45
CONSTRUCTION EUROPE
DECEMBER 2013-JANUARY 2014
GPS
Eight-year grade control review
Caterpillar’s AccuGrade Grade Control
System, which claims to provide an increase
in productivity of up to 40% while reducing
site costs dramatically, is factory integrated,
sensor-independent, and features a suite of
products which includes cross slope, sonic,
laser, GPS, and ATS technology.
Danish operator Tom Rasmussen was
the first person to use AccuGrade in the
company’s Europe, Africa and Middle East
region. It was installed on his machine at MJ
Eriksson more than eight years ago so that
he could test it.
Looking back at his experience, he said
it had enabled him to work much faster,
suggesting that a job of spreading sand
over a 200m stretch of ground that used to
take a day could be done in 30 minutes.
“We used to spread sand over the same
area three or four times. Today, we do it
once, maximum two times, and the grade
is perfect.”
He said his favourite AccuGrade feature
was the automatic blade control. “Another
benefit is that now I have all the information
in my cab. The site overview is especially
helpful. It means we’re all better informed about what’s going on.
“I like being able to read grade heights from the comfort of my seat too. Using the old
staking system, I had to climb in and out of my machine. For safety and job satisfaction, it’s
a lot better.”
It was originally fitted to a D6R, but he now has an updated version of AccuGrade on a D6T.
“For me,” he said, “the most notable change is that the new system reacts much faster. I can
do fine grading at higher speeds.”
machines by supplying data such as location,
and transmission of performance details.
Hi-Mate is said to provide a detailed history
about use, fuel consumption and handling
performance; GPS-based position tracking;
a real-time alarm (with geo-fencing feature);
and theft protection.
It monitors machine location via GPS, so
that the exact position of the machine can be
determined with an accuracy of a few metres.
As soon as the machine leaves a specified
range, Hi-Mate will automatically produce a
warning message via phone or e-mail.
Hi-Mate is part of the standard equipment
of all Hyundai Heavy Industries construction
machines starting with an operating weight
of 14 tonnes. It can be used over the entire
lifetime of the machine, with the first two
years free of charge.
Milan Wamsteker, head of marketing and
communications at Hyundai Heavy Industries
in Geel/Belgium, said all newly sold heavy-
line wheeled loaders and excavators from HHI
were currently equipped with this system.
Meanwhile, UK site dumper manufacturer
Thwaites is now offering a new equipment
tracking device that has been designed to
allow customers to track and protect their
assets.
The GRS-1 with Vanguard has DGPS
capability with the internal single frequency
antenna for use in GIS (geographic
information
system)
and
navigation
applications. Adding the external antenna
and connecting a GRS-1 rover to a local GNSS
network, or Topcon Magnet Relay, is said to
offer centimetre accuracy RTK performance.
Magnet Relay allows a mobile base receiver
to host up to 10 rovers through the Magnet
Enterprise cloud.
Topcon Positioning Group has also released
the GR-5 receiver with Vanguard technology,
which it said was designed to optimise
tracking and performance.
Langbein said,“TheGR-5 is anext-generation
GNSS receiver, built on multi-constellation
integrated technology pioneered by Topcon.”
He said the inclusion of Vanguard
technology with Universal Tracking, and
the power of full-wave Fence Antenna
technology providing multipath rejection in
difficult environment, the GR-5 operated with
“unsurpassed sensitivity, tracking accuracy
and performance”.
In addition to Universal Tracking, he said
Vanguard technology included Quartz Lock
Loop for signal processing in heavy vibration
applications and Intelligent Tracking
Optimization to select the best combination
of available satellite signals.
Langbein said, “At any time, end-users can
track all available satellite signals and be
assured of getting accurate measurements
regardless of environmental conditions.”
The GR-5 has both cellular and radio
communications which allows it to be used
in radio-based RTK and network RTK systems.
It also has long-range UHF radio which he
said meant the top-mounted radio antenna
extended the range of RTK radio performance.
MACHINE CONTROL
Leica Geosystems has launched a new 3D
machine control system for wheeled loaders
which it said enabled users to complete their
earthworks jobs faster and correctly the first
time.
It is said to control material cut and fill
precisely, saving time and money by reducing
rework and over-excavation, also making
grading operations with wheeled loaders
more efficient. Leica said grade checking
could be eliminated, further enhancing
productivity, efficiency and safety on site.
Design information and real-time cut-and-fill
indications are displayed on the control panel
in the cab. The 3D machine control system
for wheeled loaders uses GNSS technology
for accurate positioning and earthmoving
results. The dual GPS solution was claimed
to provide the user real-time position of the
bucket allowing for the operator to apply
instantaneous adjustments to the bucket
position.
Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) introduced
the Hi-Mate System in 2010 to monitor heavy
Tom
Rasmussen
was the
first to test
AccuGrade
in Europe
Hi-Mate is Hyundai Heavy
Industries’monitoring system
