Loader (equipment)
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A loader, also called a front loader, front end loader or shovel, is a type of tractor, usually wheeled, that uses a wide square tilting bucket on the end of movable arms to lift and move material.
The loader assembly may be a removable attachment or permanently mounted. Often the bucket can be replaced with other devices or tools. The bucket can also be augmented with devices like a bale grappler for handling large bales of hay or straw.
Large loaders, such as the Caterpillar 950G or Caterpillar 966G, usually have only a front bucket and are called Front Loaders, whereas small loader tractors are often also equipped with a small backhoe and are called backhoe loaders or loader backhoes.
Loaders are used mainly for uploading sand, dirt and mud into trucks, clearing rubble and digging, though a loader is not the most efficient machine for digging as it cannot dig very deep below the level of its wheels, like a backhoe can. Their deep bucket can store about 3-5 cubic meters (exact number varies with the model) of earth. The front loader's bucket capacity is much bigger than a bucket capacity of a backhoe loader.
In construction areas, mainly when fixing a road in a middle of a city, loaders are also used to transport building materials - such as bricks, metal bars and digging tools - over short distances.
Unlike bulldozers, most loaders are wheeled and not tracked. Wheels provide better mobility (and speed) and do not damage paved roads.
External links
- Calculating the capacity of a loader's bucket (http://www.imac.ca/technofocus/bucket.htm)
- CAT 966G Wheel Loader (http://cmms.cat.com/cmms/servlet/cat.dcs.cmms.servlet.GetModelSummary?classid=406&langid=en&rgnid=NACD&view=html&prdname=966G+Series+II&prdid=966G+Series+II&familyid=483&subfamilyid=325&dsfFlag=0&subfamilyheader=Wheel+Loaders).