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Control Advances

“The biggest change has been toward electrohydraulic or electronic controls for steering and transmission, as well as implement control,” says Ronald Schultz, commercial manager, Caterpillar. “The electrohydraulic/electronic controls currently use smaller movements and less force.

Through on--line interactive adjustment, they can provide varying response rates to meet the needs of different applications or operators.”

While the ability to tailor the “feel” of controls to the individual operator is a relatively simple task on Caterpillar dozers, the company is about to release another leap forward. Lynch claims the dozers will soon be equipped with a small 4x5 screen. “You will have the specific settings on that screen by operator name. You just call up a name, hit a button and the machine will set itself to those preferences,” he explains.

Another emerging technology is the onboard diagnostic panel. “From the smallest Komatsu dozer to the largest, all will feature onboard diagnostics,” says Ed Warner, product manager -- dozers, Komatsu. “No longer does the technician have to come out with a set of gauges or a laptop computer. It’s all done through the onboard diagnostic panel.”

Other benefits to the onboard monitor are the ability to accurately track forward and reverse travel distance for track maintenance and as a supervisor tool, as well as the ability to track and schedule preventive maintenance, such as oil changes.