Kevin Sherman calls Bobcat’s laser grader “a fine-grader’s dream.”
For 11 years, Sherman’s focus has been nothing but laser fine grading, mostly for concrete contractors on large sites such as warehouses.
His company, A Plus Laser Grading, in Hagerstown, MD, does it all with a Bobcat M-Series loader and a 96-inch laser grader.
“It’s phenomenal,” he says. “When I bought this setup, it was hard to prove myself in the beginning, but nowadays it seems when I’m pulling off the job the big guys are wiping tears from their eyes and they just can’t believe I’m coming in and taking all of this work from them. All it does is make me money.”
While Sherman grades athletic fields, his main focus is fine grading and stone base for contractors.
“I can get to within a quarter-inch for these contractors and be efficient with my setup, because I can load it right on the truck,” he says. “I can be in New York today and Pennsylvania the next day. The versatility of having this over bigger and heavier equipment is a quick, efficient move in and out. I do 1 million square feet of warehouse space with this, so it sells itself. I don’t go looking for work anymore. At a site I worked at in Georgia, they called me the “˜Bobcat Guy.'”
The laser grader simplifies his work, Sherman says.
“If you have a surface you need to cut that slopes to a drain or something like that, you can use compound sloping lasers and there are no ups and downs,” he says. “You click it in automatic. Everything is right at your fingertips. You can adjust your grade up and down from right inside the cab, plus or minus two inches. It’s simple and it’s easy.”
Sherman says there are two poles, one on each side of the blade. “You set up your laser off your benchmark elevation you want to go off of,” he says. “If you have high spots, you can leave it in manual load and knock your big piles down and get it close. Then at the flip of a switch, it’s in automatic. Ordinarily, I can get it easily within a quarter-inch but mostly within an eighth of an inch with a click of a button-it’s just that simple.”
Sherman says he’s saving money because the setup requires less fuel.
“To buy a motor grader, you’re looking at a quarter of a million dollars for a used one and setup on them is more costly,” he says. “With this attachment here, it’s about $22,000 for the attachment setup with the laser package. All I do is laser grading. For a contractor to buy it, in literally one job it is most likely to pay for itself.”
Sherman says the only challenge an operator may have with the laser grader is being familiar with lasers and factors that affect their performance.
“Mirrors and glass and strobe lights can interfere with the laser,” he says. “Your receivers will pick them up and it will make your display dance and do erratic motions. Understanding the laser and knowing what’s causing it to act up is about the trickiest part.”
Sherman says he’ll get a call to do laser grading on a warehouse job from a concrete contractor and give them a square-footage price.
“Usually a contractor is allowed a quarter-inch, plus or minus,” he says. “If you’re looking at a 10,000-square-foot area, if that was to be a quarter-inch low, you’re talking 8 yards of concrete and about $800.
“Ordinarily, it doesn’t even cost them that much to have 10,000 square feet graded. If I can put in their tolerances where they need to be, I’m usually getting their yields with their concrete within 1%-I’m that close,” he adds. “Now instead of them bidding a job at 6% waste, they can tighten up their numbers to 2% because they’ve worked with me for years and they know how close I can get it and that they don’t have to worry about going over that much on their concrete.”
Sherman says he’s considered other models, “but hands-down, I will smoke any of those attachments with this grader. I’ve tried them. I’m not happy with them. They can’t handle the material that this thing can handle.”
Sherman says he favors the versatility of being able to angle the blade left and right and get rid of material quickly.
“I’ve got a side shift where I can slide my blade side to side and work around columns,” he says. “I just love this. Everybody who watches me says, “˜Man, that is just the coolest thing ever.’ I’ve been running it for 11 years, day in and day out. I think part of my business is entertainment.”
The Bobcat BLR2 laser receiver, in conjunction with the deluxe instrumentation panel, is now available on 600, 700, and 800 platform M-Series compact track loaders.
“As loaders have increased in power and tractive effort over the last several years, Bobcat expanded the laser-operated attachment line from 84-inch grader and box blades to new 96- and 108-inch graders designed specifically for use with the new, larger track loaders,” says Justin Odegaard, attachments product specialist for Bobcat.
“Contractors in the concrete market will benefit from the seamless connection between the BLR2 laser receiver and the deluxe instrumentation panel on Bobcat’s new loaders,” he adds.
Sherman recently ordered the 108-inch grader for his operation.
