Made by the Clark Equipment Co. to promote its line of mining construction equipment, this 1960s film shows a specialized Michigan Dozer in operation at an open pit mine and discusses its operation. The tired Michigan is shown working with swing shovels, cleaning up ore piles and loading trucks. Tips are given about how to operate the machine properly.
Michigan wheel dozers were well accepted by the earthmoving industry and found use in all manner of operations. Initially based on the chassis of one of Michigan’s existing line of wheel loaders, the model 180 was nevertheless regarded as a success and development of other machines followed. It became apparent to Michigan, however, that some modifications were required to fully realize the potential of its wheel dozer, resulting in the development of a dedicated wheel dozer chassis, rather than adaptation of an existing loader chassis. This was very much a step in the right direction, and the models 180-II, 280 and 380 wheel dozers were introduced the following year. The chief drawback of the design was the wide area needed to maneuver around as the machines all had rear-wheel steering as did almost all of the wheel loaders and dozers of the time. LeTourneau’s machines were superior in this respect as their steering acted more like a skid-steer loader of today allowing them to execute a 180 degree turn in practically their own length. This though, while convenient, was quite hard on tires.
A solution was close at hand, however, with the development of articulated steering. First pioneered on Mixermobile’s ‘Scoopmobile’ wheel loaders, the concept soon caught on and by the mid 1960s, most major manufacturers, including Michigan, were offering articulated steer machines. Michigan applied this new technology to all its wheel dozers except the 180 which by then was up to its 180-III version. Michigan was also at the leading edge when it came to large wheel dozers. Clark’s biggest machine, the 52-ton model 480, was introduced in 1958 and featured a 14-foot blade and 20 miles per hour top speed. An articulated version of this machine first appeared in 1965 and found immediate acceptance in surface mines where its speed, blade capacity and agility made it the ideal tool to clean up around face shovels in the pit. It remained in production until Clark-Michigan withdrew from the heavy equipment business.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
