From 2D to 3D – a Grader recieves an effective upgrade

by thenkesBlog, Crane & Lifter, Road ConstructionPosted on Comments are Disabled

From 2D to 3D – a Grader recieves an effective upgrade

The end customer GW & BR Crameri Pty Ltd. has been in operation since June 1988. The company operates as an independent company, specializing in earthmoving and bitumen sealing specialist in rural Victoria, Australia.

GW & BR Crameri came to the MCE LASERS DEMO DAYS in 2014

(https://mobacommunity.com/m/events/view/MCE-Demodays-in-Australia) and saw the benefit in the MOBA GS.506 Grader solution. The customer immediately placed an order and used the system since.

In 2018 the company was awarded a rural contract that required GPS technology, as the MOBA GS.506 is fully upgradeable the company added necessary items to the Grader (MOBA 3D matic) and within short time they were working off the surveyor supplied model.

Machine operator Scott Crameri says:

“He can’t believe how accurate the system is, the whole system and workflow is seamless and works great”

Please find detailed info for both systems by clicking the link below.
http://moba-automation.com/machine-applications/motor-graders/

Pakistan PKM—4 section grader GS506 single laser leveling system

by fenkRoad Construction, Success StoryPosted on Comments are Disabled

How would Smart IoT shape our lives in the future?

Pakistan PKM—4 section grader GS506 single laser leveling system

With the promotion of strategy of “One belt one road” Silk Road Economic Belt, infrastructure along the country is also developed, the construction of a highway network as economic ties are also carried out like a raging fire.

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with single step”. The “base”, as the foundation of a highway, the quality of the base has been paid more and more attention by the highway construction unit and the supervision at all levels. This time, in the construction of Karachi Expressway in Peshawar, Pakistan, the seven branch of China Hydropower overseas branch broke the Convention, and introduced the automatic MOBA GS506 single laser leveling system, which abandoned the previous manual operation of grader.

The longitudinal and lateral gradient of the construction section are input into the laser emission source, and the position of the laser receiver is adjusted well. The manipulator will set the lateral gradient of the operation panel to be consistent with laser emission source, and do zero clearing of the laser sensor value on the operation panel. Then, measure the difference between blade and high-rise of design by leveling instrument and input the difference into the operation panel. Then it is up to manipulator to open the automatic switch and keep the grader move forward stablely.

Several large area construction tests were carried out during the service this time. TIME：26th Jan. 2018 PLACE：Pakistan PKM—4 setion 560+500——560+675 width 34M Lateral gradient 2.00% Longitudinal gradient：1.039%

After three hours of work, automatic leveling construction finished. According to the actual measurement of the surveyors, the lateral gradient is 2.10%, the longitudinal gradient is 1.049%, and the construction technology is fully met, and the error is within the millimeter level. The builders have a lot of praise. The constructors speak highly of it.

 

From start to end – the “life” of a product

by mklingenhagenBlog, Road ConstructionPosted on Comments are Disabled

From start to end – the “life” of a product

In the last years, product lifecycle management, the integration of all information during a product’s lifecycle has become more and more important. That opens the question, what exactly is the lifecycle of a product?

The product lifecycle describes the different stages of a product from the market entrance until degeneration.

First one is the market introduction. Typical for this stage is that a company wants to build awareness for its new product. Launching a new product means the company has to spend a lot of money: cost for development, research and marketing are very high. At this stage, the market decides if the product is accepted. Then sales increases. The competition is still low.

The next phase is the growth stage, which might already generate a net profit if sales and profit grow rapidly. Production numbers rise and unit costs decrease. So the profit margins increase. The company yet has high costs as marketing has to be intensified to reach the maximum potential and to gain higher market shares.

The third one, the maturity stage is characterized by a strong product, which is now established in the market. Sales and profit still rise and then reach the maximum. During this stage, competition grows as other, similar products are introduced to the market. The company has to invest in marketing and product improvements to assert itself against competitors. The company tries to hold the market share and has to increase productivity to gain profit, as the price is under pressure because of the competitors.

The product reaches the stage of saturation, which is characterized by falling sales and profits, high competition and relaunches or variations of the product to extend the lifecycle.

