Controls

Hydraulics

Snow Plow

This snow plow and scraper removes snow from road surfaces, and also dispenses salt to melt snow and ice. The truck operates at high road speeds so precise control of the blade and scraper is critical. Because of high salt costs and environmental concerns, dispensing the correct volume of salt is also very important. In its initial configuration, the operator had a difficult time coordinating movements of the blade and salt dispensing while driving the truck due to the limitations of the controls.

The total machine control system from GS Global Resources (GSGR) greatly improved the performance, productivity, and safety of this truck. A fully configurable CAN controller provides the interface between the operator and the machine. The scalable electro-proportional control system uses distributed I/O modules to simplify system installation and troubleshooting. The touch-sensitive joystick gives the operator mode selection capability while achieving precise feel and control of the blade and scraper motions. The controller software is written to provide speed-sensitive configurable control of the salt dispensing equipment. Adding and removing different attachments to the truck is easily accomplished using a configurable application-specific software program.

Snow Plow