Laser control on Bobcat attachments can be completely automatic or by indication, where the operator looks at arrows to determine whether the blade needs to move up or down, says Odegaard.
“Before the introduction of the new deluxe instrumentation panel, operators needed to look at indication arrows on the laser receiver to determine whether the blade was above, below, or on grade,” he says. “With the new in-cab panel, the operator is given a number telling him to the tenth of an inch how much material needs to be removed or added for grade. The panel also allows the operator to make changes to the grade from inside the cab.
“The grade can be moved up or down, in 0.1-inch increments, a total of two inches up or down. Operators previously needed to exit the cab to either raise or lower the receivers or the laser tripod. The deluxe instrumentation panel units can also be changed by the operator to show metric units or inches.”
Bobcat’s newest addition to its line of attachments is the sonic tracer/slope sensor kit.
“Shown for the first time at World of Concrete in January, the new Bobcat sonic tracer/slope sensor kit is the compact industry’s first integrated automatic grade control solution, providing M-Series loader operators many of the same capabilities as large road grading equipment for rough and finish grading,” says Odegaard.
“Partnered with the deluxe instrumentation panel, the grade-control system is engineered to follow the contour of nearly any terrain, and eliminates the need for a control panel on the grader attachment,” he adds.
The sonic tracer/slope sensor kit offers contractors an alternative method of automatic grade control on job sites not suited to lasers.
Where laser usage requires a flat plane on the job site, using a sonic/slope setup offers the ability to go up and down hills while still achieving the correct slope.
“Operators will increase productivity and precision on job sites that feature hilly terrain such as certain types of road construction and site development that can include golf cart paths and biking and nature trails,” says Odegaard.
The greatest operator efficiencies to be gained with Bobcat’s sonic tracer/slope sensor kit include projects graded with a string line, matching an existing surface or a previous pass, and following existing curb and gutter, he says.
“Often, a large road grader will use a sonic/slope system to do the final pass before concrete is poured, and the concrete machines will use the same string line when pouring,” Odegaard points out.
Like a laser grading system, the sonic tracer/slope sensor kit is designed to provide contractors more accurate results with manual and automatic solutions by using four sensors mounted on the grader attachment. The mainfall and rotation sensors help correct grading up and down inclines and ensure accuracy when the blade is angled versus straight, Odegaard says.
The sonic tracer is suspended off either side of the grader blade to maintain a precise distance between it and a predetermined reference point at all times. The slope sensor adjusts the opposite side of the grader to retain a consistent slope.
The Bobcat sonic tracer/slope sensor kit allows operators to produce a consistent grade, with no high or low spots, and keep the base within plus or minus 0.2 inches or 0.1% grade.
The combination of the four sensors offers a variety of operational modes, including full automatic, partial automatic, and full manual override. Operators also have the ability to turn off the sonic tracer and still have automatic cross-slope capabilities, says Odegaard.
Bobcat’s sonic tracer/slope sensor kit controls’ integration into the deluxe instrumentation panel on M-Series loaders allows operators to make adjustments without having to leave the cab, says Odegaard.
The deluxe instrumentation panel displays real-time information on actual versus target slope. To increase ease-of-use and efficiency, all settings for the sonic tracer distance and slope are completed on the panel, including the ability to
- offset (move up or down) the sonic tracer distance;
- perform a reverse grade (one button allows the transition from positive to negative slope percentages, and vice versa);
- turn the sonic tracer off and still have the slope sensor run automatically, allowing the operator to control one side of the blade and have the other side move to maintain the desired slope; and
- use an optional selectable joystick control.
The sonic offset and grade changes can be made without taking one’s hands off the controls, according to Odegaard.
Bobcat’s end users have been asking for attachments that increase machine versatility, Odegaard says.
“During the economic downturn, contractors have sought ways to take on new and different jobs than they might have in the past and having versatile equipment was key,” he adds.
Some of the most requested attachments have included the heavy-duty grader for M-Series loaders, angle brooms for the Toolcat 5610 and a variety of snow removal attachments.
Odegaard says an increasing number of contractors in the “snow belt” took on snow removal jobs during the downturn to avoid laying off employees and bring in additional revenue.
Extending the life of compact equipment is fairly simple, Odegaard says.
“If operators follow the manufacturer guidelines for regular maintenance, it’s amazing how much more efficient the equipment will be,” he adds. “From an attachment standpoint, matching an attachment to the job is extremely important. Many contractors are paying more attention to regular maintenance and purchasing the appropriate attachments to help them complete a variety of jobs.”
