The glass is there to block all the noise. If you've been around the machines while operating you know how loud they are. Behind that glass and in that room you barely hear the machines run.
When I was growing up I had a neighbor who worked for Caterpiller ( George Montoya ). He said they had fitted a d-9 with a remote control in 1965. The D-9 was used to move molten hot slag at the old Kieser steel Plant in Ontario,Ca. He showed me a picture of it in action and it was clear why they needed to control it remotely. The tracks were glowing orange from the heat.
they could quite possibly do stuff like load trucks automatically in the near future but theres not a hope in hell of a machine being able to do the really intricate stuff for a few generations.
Scott Kaser yup babies get the 1:50 scale rc dozers and we men get the big 1:1 dozer but i whold prefer to sit in it it makes you feel so mutch manlier xD
Scott Kaser yup babies get the 1:50 scale rc dozers and we men get the big 1:1 dozer but i whold prefer to sit in it it makes you feel so mutch manlier xD
Back in the day we took the first D-10-s still in the testing program by Caterpillar in San Diego: It's been some years: 79 80" don't just know when now; The general closed his doors; McCoys bought it; we ran it for a few more years: it was a dirt pushing monster, Nothing like these cats today: we also brought in the first D-11 to our region : That turned out to be a disaster once it had been assembled" although it checked out good to go on the oil sample's before it shipped" so said the engine had been out; the dealer did a R&R: Once I had it all back together" changed out the filters: did it all: primed everything up neat & clean as could be" The cat skinner an old time climbs in: The super; the owner & who all else near by" We are all are awestruck when it begins to rumble a way' It was awesome to see & hear" : I mean awestruck with it's mass" & sound" >>>>> BUT Vary short lived" that with in just a few short seconds turned in to panic;' One of the new engine oil filters blew out" sending oil all over the place; & of course I heard all kinds of you know what" put two more on same thing; next time just the one" blew out in a heart beat: dropped the pan: It had wound one rod around the crank an other one jammed up like a rubber hose: The crank was all eat up, galled all to heck: If not for the filters blowing out: that engine would had completely eating it self up blowing a hole out the side of the block: The power still with in the remaining cylinders: didn't miss the others not even: Turned out after close study on the equipment log some one had done a little fudging: They bough that one" back charged" we got it back good as knew: Ran right from there on after: Never missed a lick after that: The D-10 lived a short life' it went to the chop shop: Now that did up set me some when I heard about It" So much so I actually put up a fuse over hearing what was in store for it" I think mostly knowing it's History" I even had the engine while at the dealer when it was with the first general" The cat it was well used; It was a beast of a cat: D-10 unlike how they are today" I spent my years keeping the 666's in the dirt: nearly had all the known 666 on one job in CA one time: Don't know if we had the six or 9 666 Groves had" Then we found some chopped up ones' & a few that still had the old electric retarder brake get up in a couple: Stretch Can's from those coal hauling places" Those were the days: we moved dirt: Lots of it: I loved it all: for yuks there were a couple of the old Model 641 -A-s Some one scrounged a 769 up some place" we put some paint on it: never did find much for it do it was so small: just sat: SJ Groves was an other high roller for years: It was rock & roll, dam the expense go for it: Pretty tight with cat back then: It was fun while it lasted" Now there are a whole new bunch that will get all eat up with the hogs: watch your back side people: Beware of bigger barns: there isn't no net once one falls from the ranks: any one from cat gets a load of this" I doubt there is any one there who would be in the know: back in the day I ran a D-7-E in the first of the Roman Plows to hit Vietnam that old wish bone A farm was a life save on numerous occasions:
Wow. amazing machine. Its nice that Cat actually made the RC setup to protect the operator of the machine, still get the job done, but no life's lost, nice. But scary how advanced machines are becoming, even though RC is extremely old school.
I can always get a wifi GoPro or Ian Air Camera and iPhone. It will be sweet. By the way, Komatsu has an app so the doxer will move the dirty all by itself. Just load app, pree Auto and enjoy that cuppa.
it gets out of range of the remote signal it can have a shut-off switch allowing the dozer to stop in case of lost signal to the controller but fascinating all together next will be big rigs hauling our everyday needs with long distance signal and a video cam so they can drive the trucks from home without lifting a finger
Now that cat has developed this I bet any money a hollywood producer will put the remote controlle theme into a movie and have it crush a house or something...lol
The remote is nice, but an operator in there has more feel as to what the machine with do in situations so the machines get less wear because the operator knows better how to operate the machine because in the cat he sees what happens, and also feels how rough it is
An operator in a machine is always preferable everything else being equal. But when the machine is in a dangerous area, either from physical hazards or environmental issues, this is a great option to have.
Liked the comment. That glass wouldn't be able to help them much. You noticed how uncertain the crowd became when they learned that there wasn't a person in that thing, yet it was moving around.
A leach pad. Leach pads are typically seen around gold & silver mines. They are used to extract precious metals and other minerals from various ores. Usually contain a lot of acid. Read more here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heap_leaching
Remote controlled huh!!! Well there goes some operators job. The biggest Cat I've ever had the pleasure of operating was a fairly new D7 high track and there's nothing like being at the controls yourself. This just plain sux for the operators.
+Abigsoxfan oh man where's the fun in that? No more being an extension of the machine. No more pucker factor when you have to load'em up on a lowboy. Lol!! I see your point now my friend. Thanks for the reply.
Any engineer worth his salt puts in fail-safes for such a situation. Wouldn't take much on a continuous tread vehicle for the treads and hydraulics to simply stop moving as if the operator let go of the controls. Cars at highway speeds are another matter. I'm certain that trains require the operator to touch the controls within a certain time or else the train automatically cuts throttle and applies brakes. What's tricky would be automation i.e. self driving robots without human supervision.
Somebody has to operate the machinery, either in the cab or remotely. THe job doesn't go away. Just helps keep the operator in a safer place when working in a dangerous atmosphere.
dude almost rolled it LOL would have been more impressive if he made a nice long push building up a big pile of dirt. Really cool having a remote but I suspect seat of your pants driving is a lot better.
we use remote control dozers in situations where it just is not worth the risk to send an operator out there, a couple months ago syncrude had a couple remote dozers break through the ice they were working on, had there been an operator in the cab he would have died
Haha yeh just kidding man. Here in Aussie they're called bulldozers and a tractor is only one of those smaller things with wheels :) Do you use 'bulldozer' at all over there?
"A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds" That's what Wikipedia says, learn something new everyday eh
I myself feel I can do a better job sitting in the seat feeling the dig.and surely make a straighter line staring down the hood rather than off to one side and furthermore some of the work leaves little room to stand anywhere around the machine..better off in the seat
and then the machine became self aware and nothing ..not even the half inch glass of the veiwing room could save the spectators from killer dozer 2012.
