Komatsu America Corp.’s D51EXi/PXi-22, the latest Komatsu intelligent machine control dozer for the North American market, has fully automatic blade control capabilities and performs both automated rough dozing and finish grading.
“The D51i-22 brings the same intelligent machine control technology to another key class size, which has made the Komatsu D61i-23 such a success,” said Peter Robson, director of intelligent machine controls. “The simplicity of operation, efficiency improvement and greater value are hallmarks of the quality that customers expect from Komatsu.”
Longer track-on ground standard (EX) and low ground pressure (PX) models are available to offer customers flotation and weight distribution options that best match their applications. Operating weights range from 27,381 to 29,057 lbs. (12,420 to 13,180 kg) depending on the configuration with a net 130 hp (96.9 kW) at 2,200 rpm.
Fully Automatic Blade Control for Rough and Fine Dozing
Due to its fully automatic blade control, the D51i-22 can perform rough dozing as well as high-precision finish grading in automatic mode. When rough dozing, the automatic blade control monitors blade load and adjusts blade elevation to minimize track slip and perform high-efficiency dozing. As work progresses closer to the target finish grade, the automatic blade control adjusts accordingly to provide finish grade performance with high-level precision. Improvement in combination rough dozing efficiency is up to 9 percent higher compared to add-on machine control systems, according to the manufacturer.
Standard Factory Installed Integrated Machine Control System
Instead of the typical add-on machine control system components mounted on the blade, that has been replaced on the D51EXi/PXi-22 with factory installed cab top GNSS (global navigation satellite system) antenna, enhanced inertial measurement unit (IMU+) and stroke sensing hydraulic cylinders. The accurate and robust integrated sensor package eliminates the daily hassle of installing/removing GNSS antenna(s) and cable(s) from the blade, plus the wear associated with it. These components along with the machine control monitor and controllers mounted inside of the cab are installed at the Komatsu manufacturing facility during machine assembly.
Enhanced for Optimized Performance
Inside the cab, customer selectable dozing modes allow system response to be tailored to the current machine operation for optimized performance. Similarly, blade load settings are adjustable between pre-sets to match actual material conditions. Pass to pass, the intelligent machine control system can be left with the automatic blade control engaged because of its ability to precisely automate the lowering of the blade at the start of a pass and raise it at the end of a pass.
When the machine travels around the job site, the cab top GNSS antenna collects accurate surface data by measuring actual elevations. The stroke sensing angle cylinder measures the actual angle of the blade for high precision grading accuracy on cross-slope, blade angled or not.
KOMTRAX
The D51i-22 crawler dozer is equipped with the latest KOMTRAX technology and sends machine operating information to a secure Web site utilizing wireless technology. Hour meter, location, cautions, load ratio, fuel consumption and maintenance alerts — to name a few of its features — are relayed to the web application for analysis. The KOMTRAX fleet monitoring system increases machine availability, reduces the risk of machine theft (compared to machines not KOMTRAX-equipped), allows for remote diagnosis by the distributor, and provides a wealth of other information to drive business efficiency and productivity.
The D51i-22 also features the integration of Komatsu’s KOMTRAX and TOPCON’s construction management system. In the near future, this integrated system will enable high-efficiency, unified management of construction work through access to real-time machine data, via its web service, to track work progress including the amount of soil dozed at job sites.
For more information, visit www.komatsuamerica.com.
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