TerraTec’s 16-foot bulldozer grade attachment, the AggreScreed, was introduced to the market nearly two years ago and is a response to contractors’ desire for efficiency, says COO Tim Lorenzen.
Company CEO Myron Mullett, who previously owned an excavating company in Colorado, conceived of the AggreScreed after receiving a multiyear military contract to lay gravel on 90 miles of road in Southern Colorado’s Fort Carson training area at Pinon Canyon.
Mullet developed what he believed to be an efficient way of creating a stakeless approach to the road project, which required an average of 6 inches of gravel with a 2% crown on a 32-foot-wide road that required the ability to handle military equipment such as tanks.
He created a bulldozer blade attachment that would hold grade without stakes involved by placing adjustable skids on each end of a box blade and added a plow device to each side of the bulldozer blade that would direct the gravel inwards and away from the skids.
“It’s getting the most out of the least amount of employees with the least amount of equipment with the least amount of materials,” says Lorenzen. “We utilize one bulldozer with its operator for the AggreScreed.”
On a host machine of 125- to 250-net-horsepower dozer with a straight, six-way blade, the AggreScreed’s attach and detach time is 15 to 20 minutes.
That enables the dozer to be used for other functions such as stockpiling without sacrificing a lot of time or an extra piece of equipment, Lorenzen says.
“The AggreScreed can lay aggregate two to four times as fast as conventional motor graders or bulldozers,” he says. “Because of the box-blade design and precision depth control, contractors can rely on their material estimates to be nearly dead on, thereby eliminating material overages.”
Lorenzen points out that by making a standard bulldozer blade extend to 16 feet or even up to 24 feet wide in 2-feet increments, the dozer becomes much more efficient in laying gravel. The attachment can lay gravel from zero to 15 inches in depth and create a 3.5% crown in a single pass.
“There is less wear and tear on the dozer because it does not have to go back and forth all day long,” he says. “It simply has a load of aggregate dumped in front of it, pushes it out, and waits for the next load. This process also requires significantly less fuel and operator fatigue because they are not working nearly as hard. Because the AggreScreed is wide and it “˜screeds’ off the aggregate to make a perfectly flat surface, compaction time is minimized, very consistent and even.”
AggreScreed’s width is adjusted by repositioning 24 bolts, taking approximately 30 minutes. A hydraulic system controlled by a box mounted in the dozer cab moves the bulldozer blade attachment to the determined position.
One contractor who calls himself a fan of the AggreScreed is Colby Robertson, president of Robertson Contractors in Poplar Bluff, MO. His bridge and road contracting business works on projects in Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
In July, Robertson’s company picked up a local 2-mile road project that had a 52-foot pavement width.
“All of that pavement width called for a 6-inch aggregate base to be laid before the PCCP was to be laid,” he says. “We were looking around for a tool. We had run across some literature on the AggreScreed. They were trying to get their product out and we liked the looks of it and the simplicity of the set-up on it.”
Robertson agreed to rent the AggreScreed for the job as a test trial.
“We were thrilled,” he says. “We loved the machine. It was very simple to set up-about four hours of setup time. It took us about a day to get familiar with using the machine. Once we got familiar with it, we were able to drop a couple of people off of our labor force.”
Robertson’s company was laying about 5,000 tons of base a day with the AggreScreed.
“Had we really been familiar with the machine, we could have exceeded that pretty easily,” he adds. “We were very happy with the machine.”
There was a small learning curve for the AggreScreed, Robertson notes.
“We had to determine the compaction factor of our aggregate behind the AggreScreed and once we had calculated that tolerance, then it was really just “˜blow and go’ from that point,” he says. “We were losing about an inch-and-a-half of compaction out of the back of the AggreScreed and once we got that setting adjusted, we were thrilled. A normal crew for us is four persons-we were handling the job with two.”
What Robertson and his employees favored most was how the AggreScreed is built and how it controls material quantities.
“At the end of this project, we probably didn’t have one load of excess rock laid after we had cut grade and finalized it for the pavers,” he says. “Our quantities on the rock were held down to a zero sum. They were right on the money.”
Robertson finds the AggreScreed “very sound” in working in solid clay-gravel type materials.
