Machine setup tips

You can set your machine up however you like. But for the passes that matter—like when you're doing the final trim for a road—here are some key tips to achieve grade and avoid rework. These will give you the best results and reduce the number of passes you need to make.

Watch the video

Watch an expert operator set up a machine for the passes that matter.

Step by step

  1. Center the A-frame of the machine and make sure the lift RAMs / hydraulic cylinders are vertical.

    NOTE – This mimics the position the machine was commissioned in, so it will be most accurate like this.

  2. For the passes that matter, make sure the mast is at a 90° angle to the machine. This applies whether you're going uphill or downhill.

    TIP – Imagine there's a line between the center of your wheels. Make sure you keep the mast at a 90° angle to that.

  3. Have your mast / 3D tip as your leading edge.

    NOTE – You can have this as your non-leading edge, but for the passes that matter, this is where the system gets its information. So you don't want it working backwards.

  4. If you adjust the bolt hole, make sure you update this in the Bolt Hole Selection screen:

    1. Tap the work settings icon.

    2. Tap Blade Manager.

    EXAMPLE – Instead of pitching your blade you can change the bolt hole to keep the mast at a 90° angle to the machine.

  5. Zero the articulation of the machine.

  6. Do a system sense check:

    1. Make sure Trimble Earthworks matches two known Cut/Fill points:

      2. EXAMPLE – If you set your blade on finished level, the Cut/Fill points in the middle of the road you're finishing might be 110 mm and 117 mm. You can use these points to see how far below finished design level you are.

    2. Activate Autos on your machine.

    3. Drive your machine to the known Cut/Fill points you've marked on the ground.

    4. Hover your blade above these marks.

      NOTE – The blade will be at finished design level.

    5. Use a tape measure to see whether the distance on either side of the blade matches the true source (the UTS benchmarks you marked out earlier).