In what it calls an industry exclusive, John Deere has put a six-way Power Angle Tilt blade on its production class 950K dozer. ConExpo attendees got a preview of the 950K/PAT combo, which is expected to be available this fall.
“Our customers were asking for a machine that does both heavy excavating and fine grading work,” says Nathan Hortsman, Deere’s product marketing manager, crawler dozers. “With the addition of the PAT blade, along with the Deere SmartGrade 3D grade control system and a hydrostatic powertrain, we’re able to do just that.” Hortsman adds that while the SmartGrade system enhances the capabilities of the PAT blade, the blade can also be operated in manual mode.
Powered by a Tier 4 Final John Deere 9.0-liter 265-horsepower engine, the 950K uses a hydrostatic powertrain that Deere says will get approximately 15 percent more power to the ground versus a conventional torque-converter powertrain.
In addition, the dual-path hydrostatic transmission lets an operator push a full load through turns without losing material, unlike conventional torque-converter transmission.
The machine is available in both standard and low ground pressure configurations.