“This attachment is very easy to mobilize,” he says. “You can take this attachment off, put it on a 16-foot trailer and pull it behind a half-ton pickup to another location. Any 40,000 to 60,000 pound tractor will handle the machine.”
Robertson finds the AggreScreed to be universal in the types of dozers in which it can be set up on.
“It will set up on a six-way blade or a straight blade and it’s very versatile,” he says. “It’s not one-machine specific, which is what we like. We have a variety of different size and type tractors we can run this attachment on. We can lay base in one location, pick the attachment up and mobilize it to another location without having to move machines, which is a big benefit to us.”
Robertson’s company is actively pursuing work for the AggreScreed with the intention of buying one for its fleet.
“We’re a big fan of the machine, and we will have a few in our fleet going forward if we have the work for it,” he says.
This year, CEAttachments is offering a new Edge In-Cab Backhoe attachment allowing the operator to remain in the seat of the cab and operate all of the backhoe and skid-steer controls from the seat.
Features include 9-foot, 4-inch digging depth, 11-foot reach and 180-degree pivot rotation. Vertical stabilizers and side-shift features allow for operation next to buildings, fence lines, and other obstacles. Four bucket sizes ranging from 12 inches to 24 inches accommodate various trenching jobs. The In-Cab Backhoe comes with hoses and flat face couplers.
The company also has introduced a new Edge Tree Puller/Grabbing Tool for grabbing and pulling invasive trees and shrubs-including roots-out of the ground. The attachment also can be used to pull rebar and fence posts out of the ground.
The tool opens up to 12 inches and features three welded brackets to secure hydraulic hoses away from the jaws. Lift capacities are based on the lift capacity of the machine rather than the attachment. Hoses and flat face couplers included; a hose-saver kit is optional.
CEAttachments also has a new Edge Stump Removal Bucket for removing tree stumps or large rocks from the ground, digging trenches, or for moving trees. Three 23-Series cast steel teeth dig deep under roots and tilt to cut through them. The tool’s funnel shape can also be used for digging ditches, moving trees and installing rock. The bucket measures 20 inches high, 62.5-inches long and features a half-inch laser-cut-steel bucket with a 1-inch-thick cutting edge.
Dennis Van Der Werff is a farm equipment dealer in Platte, SD, who has used the Edge Stump Removal Bucket for one of his own projects to remove large rocks.
While cleaning up along a quarter-mile of fence line he was taking out, he had put the attachment on a skid-loader to try to address the challenge of clearing all of the rocks out from underneath the dirt.
“I was dumbfounded what I could do in no time flat with that thing; it was amazing,” he says, adding that after that experience, he decided to get a contract to sell CEAttachments. “You’ve just got to let somebody run those once, and they all want one. It lets a skid-loader do what a skid-loader normally won’t do.”
The attachment in most demand by those in the field is the Edge Medium Duty Walk Through Pallet Fork frame, followed by the Edge Planetary Auger Drives, notes Renee Bernardy of CEAttachments.
Since most skid-steer loaders are equipped with a universal quick attach, “if they do not own an attachment, it is very easy for them to rent an Edge attachment, as all of our attachments are designed to fit on a machine with a universal quick attach,” notes Bernardy.
“One of our high-end attachments, the Edge Mulcher-also a new attachment this year-allows contractors to clear wooded lots in a short amount of time with a standard-flow machine,” Bernardy says.
The machine is equipped with a safety pusher bar to force brush or small trees down and allow the mulcher teeth to contact the lower portion of the brush to mulch it. The rest of the plant is mulched as the machine moves through the working area up to one inch below grade.
The machine has 104 carbide-tipped teeth designed for longevity, smooth operations, and fine mulch. The rotor is designed with four staggered rows of teeth around the circumference that cut into and mulch wood material as it moves into the rotor.
A rear-chain shield and pressure gauge on the back of the mulcher enable the operator to monitor hydraulic pressure. A relief valve in the hydraulic circuit is designed to prevent overloading of any drive components. The machine comes with hoses and flat-face couplers.
“Attachments with great versatility are also valuable in this economy, where contractors can use one attachment in many applications, such as the Edge Tree Puller/Grabbing Tool, the Edge Stump Removal Bucket, and also one of our new attachments, the Edge Pallet Fork Grapple, which allows you to grab and move large awkward loads such as brush, plywood, and large culverts, or small loads such as pipe by adjusting the cylinder location on the grapple,” Bernardy adds.
