Construction Equipment Basic Principals

If we start with the basics of construction site machinery we can break the commonly found construction machines down into the following types :-

Carrying Machines

These are machines that are loaded by other machines and then transport the material to the desired location where the material is discharged by the machine. These machines are commonly called "dumpers" from the discharge action and vary in size from machines you can get through a garden gate to the massive open cast mining machines that dwarf all others.

Below Ground Digging Machines

These are machines that generally excavate (make a hole or channel by digging) . There are different types of digging machines such as the hydraulic "excavators" we see commonly on building sites, to dedicated "trenchers" which use a blade to make a very controlled slot in the ground. In larger open cast mines you will also see massive "bucket wheel excavators" capable on incredible excavation rates. 

Above Ground Loading Machines

These loading machines generally re-handle loose material with buckets, or dig into hard banks to remove the material and make it loose. The material is then transported shorter distances and lifted into the air for transport in a dumper or trailer or for loading into hoppers for processing. As you would expect they are commonly called "Loaders".

Ground Level Machines

These machines generally work around ground level. They include "Bulldozers" and "Graders" and are used to reshape the ground profile and move material around a site. The bulldozer blade is curved and is designed to efficiently roll material in front of the bulldozer. These bulldozer machines are very powerful and will move huge amounts of material to reshape a landscape or site.

Graders are designed to cut material in a fine action with a directionally controlled blade, the operators are skilled in multifunctioning the blade direction controls concurrently with the machine transmission controls so the grader can efficiently produce smooth and flat surfaces on a site such as the roadways.

In the construction machinery there are often combinations of the above functions to make a machine more useful around the construction site and enable a single machine to do the work normally done by two machines.