Adaptation of tilt adjustment and tracking force automation system on a laser-controlled land leveling machine

Abstract

This study is about the mechanization and automation works carried out to improve the operational efficiency of the laser-controlled land leveling machines and to design a more precise, ergonomic, economical and reliable system. At first, the existing laser-controlled leveling shovel has been redesigned through a mechanical design thus being adapted to automation. The mechanical structure was driven by the hydraulic system and the hydraulic system was controlled by the PLC. This new design consists of blade tilt adjustment automation system, track automation system, and maximum load protection system. With its new design, the machine can level out harder lands by less number of repetitions and less fuel consumption with a gradient precision of 0.05°. After the design the time saving of 80% and the fuel saving of 85% has been achieved for the surfaces with the same area and approximately 10 L of fuel savings per acre has been performed. The new shovel system has been enabled to carry 1.3 times more soil for the same slope and also, just this modified machine can be used instead of using 3 separate land leveling machines for 3 different operations. Moreover, the requirement for land leveling in both directions has been avoided in leveling out narrow areas, especially on highway buildings.