In recent months, sales of grapple buckets in any size, shape, or model were strong, says Kubota’s Erik Ouwersloot, product manager for compact track loaders.
“Storms, flooding, and other natural events required lots of cleanup,” he adds.
To that end, pallet forks are in demand all year around, he says.
“Kubota’s pallet forks include a “˜D’ ring so that one can expand the pallet fork’s application,” Ouwersloot says. “We usually think of pallet forks to pick up and place loads. The “˜D’ ring allows operators to pull the load from deep in a trailer, box car, or box van to a location that’s easy to pick up with the pallet forks.”
Proper maintenance is the key to getting the most out of attachments, particularly with attachments such as a cold planer, Ouwersloot points out.
“Be sure to use the correct cutter tip profile for the material being planed, use enough water spray, and calculate your efficiency by running multiple passes,” he says. “The water spray is not only for dust control and tip cooling – it provides lubrication to the tips in their pockets. The tips have to rotate to stay sharp and efficient. Check the tips regularly and ensure that they rotate freely in their pockets.”
Hydraulic hoses and couplers need attention as well.
“Once you’re finished working, simply wipe off the face of the couplers and attach them together,” Ouwersloot says. “This keeps the couplers clean and easy to use. Dirty couplers can introduce contaminants to the hydraulic system that may lead to other difficulties later.”
Allied Construction Products LLC recently introduced three models of its next-generation Extreme Ho-Pacs to its line of hydraulically operated vibratory plate compactors/drivers.
The Model 300B, 500B, and 1000B Ho-Pacs are designed for more impact energy, longer base plates, and four-function valve, and three to four motor options.
The Ho-Pacs (excluding 1000B) are designed for use on mini-excavators, rubber-tired backhoes, and trenchers with backhoe attachment for use in narrow trench work. They are a plug-and-go installation and interchanges with the machine’s bucket within minutes.
The key feature is that the new models use sealed-for-life-bearings within an eccentric housing to protect the bearings from excessive dust and debris. No maintenance is required for the bearings under normal operating conditions.
The new Ho-Pac bearings are continuously lubricated from an oil bath within the eccentric housing during operation.
The new design creates a larger eccentric with mass further away from the shaft centerline to increase impulse and compaction force.
The longer base plate provides greater compaction area. A new hose routing offers more protection against sheared or damaged hoses-the tough-coat hoses prevent cuts and extend wear life. The three or four motor options provide versatility in matching carriers.
The four-function valve controls flow, pressure, regeneration, and oil flow direction.
The Allied Model 300B, Model 500B, and 1000B Ho-Pacs operate off of the machine’s hydraulic system and can reach anywhere the machine’s boom can reach. An optional swivel-top mounting bracket permits precise positioning of the Ho-Pac without repositioning the carrier.
New to the market from the Danuser Machine Co. is a post driver called The Hammer.
“With its innovative design, you can achieve a full stroke with every cycle to maximize impact force,” says Glenn Danuser, company president. “The Hammer does not utilize a hydraulic cylinder, springs, or return line. The Hammer is a free-fall weight that strikes a base plate instead of the post. The large opening will allow you to drive a T-post to a railroad tie.”
Of all of the product offerings of the Danuser Machine Co., its attachment line is most in demand now, says Danuser.
“We offer earth augers, wobble augers, pallet forks, post drivers, concrete breakers, and concrete mixing buckets,” he says. “It seems everything is all over the board and all over the world. We have sold several post drivers going to the Texas oil fields, concrete breakers going to the Midwest to wobble augers going overseas.”
This year, Werk-Brau is introducing a newly designed progressive link thumb it calls Pro Link Thumb. It’s a much easier to install type of thumb,” notes Tim Andrews, regional sales manager.
“There is a mounting bracket that mounts to the excavator stick or the arm,” he adds. “Prior to that, it was all working off of the main bucket pins. This allows a much easier application. All you have to do is weld this plate onto the stick in the appropriate spot where we give you instructions and pin it on, and then you’re up and running.”
Additionally, the thumb offers 20 to 25 degrees of additional rotation for opening, offering more capabilities for picking up larger or more items in one pass, Andrews says.
“You’re saving downtime, labor costs, and installation,” says Andrews.
That’s especially important in today’s economy, he adds.
“Every job opportunity today is being bid by more companies than in the past,” he points out. “Everybody is after every single deal that is potentially out there. What I see as challenging is the delays of a lot of the machine manufacturers in shipping new machines to the dealerships, which is forcing the end user to be less brand loyal.
