The future of paving is machine control, according to Kevin Garcia, Trimble’s general manager for civil specialty solutions. The company is now offering automated steering with the latest generation Vögele pavers and now the new SD paver from Dynapac. Garcia said that auto steering for another paver manufacturer is in beta testing at the moment.
The new paver technology follows on from the firm’s development of autosteering solutions for compaction rollers. The paver system is more sophisticated and Garcia explained: “The system handles the screed height, elevation, extension and the machine’s steering. There will be more opportunities for automated pavers in the future.”
Garcia said that using machine controls to take over the steering function for a paver can help boost quality while reducing the workload for the operator. This technology leaves the operator free to focus on the asphalt itself, starting with the truck scheduling, the flow from the hopper, folding in the hopper wings as required and the feed across the screed to ensure it is both continuous and even. The operator can make sure that the paving rate is optimised so that the compactors can keep up. He said: “…so as not to pave too fast.”
Garcia said: “Steering a paver is incredibly hard. Taking away this task from the operator is good,” adding that even a slight steering variation can make a substantial change to what is happening at the screed, meaning that the screed operator may have to adjust the width very quickly to maintain a constant edge. This becomes more complex still when the machine is paving a corner, with the operator also having to ensure that the material flow is even and continuous so that the outside of the screed receives more asphalt to account for the greater distance.
“There’s a reason they want the steering control on automatic,” he explained. This means that the operator can pay much closer attention to material flow through the screed which has a significant benefit for mat quality.
