engineering equipment, heavy vehicles, or heavy
hydraulics. They usually comprise five equipment systems: implement,
traction, structure, power train, control and information. Heavy equipment
functions through the mechanical advantage of a simple machine, the ratio
between input force applied and force exerted is multiplied. Some
equipment uses hydraulic drives as a primary source of motion.
History..
The use of heavy equipment has a long history; the ancient Roman engineer
Vitruvius (1st century BCE) gave descriptions of heavy equipment and
cranes in ancient Rome in his treatise De architectura. The pile driver was
invented around 1500. The first tunnelling shield was patented by Marc
Isambard Brunel in 1818.

2. Types..
1. ARTICULATED TRUCKS
Articulated trucks are ideal for navigating a construction site. These trucks
have two parts: the cab — a tractor unit made to travel over rough terrain —
and the trailer, created to carry heavy loads. These two parts are
connected with a pivot, making the equipment easier to steer. Think of these
as next-level dump trucks.

3. ASPHALT PAVERS
If you need a piece of equipment to lay asphalt on roads, bridges,
parking lots or another surface, the type of heavy construction equipment
you’re looking for is an asphalt paver. This type of equipment is often
accompanied by a dump truck full of the asphalt and a roller. The dump
truck feeds the asphalt into the paver, which distributes it onto the surface.
While it does provide a small amount of compaction, it needs to be
followed by a roller to ensure the asphalt is in place.

4. BACKHOE LOADERS
Backhoe loaders are versatile types of heavy construction equipment
because they are a combination of three types of machinery: a tractor,
loader and backhoe. The primary function of this tool is the backhoe, which
can be used to dig hard materials, often compact earth. It can also be used
to lift heavy loads and put them in a particular place.
You can use the loader to move dirt and supplies. The fact that it’s a tractor
gives you the ability to move effortlessly over rough terrain. They can rotate
200 degrees and make an excellent fit for light-to-medium duty jobs. Think
of backhoe loaders as tractors with attachments that make them a versatile
addition to any fleet.

5. COLD PLANERS
Cold planers are also known as milling machines. This type of construction equipment
is used to remove asphalt and concrete from a surface. Inside these machines, a big
drum rotates and grinds the surface accompanied by cutters that will cut the
pavement. Loose pavement is automatically pushed to the center of the rotating drum
and fed onto a conveyor belt that’s attached to the machine. During this milling
process, water is usually applied to the drum to minimize dust and heat.

6. COMPACT TRACK AND MULTI-TERRAIN LOADERS
If you need to move dirt or supplies from point A to point B on site, this piece of
equipment is a powerful addition to your fleet. These machines are built to maximize
work with a minimal footprint. Our compact track and multi-terrain loaders are
equipped with a rubber track undercarriage, which is ideal for navigating through a
variety of terrains and conditions. Not all heavy equipment types come with this level
of versatility, traction and stability.

7. COMPACTORS..
There are several types of compactors, but they all are used to reduce the size of
a material. The type of machine you need depends on the type of material you need
to compact. If you are working with waste, a landfill compactor is the best fit. On the
other hand, you’ll want a soil compactor if you’re working with soil. Tandem vibratory
rollers are used to compact fresh asphalt, and pneumatic rollers are used with a
variety of materials.

8. DOZERS
A dozer is recognized by a large metal blade in the front, which is used to push
massive quantities of soil or other material. If you need to move large quantities a short
distance, pushing the load with a dozer is a great way to do it. If you need to move
material more than just a short distance, the combination of a backhoe loader and an
articulated dump truck will be a better fit.
There are two different types of dozers: track dozers and wheel dozers. Both provide
the same function, but the way they navigate is different. Track dozers spread the
weight of this large piece of machinery out evenly over the larger tracks you’ll find in
place of the wheels, decreasing the amount of pressure on the ground overall and
making it less likely to sink into soft ground.
In place of tracks, wheel dozers have large tires and can move up to three times faster
than a track dozer. The type of dozer you need depends on the priorities for the
various jobs you complete.

9. EXCAVATORS..
Think of excavators as a relative of backhoe loaders, with a few key differences
— they can rotate a full 360 degrees, are often larger than backhoe loaders and are
used for medium-to-heavy duty jobs. There are mini excavators, which can be used for
light-to-medium duty jobs. Think of them as a compact version that can perform similar
tasks to digging, lifting, landscaping and demolishing — just on a smaller scale, within
a smaller footprint.
You’ll find the same bucket attachment you can use for digging trenches and moving
heavy materials, and you can choose between track excavators and wheel
excavators. On tracks, you’ll be able to navigate a variety of terrains and conditions
without worrying about leaving the deep impressions you can get with wheels. But
with wheels, you’ll be able to move a lot faster.

10. FELLER BUNCHERS
If you’re working with trees instead of soil, you may be in the market for a
feller buncher. A “feller” is another name for a lumberjack, and you could
say this machine replaces the function of several lumberjacks. It works like a
weedwhacker for trees, except instead of leaving bits of trees everywhere,
it gathers or bunches the trees as it works.

11. FORWARDERS
Once your feller buncher has taken care of gathering, cutting and
stacking the trees, you can quickly load and remove the cut trees from the
area with the help of a forwarder. If you also have a loader and a back
that resembles an open basket, this type of equipment can help you get a
big job done quickly.