“If that end user wins a bid or has a job and he doesn’t have the equipment in his possession, he’s got to hurry to be able to find something that he can use on the job.”
The industry has grown faster than people have anticipated, Andrews says. Dealers are stocking less and putting the onus of responsibility on the OEMs and attachment suppliers to supply on demand. Price has become a secondary issue to availability, he adds.
“The Internet is driving more business today, more so than ever,” Andrews adds. “Used equipment is driving the business today. Everyone’s trying to find a way to make it all mesh.”
Andrews notes there are many imported attachments coming into the country.
“That’s not going to go away any time soon,” he says. “I believe that sometimes you lose the quality of the product because they are more mass-produced items and don’t hold up to the conditions of US soils. With our company and several others, everything is hand-built and maintains the quality of the product.”
The Werk-Brau thumb requires little maintenance, Andrews says.
“Every machine operator should inspect his machine attachments on a daily basis just like a truck driver,” he says. “Before you jump into that machine, you need to do your walk-around; you need to inspect things for any premature wear or whatever issue it might be to take care of that problem before it becomes a much bigger problem.”
What’s most requested by end users of John Deere attachments is the Worksite Pro Roller Levels attachment for excavation and finish-grade work. The attachment is available in a 66-inch and 84-inch width. The front and rear cutting edges are designed to increase time efficiencies of difficult site preparation and grading tasks. One or both edges can be used to spread loose material and for quickly cutting and scraping hard-pack material without disturbing the base below.
The front roller offers the operator total control for contouring, grading, excavating, and smoothing flat or significantly sloped terrain. The Roller Levels attachment also pulverizes clumps and clods for a smoother finish in loose soil.
The attachment is designed for minimal maintenance with two greaseable bearings, two replaceable cutting edges, and no hydraulics required.
The Worksite Pro Roller Levels can be paired with most John Deere skid-steers and compact track loaders and are compatible with most competitive models.
The Allied-Gator MT Series Multi-Tool is offered in 11 rotating sizes ranging from 800 to 52,000 pounds to accommodate a variety of machines, including skid-steers, compacts as well as large mass excavators (it can be viewed in action at
www.alliedgator.com).
“Users will experience a distinct advantage with patented Allied-Gator MT Quick-Change Shear, Cracker/Crusher and Densifier Jaw Sets,” says Mike Ramun, sales and marketing manager of Allied-Gator. “These Jaw Sets can be switched in the field in as little as 15 minutes, allowing users to easily transition from structural steel processing to concrete reduction, material handling/densifying, and rail breaking.”
Interfacing capabilities are available through the Allied-Gator UCS Technology. The system standardizes tool and machine compatibility, simplifying tool exchange and maximizing the interfacing capabilities of both tool and machine, says Ramun.
UCS Technology is a standard feature on all MT Series Multi-Tool adaptors and is integrated into other Allied-Gator products to afford multi-configuration users the advantage of unlimited tool and machine arrangements.
Ramun says contractors can get the most from their attachments by purchasing attachments that maximize their machine’s work tasking capacities.
“Allied-Gator Quick-Change Jaw Sets for the MT Series Multi-Tool enable a contractor or recycler’s single excavator to perform recycling of structural steel, scrap cable, and many special applications with the MT Shear Jaw Set,” says Ramun. “Processing of heavy, reinforced concrete, cast and rail materials is enabled with the MT Cracker/Crusher Jaw Set and densifying of steel sheet metal and other voluminous material can be done with the MT Densifier Jaw Set.
“In addition, Allied-Gator UCS Technology enables users the versatility of utilizing one tool on several machines or the benefits of using several different tools on one machine.”
Quick couplers are in demand in the field “because they allow contractors to use more attachments on their excavators, whether a mini or a 45-metric-ton machine,” notes Doreen Putnam of Woods Equipment Co. “For example, they can quickly switch from a trenching bucket to a ditching and grading bucket without spending hours hammering out pins.”
Contractors do well by choosing the right attachment for the specifications of the job, Putnam notes.
“For example, making the investment in a 12-inch bucket allows them to more efficiently dig a 12-inch trench rather than backfilling after using a 24-inch bucket,” she adds. “We’ve seen workers jack-hammering to break up asphalt when a cold planer skid-steer attachment would get the job done quicker, more effectively, and with greater safety.”