From MOBA-Matic-I to the MOBA-matic-II
In the decline stage, the market share shrinks, either due to competing products or due to saturation, which means all potential customers already bought the product. The company can still profit from the product by less-expensive production or by other markets, but sales drop rapidly and at last the product is eliminated.
From MOBA-Matic-I to the MOBA-matic-II

Source: Anand Subramaniam

The lifetime of a product lifecycle varies from product to product and sometimes the stages cannot clearly be differentiated. While some products stay in the market, especially brands in the consumer market, for example food brands, others are eliminated rapidly, for example fashion. Customers and competition as well as other factors like economy, laws, sales strategy and others have great influence on the product lifecycle.

MCA 3000 on Dam Renovation in England

by tklebachBlog, Crane & Lifter, Road ConstructionPosted on Comments are Disabled

MCA 3000 on Dam Renovation in England

Many years after construction, the old dam in Holmfirth, United Kingdom, must be renewed. The old structure was getting weak, and new regulations requested a redesign and the reinforcement of the dam. Approximately 23 new layers, 30 cm thick, of new material, had to be placed and compacted, homogeneous in shortest possible time to max. density. The mix of gravel and loam was placed with a track type dumper and spread with an excavator. To ensure that water does not penetrate the construction, a trench, made of gravel, ensures the proper accumulation of the surface water into a newly designed drainage system.

For the main compaction a BW 213 DH was used.

Technical Data:
Operating Weight: 12 700 kg
Axle load Drum: 7400 kg
Static Linear Load: 34,7 kg/cm
Drum With: 2130 mm
Frequency: 30 / 36 Hz
Amplitude: 2 / 1 mm
Centrifugal Force: 300 / 225 kN

Compaction execution

To achieve the max. compaction and efficiency, the high amplitude with high compaction force were in use. The layers must be compacted with at least two passes in the specified adjustments for the roller. The full width of the dam is compacted in two tracks. The compaction finished at 1m from the dam shoulder to avoid dangerous situations with the roller. Barriers, positioned in the forefront of compaction prevent the operator being close to the soft shoulder.
After compaction is finished, control measurements with a nuclear gauge were taken. One control point on each track, positions are carried out by random sampling.

Imagine, two samples on an area of about 250m²?

To improve the informational value of the measurements with the gauge, the contractor decided using area coverage measurements with MCA 3000. During the compaction process, all movements of the roller and the compaction values have been shown on display and stored on the unit with a time stamp and position for further evaluations.

The values on the left side from the operator’s screen, where the relative values are displayed, the operator sees that the target value (13) is achieved (green) and mostly over the target (red). On the right side of the screen, the compaction progress is shown. Here the operator can see that the compaction progress has stopped (green and magenta). In this case, no further compaction with the current roller is possible.
For further analysis with Compaction Project Manager, the data have been transferred on to a PC

The screenshot below from the PC-analysis shows a very homogeneous compaction result.

  • OCheckpoints defined using the mapped results in the post-processing software on the PC.
The cross-check between the IC values collected with MCA3000 and the results measured with the nuclear gauge allow the setup of the target IC-values for this site. Following this procedure, a significant increase in data reliability is secured. The same amount of manual checks provides a much higher validity of the measurements now.

Findings:

Higher data density for compaction values, measurements were taken where it is most significant, higher security in achieving the required density and reduction of compaction efforts by stopping compaction when target values are reached. Time for compaction reduced, increased productivity and reduced time for completion.

The Project Rail Baltica is more than just a railway in the Baltics!

by fenkRoad Construction, Success StoryPosted on Comments are Disabled

How would Smart IoT shape our lives in the future?

The Project Rail Baltica is more than just a railway in the Baltics!

 

It’s hard to imagine that you travelled faster from Berlin to Riga 100 years ago than today. Back then the railway was a popular transportation road and the luxury train “North Express” would take you to Riga in only 16 hours.  

Today, the same way will take almost three times as much! With a train change in Minsk, Belarus, you will be on the move for a total of 43 hours! An additional burden for Western Europeans is the crossing of the border to Belarus with a time-consuming VISA check and customs regulation. 

