Whether you need to compress your driveway or the main road, having the correct equipment may be the difference between a job well done and a one that goes over budget. While the phrases compactor and roller are sometimes used interchangeably, there are variations in the technology that might affect how your job is finished. How do you pick between padfoot rollers, smooth drum rollers, compactors, and plate compactors for your project?
Rollers and compactors have been used effectively since the mid-nineteenth century, when steam-powered machinery became popular. This is because the efficacy of the machinery is determined by its weight. As the benefits of compacting were found, the machine’s technology continued to grow and expand. From dirt roads and asphalt that survive longer under heavy traffic to pre-paving operations that are properly leveled and garbage dumps that condense rubbish.
What Exactly Is a Roller?
A roller is a ride-on equipment that is often used in road building to compress the various layers of materials required to form a road. Rollers can also be used for various forms of compaction, such as waste compaction or park and field compaction. While there are several varieties of rollers, they are all essentially defined by their construction: they are huge, ride-on machines, not portable machines. Rollers are almost always the construction equipment employed when a project requires more than a few square meters of ground compacted material. The only time they would not be employed is in limited access scenarios where they could not fit on the building site, or where the amount of the space to be compacted is insufficient to justify hiring a roller.
There are several varieties of rollers, ranging from machine design to drum type. Each kind serves a distinct function and performs a certain task on a building site. Smooth drum rollers and padfoot rollers are the two primary types of rollers. Smooth drum rollers are smooth circular drums meant to condense granular materials, as the name implies. Padfoot rollers, on the other hand, feature flat, broad spikes that drive air out of soil and clay in order to compact it.
What Is a Compactor?
A compactor is most generally recognized as a pedestrian-operated plate compacting machine. They are tiny walk-behind compactors meant to compress roads and pathways. Plate compactors are also utilized in places where a ride-on roller cannot go, making them ideal for work with limited access. Compactors are sometimes dismissed as superfluous by road construction companies, although they are a highly flexible and useful machine to have on the job site. When resurfacing or updating a road, there are often difficult-to-reach spots or small portions distant from the main construction that don’t require or can’t fit a regular roller; this is usually when the project manager begins calling around to find a plate compactor.
There’s no doubt that a ride-on roller is required while building a road, but having a rammer or plate compactor on hand is always a good idea to ensure you’ve covered all of your bases. Plate compactors and rammers are always a suitable alternative for smaller jobs when renting rollers is not feasible or where a ride-on roller would not fit.
