Scrapers

On any construction site, you will see a wide variety of heavy equipment, and one of the largest is scrapers. While some machines you see on sites, such as bulldozers and backhoes tell you just what they are designed to do by their appearance, the scraper, with its upfront cab pulling a large wagon, doesn’t give anything away.

Within that large, heavy wagon section of any scraper is a gated front with a blade at the bottom. With the gate open, the blade scrapes up material as the machine moves forward, forcing the excavated material into the wagon itself until it is filled. The gate is then closed, and the scraper can transport that material away to be disposed of. If you imagine a carpenter’s plane as it shaves off wood, that is the best way to describe how a scraper operates.

It is important to remember that there are several other machines that would at first glance seem to do the same job, a bulldozer for instance, but when it comes to scraping a surface nothing is as efficient as the scraper itself. The ability to scrape and remove material in one go with a single machine sets the scraper apart on site, but it betters the alternatives in other ways too.

Tasks

Scrapers are used for several tasks, most commonly for earth removal on construction sites or even in mining operations. Here, the big blade and ability to remove its own waste material make this purpose-designed machine much more effective than other equipment. In addition, unlike all other earth-moving options that require dry conditions, scrapers can easily move wet soil, which can save a huge amount of time for contractors. In fact, the scraper is particularly suited to heavier soils or other tough materials, and its efficiency advantage increases even further in those conditions.  In today’s world, scrapers have another significant advantage, offering up to a 30% reduction in fuel consumption compared to alternatives, again, reducing costs significantly for contractors.

With all those advantages, it is no surprise that scrapers, and scraper operators, are in high demand. With a skilled operator, scrapers can dig, load, haul and dump with just that one machine, whereas in the past, they may have taken as many as three machines. From volume earth moving to surface preparation on site, the scraper has proved itself a machine that can reduce costs and speed up operations. It may look odd, but it does its job perfectly.

They can be one of the larger pieces of heavy machinery on any site, but the tractor-scraper has managed to be one the least appreciated machines in the industry too. Designed to move large quantities of earth, and consists of a tractor and rear truck, which is a hopper that can be moved up and down as required, and features a sharp blade at the front. When lowered, the blade cuts into the earth and shaves off the top, pushing it into the hopper. When full, the hopper can be emptied at a drop-off point, usually through a hydraulic pusher that forces the collected earth out of the back.

While it may not attract as much attention as the huge dump trucks or the more interesting backhoes and so on, the scraper is an important element of any construction site, moving earth for construction work to begin. Scrapers come in many sizes, although even the smallest capacity would be considered a large piece of heavy equipment by anyone’s standards, and there are variations of the design too. Elevating scrapers use a conveyor belt system to transfer scraped earth into the bowl, or hopper, further back, making loading much simpler, and they are very popular on smaller projects.

From the smallest, 10-yard sizes to the huge mining scrapers, operators can find themselves in all kinds of construction projects, from roadworks or commercial construction projects to huge mining sites or even agricultural use, scrapers are found on all kinds of sites and endless different projects.

Until recently, scrapers seemed to be losing their appeal for construction firms, preferring the multi-tasking capabilities of other machines, however, by incorporating clever technology and features that aid accuracy, speed, and ease of use, modern scrapers from the likes of CAT and Terex are seeing a resurgence in their use. The latest scrapers, featuring computer-controlled unloading features and other operator assistance features, provide a more efficient, cost-controlled earthmoving solution that provides real moving power for construction needs.

However, there are limitations to the scraper’s talents, and you are unlikely to see them used on the smallest of sites, simply due to their size, while they also operate at their best when the distance between loading and unloading is kept to manageable distances. A scraper is not the solution for the long-distance movement of material. However, with the aid of modern technology and improved maneuverability, the scraper today provides efficient earthmoving for a variety of construction, including road and building works and even in agriculture.

For heavy machinery operators, modern scrapers are fantastic machines, with computer aids to help load and unload, and damped hydraulics to smooth the ride on even the harshest site, these machines are in demand and used on most major construction works, offering great career prospects.