What is a paver? 
A paver, also known as asphalt finisher, is construction equipment, used in road machinery to lay asphalt on roads, bridges, highways, parking lot etc. The paver shapes the road as the asphalt, made of mineral aggregate bound, is paved on the surface of the road. The asphalt is prepared in a hot mix plant, and then paver is used to distribute it on the road uniformly. Before paving, an asphalt distributor is used to spray asphalt evenly on the unpaved surface. This film acts as the prime and tact coats on the road. These coats are done to avoid any slippade between surface and overlay during or after the compaction.

While most of the components of a paver are made of steel, the tractor acts as a heavy-gauge steel plate. The conveyor moves the asphalt to the rear of the paver, and the augers push it outwards. Lastly, the screed levels the layer and compacts it to the desired shape. All parts of the paver are assembled, in an assembly plant and are stored in a warehouse or various workstations. The tractor and the screed are assembled separately, most of the time.

What are the major components of a paver?
The major components of a paver are -
Tractor- The tractor receives the mixture, conveys and auger the mixture to the screed. A paver can be tire mounted or crawler mounted.

Hopper- A hopper is used to receive a mix of asphalt from haul trucks.

Conveyors- Used to move the mixture through flow control gates to the augers, flow gates are used to regulate the flow of mixture to maintain uniform mixture spread in front of the screed.

Roller- Rollers are mounted on the front of the tractor to push the haul trucks during the dumping process. The rollers turn freely, so the trucks have little effect on paver operation.   

Screed-  Screed is used to place the asphalt mixture to the desired width and thickness. 
 
Many cities and states have placed an emphasis on the reduction of surface variation or waviness of the roads. To meet the stringent requirements of the waviness limits and the surface variation, the paver is currently high in demand. 
 
There are two types of paver machines available-
Sensory Paver- Sensory paver is equipped with sensors that are used to measure the volume of material mix and transfer this information to an electronic control module. In other words, the sensors of a sensory paver estimate the requirement of a material to be mixed to the controller of the paver. These sensors are also used to depict the height to which asphalt mix is needed to be spread on the surface.

Mechanical Paver- Mechanical paver, on the other hand, is an operation machine. The mechanical paver doesn’t work with sensors to know about the volume of the material and the height to which asphalt has to be laid out on the surface. 

The choice to make? 
There is no wrong or right choice to make while choosing among the pavers. Focus primarily on the requirement of the project to make a clear-sighted decision.