AT BAUMA this year, Joseph Vogele intends to present a total of 11 “world firsts” in the field of pavers and extending screeds to the trade public.

The German company will launch a completely new category of pavers – the dash 3 generation – which is expected to herald a new era in road construction. These innovative, eco-friendly and economical pavers are based on cost-efficient cutting-edge technology.

“The machine concept of the dash 3 generation focuses entirely on lower consumption, lower emissions and lower costs,” says a company spokesman.

The EcoPlus low-emissions package combines a number of measures that reduce fuel consumption and noise of dash 3 pavers. These include:

• Splitter gearbox: When the paver is stationary, for example while waiting, all hydraulic pumps for traction, conveyors and augers as well as compacting systems are automatically disengaged after about one minute. Fuel consumption is reduced considerably by this new function. Reducing drag also makes it significantly easier to start the paver at low temperatures.

• Energy-optimised tamper drive: The tamper is driven by a variable displacement pump, which always delivers exactly the amount of oil needed for the current tamper speed – which saves fuel.

• Variable-speed fan: The speed of the fan automatically adjusts in line with engine load and ambient temperature, as well as the temperature of the oil and cooling water. The fan is driven via a viscous coupling in accordance with temperature and engine load. In contrast to a hydraulic drive, this new type of fan drive stands out through its considerably greater energy efficiency. It is also very much quieter.

The VR 600 extending screed.

• Controlled hydraulic oil temperature circuit: A bypass circuit allows the hydraulic oil to reach its optimum operating temperature very quickly. This in turn permits rapid, fuel-saving operation of the paver. If the oil temperature rises above the optimum level of 50 to 70 deg C, a bypass diverts the oil through the cooler assembly.

To ensure constant supply of mix – which is essential to produce a high-quality pavement – Vogele developed the PaveDock Assistant for its dash 3 generation of pavers. This efficient system greatly facilitates communication between the paver operator and the driver of the feed vehicle, and it ensures that the mix is supplied to the paver safely and without jolts. In this way, PaveDock substantially improves process reliability during transfer of the material.

Signal lights on the paver’s hardtop and the associated controls on the paver operator’s ErgoPlus 3 console are key components of the PaveDock communication system. With these lights, the paver operator can give the driver of the feed vehicle clear signals, indicating what needs to be done (such as reverse, stop, dump mix, etc).

In addition, Vogele also offers the innovative sprung PaveDock push-rollers as an optional extra. This particularly robust system efficiently absorbs impacts when the feed vehicle docks onto the paver. In combination, these two systems ensure maximum process reliability when transferring the mix. A sensor installed in the sprung PaveDock push-rollers sends a signal to the PaveDock Assistant whenever a feed vehicle has docked onto the paver. The signal lights automatically display a stop symbol and the driver of the feed vehicle can react immediately. In this way, the combination of PaveDock Assistant and the new PaveDock push-rollers ensures a smooth transfer of material.

The AB 500 extending screed ... new and improved.

The user-friendly ErgoPlus operating system, which has already proved its value on job sites, has been enhanced with useful supplementary features for the new dash 3 generation. The redesigned four-colour display, for example, has a high-contrast user interface ensuring brilliant readability even in poor lighting conditions.

The graphic user interface and all symbols comply with all the latest requirements in respect of product design. What’s more, the driver’s seat and the paver operator’s console on the operator platform, as well as the screed consoles can now be adjusted even more easily to the operator’s needs.

Furthermore, with the new AutoSet function, the paver is quickly and safely prepared to move to another location on the job site. Screed, augers, hydraulic hopper front, conveyors and the deflectors in front of the crawler tracks are moved into transport position simply by pressing the ‘execute’ button. When the paver has relocated, everything is restored to the previously saved working position by pressing the button again.

Every dash 3 paver is driven by a modern, powerful, and totally reliable diesel engine, which ensures that the pavers apply their laydown rate to the road at exactly the defined pave speed. Since different emissions control standards apply around the world, the dash 3 pavers are also available as a dash 3i version – where the suffix “i” stands for “intelligent emission control”.

Screeds

Together with the tractor units, Vogele have also improved its screed technology and developed new AB 500 and AB 600 extending screeds, which are said to be ideal for all manner of jobs requiring variability and adaptability. With their infinitely variable single-tube telescoping system, the screeds cover an almost limitless range of job applications with pave widths from 2 m to 9.5 m.