Trimble® GradeMax™

What is grade max

Objectives

Objective 1:– To understand how good GradeMax can make

your dozer Objective 2:

– To learn simple, effective tuning methods Objective 3:

– To know of the extra options for difficult situations

What is GradeMax

New software to improve your performance with no extra hardware

How:– Doubled the update rate– Tweaked some settings– Improved some code– Use CAN1 at the nose on Dual GNSS systems

Requires– CB460 or CB450 Control Box– MS992 GNSS Smart Antenna– Latest firmware

What do I get

Smooth surfaces at full speed second gear– Fastest recommended grading speed

Automatic recovery from disturbances– Hit a dip or a rock and the control system will

quickly recover and keep grading smoothly Happy operators

– Less stress and less operator intervention

What do I do to get this?

NOTHING!– If you have the latest GNSS receivers and

control box with the latest firmware Upgrading will turn this feature ON

If you swap to old receivers:– MS990 – get a small part of the improvement

Requires v4.19 MS990 firmware

– MS980 – No improvement Back to MS992 and get the improvements

Dozer Tuning On The Fly

New method of tuning the valve speeds– And more

More user friendly More productive More values to tune Easier to use Dozers only

All other machines & Cat Grade Control dozers get the old Valve Speed dialog

How?

Load you design and offsets as normal

Tune while operating

Best Practice

While tuning: Keep your speed constant Keep your blade load constant Work in the same material

– Same compaction and moisture content Otherwise you don’t know

what caused the change

Inc /Dec Switches

The Increment / Decrement Switch will change the Valve Tuning Parameter

Not the Vertical Offset Unless you highlight that option

And it Auto Repeats

Lift Speed

Same as the old Valve Speed– Nearly

Adjust this first! Controls the speed that the blade reacts to

the correction– Like the accelerator

Lift Speed

Default Values are now 100– Linear scale – changes are all the same size

• Treat as a %

• Adjusts the kPs and kDs equally– Range 0 – 400

Lift SpeedGraphical Picture

Quick Increment

Brief Instructions

Parameter

Quick Decrement

More Instructions

Set Default

Ground Speed

Manual / Auto Status Status Bar

Lift Speed

Change this value first– Often this is enough

For short, choppy waves – decrease the speed

For long rolling waves – increase the speed

Try changing by 5 or 10

You’re Done!

Unless– The surface is still not acceptable– You are confident that you can

You should be able to feel the changes in the seat of your pants

There is always the default button

Tuning While Stopped

Like the old Valve Speed dialog– You can still do this– Place the blade 0.5 m in the air– Create a Level Design– Now you can tune in the air while

stopped

Balance

Adjust Lift Speed first! Controls the balance between raise and

lower– Like adjusting weights either side of a scale

Balance

Tune the Lift Speed first! This is the ratio between raise and lower

commands Only if you

have to

Balance

Increasing Balance makes the blade raise faster– And lower more slowly

Decreasing Balance makes the blade lower faster– And raise more slowly

May need to tweak Lift Speed after Balance– Range 0 – 200

Stability

Adjust Lift Speed first! Stability controls the

speed that the blade stops at when reaching design– Like the brake

Stability

Manager Mode only by default Alters the Derivative Gains (kDs) only

– kDs are the brakes in the control system– Range 0 – 400

Stability

Tune the Lift Speed first! Increase the Stability if the blade

overshoots the design Decrease the Stability if the blade is jerky

when driving to design– Maybe best to tune this in the air, while stopped

Controls tilt speed Usually does not require adjusting

Tilt Speed

Tilt Speed

Increase Tilt Speed to Tilt blade faster– Decrease Tilt Speed to Tilt blade slower

Usually don’t need to alter this…– Range 0 – 400

Vertical Offset

The normal vertical offset The Increment / Decrement switch is used

for adjusting the highlighted value– Not just Vertical Offset– Allows Vertical Offset control without leaving

Valve Tuning dialog

Vertical Offset

So you can change the Vertical Offset without leaving this dialog

To keep your blade load at the optimal level

Tuning Tips

On screen instructions to help operators

Best Practice

Bad practice will cause problems!– Keep your speed constant– Keep your blade load constant– Work in the same material

Same compaction and moisture content

Otherwise you don’t know what caused the change

Tuned Dozers

Some dozers have specifically tuned control values– Selected in the Machine Settings Wizard

Valve Tuning still uses the same defaults

Upgrade Details

On upgrade (or restoring an old MCH file) the Valve Speed will be translated to the corresponding new value

NOTE:Valve Speed used a 0 – 100 logarithmic scale– 50 = default

Valve Tuning uses a 0 – 400 linear scale– 100 = default

Questions

?