12. HARVESTERS
If you reviewed the description of a feller-buncher but weren’t sure it did
everything you need it to, chances are a harvester will be a good fit for
you. In addition to bunching and cutting trees, a harvester strips the limbs
from the tree, combining the jobs of a feller-buncher, delimber and slasher.
Think of this as taking your logging to the next level.

13. KNUCKLEBOOM LOADERS
When the trees have been cut down, stripped and cut to their desired
size, they need to be loaded onto a truck and transported to their ultimate
destination. Loading a logging truck takes a unique piece of equipment
known as a knuckleboom loader, a swing machine with a boom
specifically designed for picking up and loading logs. They move
surprisingly quick for a large piece of heavy construction equipment.

14. LOADERS
There are two different types of loaders: track loaders and wheel loaders. If there
were such a thing as an extra-large skid steer loader, it would be a track loader. This
type of construction equipment does everything a skid steer loader can, such as lifting,
pushing and moving, but on a larger scale and with a larger capacity. Their tracks
give them the ability to distribute their weight evenly among the surface they’re
traveling on, making them less likely to sink into soft ground.
Wheel loaders can tackle the same jobs but have wheels. This makes them
comparable to a backhoe loader, just without the backhoe. The wheels give them the
ability to lift, push and move at a faster pace than a track loader, but they also make
them susceptible to leaving their mark on a job site, as the weight of the machine is not
spread out over tracks, but over the four wheels.

15. MOTOR GRADERS
A motor grader has a blade, as many other pieces of construction equipment do, but
the difference is its location between the front and rear axles. The most common
function of a motor grader is to level ground, usually in anticipation of adding more
layers to prepare a new roadway.
However, that’s not the only purpose they serve. They can also be used to move a
relatively small amount of soil from one location to another, eliminate a layer of soil
from a surface or to remove snow.

16. OFF-HIGHWAY TRUCKS
When a truck is designed specifically for off-highway use on a construction
site, mine or quarry, it’s sure to give you more flexibility in moving large
quantities. With big tires and a huge bed for materials, this is one type of
construction equipment that comes in handy for a variety of construction
projects.

17. SKID STEER LOADERS
One of the most important things to remember when it comes to skid steer
loaders is that size matters. These machines are recognized for being some
of the most versatile on the market. However, a small skid steer, which is
ideal for interior demolition projects, won’t be able to tackle the excavating
projects a larger skid steer can.
In addition to size, part of what makes these machines so versatile is the
diversity of attachments available for them — everything from lifting to
pushing.

18. SKIDDERS
When you’re working on construction projects that involve the clearing of
wooded land, skidders are used to pull trees that have been cut down out
of the woods and into the landing area, where they are usually delimbed
and cut to size. There are two types of skidders: cable and grapple. Cable
skidders are the classic models, which require pulling the trees with a cable.
A grapple resembles a claw, grabbing the trees and pulling them that way.

19. TELEHANDLERS
There are several types of heavy construction equipment that can help you lift
materials, and telehandlers are one of them. With a telescopic boom that enables
them to reach forward and upward, along with the different types of attachments you
can get — such as pallet forks, buckets and lifting jibs — you’ve got a machine that can
help you move almost anything. In some cases, telehandlers can even be a cost-
effective alternative to cranes.

20. WHEEL TRACTOR-SCRAPERS
Another option for earthmoving is a wheel tractor-scraper. This piece of
equipment is long and has two axles with a complex assortment of features.
It combines the ability to begin to grade a surface with a scraper, but
instead of solely pushing the dirt, it collects it. The scraper has a sharp edge
that digs into the ground, making it loose.
The scraper is angled and has a conveyor belt so that as the soil loosens, it
moves from the edge into the hopper, or bowl, which is kind of like an
enclosed truck bed. That bowl collects the soil until it’s full, and then can be
transported to another area on site to be dumped. The hopper moves
hydraulically, making it possible to dump the soil you’ve collected.

21. Crane
A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist rope, wire
ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower
materials and to move them horizontally. It is mainly used for lifting heavy
things and transporting them to other places. The device uses one or more
simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads
beyond the normal capability of a human. Cranes are commonly employed
in the transport industry for the loading and unloading of freight, in the
construction industry for the movement of materials, and in the
manufacturing industry for the assembling of heavy equipment.

22. Cranes exist in an enormous variety of forms – each tailored to a specific
use. Sizes range from the smallest jib cranes, used inside workshops, to the
tallest tower cranes, used for constructing high buildings. Mini-cranes are
also used for constructing high buildings, in order to facilitate constructions
by reaching tight spaces. Finally, we can find larger floating cranes,
generally used to build oil rigs and salvage sunken ships.
Some lifting machines do not strictly fit the above definition of a crane, but
are generally known as cranes, such as stacker cranes and loader cranes.

23.  Tower cranes are a common fixture at any major construction site.
They're pretty hard to miss -- they often rise hundreds of feet into the
air, and can reach out just as far. The construction crew uses the
tower crane to lift steel, concrete, large tools like acetylene torches
and generators, and a wide variety of other building materials.