Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/946503
EquipmentWorld.com | February 2018 37 Once a system's working, he says, it is much more accurate than a human, almost like cruise control – and that cuts stress for paving crews. "Once you set up the depth and thickness and slope and grade you want it to follow, it'll repeat whatever it sees," says Knudsen. "And you can control that with the automation. Once you get it going, like on a big highway job, they just walk alongside it for miles." Prices vary anywhere from $10,000 to $25,000 for a standard AGS system. If you get into laser correction or 3D paving, prices go up, he says. How AGS works A complete system typically consists of two control boxes that contain electronics, two grade sensors and one slope sensor, along with mounting hardware. The system allows an operator to "control the angle of attack, which controls the depth of the mat that's being laid and the profile of the mat because of the way the screed's set up," Knudsen explains. Two definitions are key: The grade is defined as go- ing down the center of the road. The slope goes from the road's center to the shoulder. There are two systems that run parallel, with one sensor on the left and one on the right. The left sensor generally goes down the center line of the road, and as it follows the grade, it controls and changes the depth Flemming Knudsen, shown standing on the rear of the paver, trains students at the Volvo Road Institute on automatic grade and slope systems. AGS in action during training at Volvo's Road Institute. Courses at the institute's facilities in Pennsylvania and Arizona teach how to correctly and safely set up, operate and troubleshoot common control issues. road technology | continued