On the contract for new construction of the L546 highroad by-passing the village of St. Leon-Rot, Germany, NAVITRONIC® Plus, the new VÖGELE system for 3D machine control, stood the test summa cum laude. Though the job included tight bends and several changes in transverse profile, the SUPER 1900-2 on the scene there worked fully automatically. All that remained to be done by the paving team was monitor the laying work’s progress and co-ordinate the feed of the paver with mix. The 1.2km section of the new roadway with several tight bends serves to by-pass the village of St. Leon-Rot near Heidelberg, Germany, thus relieving it of heavy traffic.

Digital design data instead of tensioning reference wire

The design data was already available in digital form. The VÖGELE system for 3D machine control could import this data. As a result, there was no need to carry out time consuming surveying and preparation of the job site as would be necessary for grade and slope control with tensioned wires. To the open interface of the VÖGELE unit for 3D machine control, the paving team had connected a mmGPS positioning system made by TopCon, which combines satellite-based and laser-based measurements. For determining the machine’s position, the TopCon unit uses a receiver able to lock on to signals of both the American GPS satellites and the Russian GLONASS satellites. This ensures that a sufficient number of satellites are in view at all times. As, however, satellite-based systems still cannot achieve more than an accuracy within the centimetre range, the TopCon mmGPS unit uses an additional laser receiver to obtain extra information for the elevation. Based on this combination of satellite-based and laser-based measurements, the machine’s location can be calculated with the high millimetre accuracy demanded for road construction contracts. Information from both sources is processed by the TopCon positioning system and a comparison made with the route’s specified design data. The results are transmitted from the TopCon system’s computer to VÖGELE NAVITRONIC® Plus.

Fully automatic control of the screed’s position and the paver’s direction of motion

At this point, the VÖGELE NAVITRONIC® Plus system takes over the control of the machine. In the event of deviations from specified data in terms of grade or slope, signals are emitted to NIVELTRONIC® Plus and corrections initiated automatically. Minor deviations in terms of screed position are corrected by way of the screed’s extending units. In the event of major deviations or the turning of radii, NAVITRONIC® Plus intervenes in the paver’s steering, thus locating both tractor and screed in compliance with the specified course of the route. It is fully automatic control of both the screed’s position and the paver’s direction of motion that makes VÖGELE NAVITRONIC® Plus unique in the market.

With the SUPER 1900-2, the bypass between 7.6m and 7.8m wide could be paved in full-road width. Due to the large width, a receiver was fitted to each of the screed’s arms to pick up the position as well as grade and slope. A special challenge on this job were the tight bends and the varying crossfall with slope angles up to 8%. Nevertheless, despite all these difficulties, the paver proceeded on its way as if guided by a magic hand.

The paver operator could fully focus on supervising the process of paving and feed of the paver with mix. There was not a single situation that might have required his manual intervention into the paver’s automatic steering. Not just the paver operator, the screwmen, too, had a pretty easy job. Their task merely was keeping a close watch on the paving result, as grade and slope as well as pave width were controlled fully automatically by the 3D system.

Press and product information:

JOSEPH VÖGELE AG

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