Paladin’s new JRB PowerLatch hydraulic excavator coupler offers many features that make the machines more efficient and safer to operate, says Joe Shoemaker, heavy market manager for the company. Designed by Miller UK, the PowerLatch has dual pin-locking capabilities as well as automatic operation from the cab.
“Contractors are always interested in getting the most from their equipment, especially in a tough economy,” notes Shoemaker. “Adding an automatic quick coupler like the JRB PowerLatch lets machine owners get the most out of their equipment by utilizing all the attachments in their inventory.
“The multipin grabbing attributes of this coupler allow operators to switch between attachments from different OEM machines within the same class or range, creating an ultimate level of machine and work tool utilization.”
The JRB PowerLatch has been designed to add strength while reducing coupler size and weight.
“Reduced coupler weight increases efficiency and fuel economy, which translates into dollars saved and reduced environmental impact,” Shoemaker adds.
Helac Corp. has introduced the Helac Tilt Rotator construction equipment attachment for excavators and backhoes with simultaneous 110-degree tilting action and 360-degree continuous bucket rotation. The Tilt Rotator allows contractors to simultaneously multitask without moving their machines, says Robert Kemp, attachment business unit manager.
The attachment uses the same helical sliding spline PowerTilt technology for the tilt function and now offers increased holding torque. Kemp adds.
The tilting and rotating assemblies have hardened corrosion- and wear-resistant bearings, seals, and sliding surfaces. The narrow design features a fully enclosed tilting assembly and fully-enclosed rotating assembly with no external cylinders.
The Helac Tilt Rotator design’s tilting capacity is designed to boost the versatility and productivity of a machine, says Kemp, adding that it offers unlimited continuous rotation as well as 55-degree side-to-side tilt.
Its flexible mounting attaches to the coupler of choice to the gearbox. The Helac Tilt Rotator utilizes existing auxiliary circuits to simplify the installation and provide reliable performance, Kemp says.
“The oil distributor integrated plumbing results in trouble-free hydraulic connections to your hydraulic coupler and high-flow double attachment such as a grapple, jaw bucket, or every high-flow shear or plate tamp,” he adds.
The Helac PowerTilt can increase the productivity, profitability, and versatility of a backhoe or excavator by tilting the attachment instead of moving an entire machine, Kemp points out, adding that as such, productivity is increased by 50%. Any bucket or attachment can be tilted up to 180 degrees.
Contractors have used PowerTilt for cleaning ditches, clearing land, digging beveled trenches, spreading rip-rap, and positioning brush cutters, mowers and hydraulic hammers, he adds.
Kemp says that the use of PowerTilt reduces the number of machines required on a given job site.
The biggest request of contractors is PowerTilts with hydraulic couplers, Kemp says.
“We are asked why we do not incorporate the hydraulic pin-grab coupler option with this attachment,” Kemp says. “Helac is in the developmental stage of designing a hydraulic coupler option that is integrated with the PowerTilt. The new Helac hydraulic coupler will offer the ability to quickly release and secure attachments from inside the cab. The new PowerTilt hydraulic coupler offers a more compact design which increases holding force.”
Trimble’s Grade Control System for excavators includes the GCSFlex, designed for small- to mid-size contractors involved in earthmoving. The system has several sensor options enabling the contractor to use the system for a variety of job-site tasks. Contractors can start with the low-cost system, adding additional sensors for increased system capabilities as needed.
The system includes body and boom sensors, a laser catcher to provide information on the angle and position of the stick, which can be used with a grade laser for elevation information, a bucket sensor, and an in-cab control box.
Installation can be completed within a few hours by the contractors and is a nonpermanent installation which can be done on rental machines. Job tasks that can be accomplished with GCSFlex include trenching for underground utilities, digging footers and basements, building roads, and site prep on residential, commercial, and industrial job sites. The system uses the same components as the Trimble GCS900 3D Grade Control Systems.
Trimble also offers the CCSFlex Compaction Control System. The MS972 GPS positioning sensor offers submeter accurate positioning of the compactor. Position information is used to display a pass count coverage in real time.
The box provides guidance based on pass count and compaction by ‘painting’ a real-time map showing on a color scale the number of passes over each spot.
The addition of the CM310 Compaction Sensor enables detection of subsurface inconsistencies, soft spots, and hidden obstructions, enabling the operator to excavate, regrade and compact the spot before proceeding. A mobile printer also can be added to the system.
