Caterpillar has replaced the Bitelli SF200RS with the PM-200. The 68,000-pound half-lane milling machine features a 575-horsepower engine, dual operator stations, front folding conveyor with hydraulic control, load control, improved traction, four-mode steering, and optional automatic slope and grade control.

Sporting many of the same features, the new PM-201 replaces the Cat PM-565B half-lane planer. The new unit brings 650 horsepower and an operating weight of 85,000 pounds to the jobsite.

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Shorter loader

New Holland has unveiled a new front-end loader for its TV145 Bidirectional tractor. The 82LB is shorter in length than other models, providing greater maneuverability.

Its shorter length also puts the bucket pivot point closer to the tractor, increases lift capacity, and boosts breakout force to 13,440 pounds. The TV145 can be operated cab-end or engine-end first.

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Advanced wheeled excavator

The second model in Volvo’s new generation of wheeled excavators debuted in April. The 17.5-ton, 138-horsepower EW160B has more than 25,000 pounds of breakout force, Volvo’s hydraulic quick-fit attachment system, and an advanced hydraulic system that enhances maneuverability and provides a one-touch power boost for digging and lifting. Its three-speed Power Shift transmission has a top speed of 21.7 miles per hour, but can operate in creep mode at speeds below 2.4 miles per hour; it also allows shift-on-the-move, and it features an automatic downhill speed retardation system for safety when the machine is being operated at full throttle on downhill grades.

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Three new screeds

Voegele America rolled out three new asphalt paving screeds last spring. The electrically heated HR500E is a rear-mounted-extension screed that has a high-strength box-frame design with multiple horizontally positioned guide tubes for zero flexing, even at the widest paving width. An exclusive pre-strike-off positioned in front of the extension screed provides a consistent rolling head of material, while the rigid sloping base design allows each end of the extension screed base to slope independently for maximum alignment with the main screed.

The HF400E incorporates the same box frame design and uses two 4-inch guide tubes in the frame carrier to maintain angle of attack and vertical adjust positions.

The AB600TP2 is a high-density screed for the 2219T tractor. It uses one tamper bar and two pressure bars to pre-compact asphalt right out of the screed, achieving densities up to 92% in some applications.

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Advanced compaction

Ammann has unveiled ACEplus, an advanced analysis and documentation system for its asphalt rollers that combines the company’s ACE measurement and control system with continuous compaction control. Using satellite navigation to monitor the roller’s position, ACEplus provides a compaction data record that is accurate to within a few centimeters and can be presented visually to document work done on a job.

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Big excavator, short swing

Cat has introduced a 78,000-pound excavator with a compact swing radius for applications requiring high productivity in tight areas like roadsides. The 325C LCR has a tail-swing radius of 6 feet, 3 inches, nearly 4 feet less than the standard 325C L at 10 feet.

The new machine uses the platform of a larger excavator, the 330C L, for stability and ballast; it weighs about 24% more than the standard 325C L and has the same engine and front linkage options.

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10-ton soil compactor

Hamm has extended its line of soil compactors with the introduction of the 10-ton Model 3410.

The 84-inch, 131-horsepower machine has a top speed of 7.5 miles per hour and can develop up to 50,625 pounds of centrifugal force.

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Stabilization spreader

Stoltz, a division of Stoltzfus Spreader, has developed a new line of spreaders for the soil stabilization industry. Modified from designs for agricultural lime spreaders, the new Site Spreader allows precise application of large volumes of cementatious materials at construction and road building sites. Stoltz says the spreader applies the material without dust and can be filled as fast as the tanker truck can unload.

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Advanced management

Trimble says its Site Positioning System provides contractors with the tools for tracking, reporting, validating, and controlling workflow from the receipt of initial designs to the completion of as-built measurements on a jobsite. The system includes a new total station, two GPS receivers, and construction-specific software. It provides on-site surface modeling, volume computations, rapid site measurement from vehicles and trucks, real time stakeout with cut-and-fill checks anywhere on the site, and the ability to validate, check, and distribute data to machines on the jobsite.

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Expanding line

Champion Motor Graders, reborn when Gary and Brian Abernathy acquired the compact motor grader models from Volvo Construction Equipment last year, is in full production in Charlotte, North Carolina. Here, an all-wheel-drive C86 B is equipped with a broom to provide maximum versatility on a jobsite.

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Utility-size rollers

Cat has added two more models to its line of utility-size asphalt rollers.

The CB-113 is a 35-inch tandem that weighs 3,310 pounds and has rear-drum vibration, and the CB-114 is a 31-inch version of the same machine, with vibration available on the front drum only or on both.

The CB-114 can also be ordered in a 3,500-pound “Heavy Weight” version.

Third oscillating roller

Hamm has introduced the third model in its line of oscillating compactors, the 8-ton, 59-inch-wide HD 070V. The double-drum machine has an offset working width of 62.5 inches. It generates a side-to-side oscillation frequency  of 1,880 to 2,160 vpm in the rear drum, and a conventional up-and-down vibration frequency of 2,520 to 3,000 vpm in the front drum.

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Track-loaders debut

John Deere has launched its first line of compact track loaders with the introduction of the CT 322 and CT 332, claiming the new line has better stability, visibility, flotation, and tractive effort than competing models. The 62-horsepower, 8305-pound CT 322 has a tipping load rating of 6,400 pounds and bucket breakout forces of up to 6,050 pounds.

The 76-horsepower, 10,825-pound CT 332 has a tipping load rating of 9,200 pounds and bucket breakout forces up to 11,600 pounds. Both use a patented undercarriage design that allows the front idler and front roller to move in tandem for a smoother ride.

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Quick-change cutters

Wirtgen’s new FCS L cutter system for the company’s W 1900 and W 2000 cold planers allows owners to quick-change from a standard-tooth drum to a same-width, fine-textured drum without purchasing the entire Flexible Cutter System option. The FCS L is compatible with existing systems, so all previously supplied FCS 2,000 mm fine-milling drums can be installed with the system.

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Rotating, sliding cab

Ingersoll-Rand has unveiled an enclosed compactor cab that rotates 180 degrees and slides side to side across the chassis to extend up to 15 inches beyond the left or right side of the machine.

The company says the new tandem-roller option gives operators views of the drum edge that they have never had before without having to lean over the side of the machine.

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Reprinted from Better Roads Magazine
June 2005

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