About Asphalt PaversJanuary 20
Asphalt Pavers are some of the most unique looking machines that you will see on a road construction project. This is the machine that does exactly what the name says, it paves asphalt. Unlike a skid steer or a backhoe loader, the type of contractors that actually own one of these Asphalt Paver specialize in a very unique business. There is a large investment in becoming a paving contractor and that keeps out many smaller companies and leave a select few in an area that will be paving with an asphalt paver.
Some of the investment includes what is called a hot plant. This is the area where the various aggregates will be mixed, heated, and turned into what will be laid on the roads we drive. Sometimes these hot plants will be in one permanent location and sometimes these hot plants will be mobile and able to move closer to where the asphalt paver will be working. The aggregates and mix that are put into the hot plant to be mixed are also inputs that companies who pave may own. If these companies own the rock and the hot plant they can control a lot of their expenses and be more competitive in the market.
The options and variety on Asphalt pavers is wide spread but there are a few major things on this machine that can be picked out as major options when looking for a machine. One is the screed heat. The screed is the area where the asphalt will move across before its laid onto the ground. The asphalt must be heated to an exact formula and this screed is what will keep the asphalt at the optimum heat level. There are two main ways to heat a screed on an asphalt paver, one being diesel heat and the other being electric heat. The industry is quickly moving from using diesel heated screeds to electric heated screeds as the temperature can be controlled more accurately. That being said however there are still some parts of the country that continue to use diesel heated screeds.
The other main option on an Asphalt Paver is where you hook the screed onto the paver. You can either run with the screed on the front or rear. This is called a front mounted screed or a rear mounted screed. A lot of this decision comes from the paving companies experience and what their paving crew is used to using. Sometimes it also depends on the logistics of the job site and how the trucks with the asphalt can get to the paver to load it.
20 Jan 2010 | 10:08 pm | Autos
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