The first Caterpillar M-series graders and T-series dozers sold in Australia have been fitted with Topcon Positioning Systems’ GPS-based 3D machine control systems, with dealer technicians and end users reporting that fitting of the Topcon systems is even easier and quicker than on previous-generation Cat machines. In May 2006, Caterpillar announced its innovative M-series motor graders – including joystick control system in place of a steering wheel, designed to make them easier to learn and less fatiguing to operate – with the first machines delivered to Australian owners in late 2007. The first three M-series graders in Australia – two in NSW and one in Victoria – were fitted with Topcon’s millimetre-accurate Millimetre GPS™ system and are being
Welcome to the first Automating your World column, a series of advice articles by Aptella’ technical experts. In this series of articles, we will be exploring the various aspects of machine control solutions – from a simple stick-on laser receiver on a backhoe to full blown 3D machine control systems using satellite positioning technology to automatically control motor graders, dozers, excavators, pavers and profilers. Sometimes referred to as grade control systems, machine control systems are now an everyday sight on construction sites around the world. If you do not already use such systems, chances are that you soon will. Just a few years ago, contractors bought machine control systems to get a ‘leg up’ on their competition. The
GPS-based machine control is rapidly revolutionising the civil construction business, through the cost savings and productivity improvements it’s allowing. And almost as a side effect, it’s revitalising the small to mid-size dozer market. Harry Katsanevas, machine control manager with Topcon’s Queensland dealer ABC Lasers, maintains that the combination of the latest precision GPS-based machine control, and power-angle-tilt (PAT) blades makes smaller dozers (D4-D7 size) highly productive and versatile machines. “We are finding with small sized dozers – the small Komatsu, John Deere, Case, Liebherr and Caterpillar machines – that GPS-based machine control plus a PAT blade is becoming a tool that they’re using on subdivisional work, on road jobs and so forth,” he said. “It allows them to
Automating Caterpillar M series motor graders with Topcon’s 3D machine control systems – including Millimetre GPSTM – has become even easier for owners with the introduction of a special Valve Switch Unit from Topcon Positioning Systems (TPS). TPS’s Valve Switch Unit (VSU) eliminates the need to add a hydraulic valve or connection to M Series grader’s hydraulic system through the CAN field bus, resulting in an integrated, real-time distributed control. In addition, the VSU eliminates the need for an activation fee to be paid to Caterpillar to enable the interface between the machine control system and the grader’s operating system. According to Brian Juroff, TPS director of construction sales, the VSU acts as an interface between the OEM
