Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/662812
April 2016 | EquipmentWorld.com 44 Quarry applications The Trimble GCS900 12.81 also works well in quarry applications, says Drake. "A lot of contractors get apprehensive about undercutting the pile and contaminating the material," he says. "With GPS/GNSS, they can create an as-built design surface and make sure the bucket on the wheel loader doesn't go deeper than the fl oor of the quarry." Drake adds that many wheel loader operators use the machine to clean up quarry haul roads, and with GPS/ GNSS capabilities, they can grade or fi ll these surfaces to the exact specifi - cations designated by the engineers. That not only reduces the need for a motor grader to work these roads, but also increases overall utilization of the wheel loader. Size no limit Last year, Trimble introduced a GPS/ GNSS guided system for Bobcat grading attachments, bringing the advantages of satellite-based machine control into the compact equipment realm. Drake says there are no limita- tions to the size of a wheel loader in- corporating the GCS900 12.81 system. In Europe, wheel loaders in the 160- to 250-horsepower class are predominate, while contractors in the United States prefer larger machines due to the volume of material they work with. "But, we're seeing a lot of contractors start to take advantage of 3D on smaller machines," Drake says. Another cost-saving feature of the GCS900 12.81 is that it can be put together using Trimble components you may already own and use on other machines. The masts, receivers and angle sensors are all stock items that can be interchanged between various machines including dozers, motor graders and excavators. Indicate only, for now The system is currently indicate only. That means it does not automati- cally control the bucket elevation. In indicate-only systems, the operator sees a real-time, 3D version of the design surface on the in-cab monitor, and manually controls the blade or bucket to cut to the line designated on screen. However, a fully automated system is currently being evaluated, says Drake. "That's the next ask from customers," he says. "They want to be able to return the bucket to zero, or automatically control the bucket with respect to the design surface during a pass." Trimble has also designed this sys- tem to synchronize with the compa- ny's Loadrite weighing system, Tire- Pulse tire pressure monitoring system, and VisionLink project monitoring as part of the Trimble Connected Site. By adding VisonLink into the tech mix, you can also monitor and record 3D earthmoving, grading and fi nish- ing operations throughout the life of your projects, and capture data to help make more informed decisions on project progress and equipment utilization, Drake says. technology | continued R e l i a b l e E q u i p m e n t V a l u e s Top Bid's Serial Number Guide covers 585 manufacturers of construction equipment, which is over 100 more manufacturers of equipment than any other data source. Plus, the data is more accurate. Top Bid's deep relationships with OEMs and unparalleled access to lien registration data mean you get the most reliable year-of-manufacture available. And since an error of one year can change the equipment value by thousands of dollars, your investment in Top Bid can pay for itself in just one deal. What is your serial number data costing you? *Notes: Year of manufacture data sourced from Top Bid's Serial Number Guide and a competitor's guide. Value data sourced from one year of auction results based on Top Bid's Price Reference Guide. Example: An error of one year for a Caterpillar 320CL Excavator, serial number PAB04968, changes the value by $7,759: Top Bid Competitor Data Amount Overpaid YEAR* 2005 2006 VALUE* $86,192 $93,951 $7,759 Order today at TopBid.com! Accurately determine the age of your construction equipment by looking up its serial number with Top Bid's serial number data. Top Bid is on Angel Norris 205-248-1213, anorris@randallreilly.com Jonathan Swindle 205-292-3365, jswindle@randallreilly.com Online Serial Number Guide $249 annually per user Serial Number Handbook $225 Serial Number Combo* $349 *combo includes one printed edition and one online subscription