External Lightbars

Lightbars provide you with guidance information. Properly installed external lightbars enable you to view guidance information, the attachment, and the surface you are working, at the same time.

TIP – Lightbars provide guidance to designs or alignments, they do not provide guidance to a point.

The Lightbars screen

Use the Lightbars screen to select the guidance that you want. You can access the Lightbars screen from the System Settings menu.

The screen shows the current lightbar configuration.

It also contains a drop-down list of Modes that you can work in. The options include:

  • Standard Excavator
  • Slope Form Bucket
  • Left Right Cut/Fill

Next are the options for the left, center and right lightbars. Use the toggle to turn the lightbars on and off.

The left lightbar provides attachment tip cut/fill guidance. You can choose the type of cut/fill guidance from the drop-down list:

  • Attachment Focus: The lightbar provides guidance to the attachment focus.
  • Dynamic: The lightbar provides guidance to the attachment tip that you need to either lower the least or raise the most to place it onto grade:
    • The attachment tip with the smallest cut value, when both attachment tips are above the temporary working surface.
    • The attachment tip with the largest fill value, when both attachment tips are below the temporary working surface.
    • The fill attachment tip, when one attachment tip is below and one attachment tip is above the temporary working surface.

The center lightbar provides offline left/right guidance.

The right lightbar provides offline in/out guidance.

To adjust the brightness of the lightbars, use the slider at the bottom of the screen.

External lightbar behavior

You can install up to three lightbars on an excavator. The lightbars behave differently depending on the options you choose in the Lightbar screen, and the mode you are working in.

The following tables describe what the lightbars display for each mode and the various configurations.

Depth and Slope mode - Standard excavator

Left lightbar

Cut/fill guidance to the attachment tip:

Green – On grade

Right lightbar

The position of the laser plane is above/below the center of the laser catcher window:

  • Green – The laser plane is in the center of the laser catcher window.
  • Amber – The laser plane is not in the center of the laser catcher window.

NOTE – Use this lightbar if your system includes a laser catcher and GNSS receivers are not enabled.

Depth and Slope mode - Slope form bucket

Left lightbar

Cut/fill guidance to the attachment tip:

Green – On grade

Amber – Not on grade
Right lightbar

Cut/fill guidance to the back of the attachment:

Green – On grade

Amber – Not on grade

Design mode - Standard excavator

Left lightbar

Attachment tip cut/fill guidance:

Green – On grade

Amber – Not on grade
Center lightbar

Left/right guidance to a selected line.

This lightbar is active when the machine is within 45° of parallel to the selected line.

  • Green – the attachment focus point is on the line
  • Amber – the focus point is not on the line. Also, the amber color indicates which way you need to slew the machine to get to the line.
Right lightbar

In/out (retract/extend) guidance to a selected line.

This lightbar is active when the machine is within 45° of square to the selected line.

  • Green – the attachment is on line
  • Amber– move the attachment in or out

Design mode - Slope form bucket

Left lightbar

Attachment tip cut/fill guidance:

  • Green – On grade

  • Amber – Not on grade
Center lightbar

Attachment curl guidance to the bottom of the attachment:

  • Amber (left of center) – curl the attachment out (dump) away from the cab
  • Green – the bottom of the attachment is parallel to the design slope
  • Amber (right of center) – curl the attachment in towards the cab
Right lightbar

Cut/fill guidance to the back of the attachment.

  • Green – On grade

  • Amber – Not on grade

Useful text items

  • Cut/Fill Left
  • Cut/Fill Center
  • Cut/Fill Right

NOTE – If the text item value is Cut then the icon in the text item shows a red arrow; if it is Fill it shows a blue arrow; and if it is within the on grade tolerance it shows a green arrow.

System buzzer

When the lightbars are in Cut/Fill Left and Cut/Fill Right, the system buzzer Cut/Fill is determined on the attachment tip that is farthest from design. Both tips need to be within grade tolerance for the buzzer to sound.

When using Slope Form Bucket mode, the system buzzer is determined on the attachment tip that is farthest from design. Both the front and back of the bucket must be within grade tolerance for the buzzer to sound.

Troubleshooting

The lightbars are disabled if there is no guidance available, for example if the elevation is not benched. When the lightbars are disabled, they appear as follows:

  • The location arrow does not appear
  • The lightbars are grayed-out
  • The Cut/Fill or Offline text items do not show any values

If you notice either of the following problems, ask your technician to check the configuration of the external lightbars in the Web Interface:

  • A lightbar pattern is inverted.
  • The lightbars are lit in the wrong order, for example the right lightbar is showing the left side Cut/Fills.