The company previewed its new Hitachi Solution Linkage Integrated Grade Control with Topcon at ConExpo 2020. The system, designed so operators can set and hold grade while digging, comes a year after Hitachi released its 2D and 3D guidance systems.
Jonny Spendlove, excavators product marketing manager for Hitachi Construction Machinery – Americas, says that with the machine control technology the operator controls the arm, while the machine automatically controls the boom and the bucket.
The system prevents over-digging and allows the operator to set “virtual fences” around the excavator to prevent the machine from extending beyond boundaries for height, depth, front, swing and reach.
“You can set a perimeter or a boundary where you don’t want your boom to pass or you don’t want your machine to pass,” he explains. “You can do that on the sides. You can also set a virtual ceiling, if you’re working under power lines. You can set a virtual floor so that you don’t dig below a certain point.”
Spendlove sees the 2D guidance as a good entry point for those wanting to reap some of the productivity benefits but are not ready to make the larger investment for machine control. 2D guidance doesn’t require a base station. It continuously checks the grade with a rotating laser to guide the operator, which eliminates the need for a worker in the trench to do the checking. The 3D guidance uses Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) to display the position and elevation of the bucket’s cutting edge.
“Our customers tell us that their productivity on just guidance is going up dramatically,” he says.
