Caterpillar track Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Caterpillar tracks are large (modular) tracks used on tanks, construction equipment and certain other off-road vehicles. The tracks help the vehicle to distribute its weight more evenly over the surface than wheels can, keeping it from sinking in areas where wheeled vehicles (of the same weight) would sink.
| Table of contents |
|
2 Engineering 3 List of tracked vehicles 4 See also 5 External links |
Caterpillar tracks were first implemented by Benjamin Holt, president of the Holt Manufacturing Company, on 24 November 1904. Following a merger and name change, The Holt Manufacturing Company went on to become the Caterpillar Tractor Company in 1925. Caterpillar tracks have since revolutionized construction vehicles and land warfare. The tracks system have been developed and improved during the years. The Israeli Defence Forces have developed an integrated system of tracks, wheels and springs, called Mazkum מזכו"ם (or זחלים for short), which enables greater mobility than regular tracks. The Mazkum is installed on the Israeli Merkava tank and gives it mobility and speed. Some of the Israeli patents were sold to Caterpillar Tractor Company.
Perhaps the oldest concept of tracks is to be found in theories of pre-historic erection of large stone monuments, when megaliths may have been slid along atop rounded wooden cylinders. While most of the workers pushed or pulled the rock along the timber track, a task of a smaller group was to take each wooden log that the rock had already passed over and put it in front. This would have been a more efficient method to transport heavy rocks great distances than simply pulling it along the ground although attempts by experimental archaeologists to reconstruct these methods have met with variable success.
Modern tracks are built from modular chainlinks which compose together a closed chain. These chainlinks are often broad and made of strong metal. Between every two pieces of the chain there is a joint enabling the chains to chage angle between them. This allow the track to be flexiable and obtain is elliptical shape.
There are two types of attaching a track to a tank:
History
Engineering
tank with "Christy" tracks. The driving-wheel is in the back.]]
with "Vickers" tracks.]]
Tracks are moved by a driving wheel connected to the motor. The driving-wheel have spikes upon its perimeter which catch the track and drag it while it rotates.
The advantages of tracks are increased mobility through rough terrain.
First, they protect the wheels from shrapnel (nails, broken glass etc) and fluctuations in the ground (holes, small pits and ditches) thus enabling the vehicle to drive over small obstacles that would stop a wheeled vehicle.
Secondly, they distribute the weight of the vehicle over large area, thus decreasing its ground pressure. This is an extremely important feature when working on sandy or muddy ground, that prevents the vehicle from sinking in it. Bulldozers, which are most often tracked, uses this attribute to rescue other vehicles (such as wheel loaders or tanks) which got stuck or sank in the ground.
The disadvantages of tracks are decreased speed and the damage that they cause to what passes beneth them - rocks, shrubbery and asphalt roads. In addition, prolonged use places enormous strain on the drive transmission and the mechanics of the tracks, which must then be overhauled and/or replaced on a regular basis. Thus it is common to see tracked vehicles such as bulldozers or tanks transported long distances by a wheeled carrier such as a semi-trailer or train.
This is an Article on Caterpillar track. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Caterpillar track List of tracked vehicles
See also
External links