The EU quickly realized this disadvantage for EU citizens when the Baltic States became a member of the European Union in 2004. This is the time when the major infrastructure project “Rail Baltica” was born:

Rail Baltica: Road of the Future   This fantastic project will finally connect the western part of Europe with the Baltic States and their airports and ports. It is thus embedded in the Trans-European Transport Corridor (EU TEN-t), which links the major European port cities of Rotterdam, Hamburg and Antwerp, through the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Poland to Helsinki. The network will further be connected to the railway in Russia and Asia, providing new opportunities for international transport.  

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

.

Picture Credit: RB Rail AS; CC BY-SA 4.0

The construction phase is planned to start in 2019. The costs of an estimated 5,58 Mrd € will be covered by the European Union (85%) and the three Baltic States (15%). The reasons why the EU is funding this project are manifold but mostly because everyone in the EU from citizen to companies will profit from this connection.

Who will benefit from this Project:
Travelers:
Shorter and more flexible traveling times
Increased traveling safety
Cost savings
City to City, Center to Center traveling
Check-in times are less complicated compared to using the plane

General public:
Development of new industries and logistic centers and economic corridors
Better connection for business, holidays, cultural activities, studies, shopping, etc
New additional infrastructure like railway station, connection roads, city transportation

Railway companyies for freight and passenger:
Profit

Logistic Companies, Freight shippers:
Advantage for a combination of transportation by rail, road and sea
Duration time of transportation
Reduce noise and pollution
Road safety

Very important for the success of the project is the freight volume. Here, the analysts expect an output of 13.0 to 19.5 million t in 2030. By 2055, 16.0 to 25.2 million t are expected. About 57% of the traffic will be transit traffic.

Insulation of the MRW

by thaBlog, Crane & LifterPosted on Comments are Disabled

Insulation of the MRW
100% testing - because safe is safe

Whether the MRW 1000 Limit, MRW 4-20mA or MRW CAN – all variants also have an insulated version. The insulated versions are always used in instances where live cables or lamps are used. Additional manufacturing steps and special components ensure that no electrical current can damage the load cell. The load cell meets the criteria of the DIN/VDE standard 0682-742 and is suitable for working on live parts up to AC 1000 Volt and DC 1500 Volt. The manufacturing process is largely identical to that of a non-insulated MRW. However, an additional insulation test is carried out after completion of the MRW.
MOBA plays it safe and tests every manufactured MRW 100% for its insulation properties.
For this purpose, the load cell is subjected to an insulation test. In this insulation test, one test pole is connected to the aluminium body of the MRW and the second test pole is connected to the wires of the connecting cable. The MRW is then charged with an increased test voltage of 3.5KV. The test voltage thus corresponds to more than triple the specified value in order to rule out any errors.
The test is passed if the MRW has not passed a voltage breakdown within a defined period of time.
The distinguishing feature of an insulated MRW design is the blue triangular sticker. A non-insulated version of the MRW is shown on the right for comparison.
To be able to carry out the test safely, MOBA uses an in-house developed insulation test stand. The test can only be started when the hood is closed, thus ensuring that no person can touch the load cell during the test. Due to the high voltage, touching the MRW could result in life-threatening injuries.

Thermal Segregation and Leveling

by mklingenhagenBlog, Road Construction, Success StoryPosted on Comments are Disabled

Thermal Segregation and Leveling - Live Trial in Thailand

SDC International, ROADTEC, CCC Intertrade and MOBA AG participated on a road construction event in Surat Thani in the south of Thailand. A total of 140 visitors joint the event which was split into a theoretical introduction of construction solutions in the AM and a practical live pavement demonstration in the PM.
We presented the ROADTEC Shuttle Buggy “SB2500D” and the ROADTEC paver “RP195EX” equipped with MOBA’s PAVE IR system and MOBA’s state of the art leveling system Big Sonic Ski as well as a matching ski on the other side.
The setup was presented to a group of contractors, road authorities and other government bodies concerned with road construction.

Next to Pave IR and MOBA Big Sonic Ski, the paver was equipped with our MOBA material sensor which controls the outflow of material from the screed. Next to leveling equipment MOBA is the leading manufacturer of such material sensors.

