Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/634023
tors. "This gives you faster final grading, minimizing over-dig and protecting the grade." The system automates bucket movements to maintain a constant bucket angle throughout the cut. The bucket angle can be adjusted by the operator to match the cut- ting angle to digging conditions, and the bucket angle can be auto- matically recalled for subsequent passes. The system prevents the cutting edge from penetrating below grade. You can also pre-set a ceil- ing and floor elevation, which prevents any part of the boom, stick or bucket from going above or below the pre-sets, a handy feature when working inside a building, under overpasses, or below overhead electrical lines. "The protection is not just for the top of the boom, but for any part of the front linkage, wheth- er the bucket tip or the joint between the boom and stick," Stellbrink explains. The operator can override the system at any point using a fingertip trigger on the right joystick. "There are situations where you need to over dig – say you encounter a rock or tree roots," Stellbrink says. "Just press the override trigger, pop out the obstruction, let off of the trigger and you're back at your bucket set point." Stellbrink says that Grade with Assist is a mid-step for contractors hesitating to take the leap from a 2D indicate-only system to a full-blown 3D GPS system. (Cat took a similar toe-in-the-water approach with its Slope Assist on K2 Series dozers, introduced last year.) "We can put it on top of our standard machine that already has an indicate-only system," Stellbrink says. "It helps meet customers' needs based on where they're at in technology adop- tion." Declining to give an exact price, Stellbrink did say the cost is "thousands, instead of the tens of thousands of a 3D system." Cat plans to add Assist to its 3D AccuGrade system early this year, which can be layered on top of any 2D systems a contrac- tor may already have on a ma- chine. While the 2D Grade with Assist does not require additional hardware, adding the function to the 3D system will require extra hardware. It takes about six to eight hours to retrofit Grade with Assist on a 2D system. "We're starting with 2D Grade with Assist, and quite frankly, we feel that's where most of the customers can benefit," Stellbrink says. "If you look at the pool of 50,000-pound machine users, we feel that right now the majority of the opportunity is with basic 2D versus full 3D GPS." February 2016 | EquipmentWorld.com 46 product report | continued Ashland, VA » Jacksonville, FL » Dallas, TX » Cincinnati, OH » Portland,OR » Sacramento, CA » Schenectady, NY » Leduc, AB We Keep Equipment Moving! Call me today, I'll be glad to help you! ~ Loc 800-365-7260 Order online anytime » depparts.com » Replacement UndeRcaRRiage Morooka ® , Bobcat ® , Gehl ® , Mustang ® , Takeuchi ® , CAT ® 279, 289 & 299 » the #1 Selling Rubber track Brand in america! » dep_AD Tracks_EquipWorld_7x4.5_Loc.indd 1 1/6/16 8:24 PM Untitled-28 1 1/20/16 1:17 PM