How does the Shuttle buggy support the laying of the asphalt with the correct temperature?

The shuttle buggy solves the majority of the problems that arise connected to thermal segregation. The shuttle buggy acts like a mobile mixing plant that ensures that the material is transported through insolated chambers but also keeps moving which ensures homogenous temperature of the material. It also reduces the number of paver stops which subsequently lead to a smooth crossing from truck load to truck load keeping the temperature on a homogenous level. An animated video is showing this process:

PAVE IR supports the operator to not only understand the temperature dynamics of the paver but also monitors the temperature of the in- and out-flowing material. As for the inflow of material, that means that the operator can improve in coordinating the truck loads. A better coordinating of incoming truck loads means less risk of wasting material or jeopardizing temperature. As for the outflowing material – Pave IR supports the conduct of compactors to ensure material has been compacted within the suitable temperature range. Compacting material that is too hot can lead to pushing the asphalt sideways which will result in surface irregularities whereas compacting material that is too cold can lead to cracks within the material. Both issues decrease the quality and the duration of the new pavement of the road.

The PAVE IR results from the live performance are illustrated below:

This pictures shows the differences from using a Shuttle Buggy and not using a Shuttle Buggy. Section 1-2 is paved without ShuttleBuggy. As you can see there are many Paver stops (indicted in green). The blue circle indicate that Material temperature is distributed uneven. As you can see the material differences strongly corelate with the paver stops.

The second picture shows a range of 50 meters paved with shuttle buggy As you can see from the screenshot we were able to reach 99,5 % homogeneity. In terms of temperature distribution this is an excellent result.

Next to the challenge of Thermal segregation which was tackled with Pave IR and the Shuttle Buggy – MOBA displayed their state-of-the-art leveling system: The Big Sonic Ski.

As smoothness is one of the most recent focus in Thai road construction, the Big Sonic Ski is the answer for this request. While automatically operating the screed of the paver, the Big Sonic Ski works without an artificial reference. One can sense straight from the ground. The BSS uses a special algorithm to smoothen out the height differences that it senses from the surface and converts the measurements into a smooth result.

Working with the Big Sonic Ski results in time & costs savings, higher quality and subsequently leads to longer duration of the road.

A very special thanks to SDC International and Roadtec who organized this event.

The Priority of Kazakh Policy is Road Construction​

by thenkesBlog, Crane & Lifter, Road ConstructionPosted on Comments are Disabled
The Priority of Kazakh Policy is Road Construction

Anyone who travels in Kazakhstan needs a SUV in many regions. The government spent a lot of money for the rehabilitation in recent years. But still one third of the roads are worn and have a lot of road holes ore are only made from gravel or mud. Most of the local or regional roads are rough. The national roads are in a better shape and the road network is growing with the current project.

The main road projects of the Strategic Kazakhstan plan “Nurly Zhol” include the new route in the Western European- West China corridor, the Center West corridor, the Center East corridor, and the North -South corridor.

http://kazakhstan2050.com/nurly-zhol/
The overview and the map of all routes, you can find on the web page:
http://www.kazautozhol.kz/index.php/ru/dorogi/rekonstruktsiya
My special thanks to the team that taught me a lot!
From left to right: Me, Julián, the safety technician, Mauricio and Gabriel

Road Corridor Western Europe – West China:

A very big road project from Korgos at the border of China via Almaty, Shymkent, Kyzylorda and Aktobe to Orenburg in Russia has been completed. According to the Ministry of transportation the 2,800km long route is now almost completed and open for traffic on Kazakh territory.
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/video/2013/01/11/video-western-europe-western-china-transit-corridor
Only the 96km long route between Uzynagash and Otar and the 80km long route around Korday will be ready next year in 2019. On the territory of China, the road is already finish since 2011 along a 3,425km long streak.

Road Corridor Center West:

In the center west corridor, you’ll find the route from Astana via Arkalyk, Torgay, Irgis, Shalkar to Kondyagash. There is the connection to the route Aktöbe via Atyran to Astachen in Russia. After the construction of the missing sections, the journey from Astana to Aktobe is now 7 hours faster than before. It is planned to upgrade the route to Category 2 until 2021. The World Bank has approved a loan of just under $ 1 billion for the construction of the routes between Astana and Shalkar on 9 June 2016.

Road Corridor Center East:

In Kazakhstan, there is currently another major project running with an approximately 1,018km long route in the corridor Center East. The existing roads will be upgraded to category 1 and 2 standards by 2020. The traffic of the section between Astana to Pavlodar is more than 10,000 vehicles per day. The longest bridge in Central Asia between Aksu and Pavlodar over the Irtysh was finished after more than three years of construction in December 2016.

Road Corridor North-South:

In this Corridor there are a lot of open road projects. The approximately 1,288 km long route north-south runs from the capital Astana via Karagandy and Balkhash to Almaty. Individual sections are already built. The entire corridor should be completed by 2021 according to government information and correspond to category 1. With a total of 10,000 cars per day, the road is one of Kazakhstan's main transport routes. In perspective, an increase to 15,000 vehicles per day is expected. The EBRD and the World Bank are supporting the extension of the 228 km section from Kurty to Burylbytal. For the route Merke-Burylbaital (266 km, $ 298 million), according to government funding by the Exim Bank of China is provided. The AIIB could also contribute to the expansion. According to their own information, they are considering participating in the four-lane extension of the 660 km stretch from Karagandy to Burylbytal. However, the completion is not announced until the end of 2023.

The first BIG SONIC SKI in Brazil

by tklebachBlog, Crane & Lifter, Road ConstructionPosted on Comments are Disabled

The first BIG SONIC SKI in Brazil

In 2016 the ECOSUL (a road administration company from the south of Brazil) and the SBS ENGENHARIA (a constructor) looked to MOBA to identify some solution for their problem: how to improve the IRI (International Roughness Index), because the SBS ENGENHARIA had executed the paving but the quality was not good enough for the ECOSUL, that have supervised the job.

After some talk was clear that the problem was the paving execution without a levelling system, and the suggestion was to use the BIG SONIC SKI (BSS).

In Brazil is very common the customers don’t believe in technology and sometimes it’s necessary to demonstrate the equipment, and it was made by a test road to prove the efficiency of the system, and of course it was a success!

The IRI has improved by 34% in only one layer (only one pass by the paver machine), and it was an amazing result for the ECOSUL.

After this test the negotiation was made and the SBS ENGENHARIA was the first constructor to buy this system from MOBA do Brasil.

The installation and the operation training were made at the field, and it was very nice to teach and to learn with the operators.

Sometimes we visit this client to see how the system is working.
2016 - BSS working on TEREX VDA 700 paver:

2016 - BSS working on TEREX VDA 700 paver:

2016 - BSS working on TEREX VDA 700 paver:

2017 - The same system on CIBER AF 4000 paver:

2017 - The same system on CIBER AF 4000 paver:

2017 - The same system on CIBER AF 4000 paver:

2018 - BSS comes back to TEREX VDA 700 paver:

2018 - BSS comes back to TEREX VDA 700 paver:

2018 - BSS comes back to TEREX VDA 700 paver:

And it’s working very well! The BIG SONIC SKI is the best choice!

MCA-500 in Brazil

by thaBlog, EarthmovingPosted on Comments are Disabled

MCA-500 in Brazil

Soil compaction is a vital part of the construction process. It is used for support building foundations, roadways, walkways, and other structures.
To ensure adequate soil compaction is achieved, project specifications will indicate the required soil density or degree of compaction that must be achieved. Determination of adequate compaction is done by determining the in-situ density of the soil and comparing it to the maximum density determined by a laboratory test.
The MCA-500 (MOBA Compaction Assistant) was created to help this process, I mean, to improve the quality of compacted surfaces. It helps the roller operator to know in real time the exactly moment when the soil has received the maximum compaction, and the compaction process must stop. The Compaction Assistant allows a more efficient use of the roll, reducing operational costs, helping to achieve ideal results in material compaction.

To prove all these benefits, MOBA do Brasil has done in 2017 and 2018 some demonstrations for clients and potential clients:

The MCA-500 is the easiest solution for compaction control!