France-based iDig is readying a new tool in its attempts to improve excavator guidance at construction, mining and infrastructure sites, with iDig 3D Connect set to launch at the Bauma 2022 show in Munich, Germany.
With the iDig system operators can manage distances, depths and desired slopes through a combination of advanced technologies that use no cables, are powered by radio communication and come with simplified installation and solar charging.
“True to iDig’s signature less-is-more concept, the 3D Connect has just one GPS/GNSS that’s easily removable for use as a rover,” the company said. “This feature marks a major breakthrough in excavator guidance because it enables contractors to easily stake out points and map a site just like surveyors.”
Traditionally, only companies with an in-house surveyor would stand to benefit from 3D guidance because most equipment is sold with one or more permanently installed GNSS receptors. This requires either an expensive, independent GNSS, or working with a surveyor to stake out the points that determine the boundaries of a site.
For this reason, 3D excavator guidance is often only called-upon for large scale infrastructure projects.
The iDig 3D Connect will disrupt all this, expanding the benefits of 3D to more companies, allowing even faster finish times on projects, the company says.
For users new to 3D guidance, the main advantage is that the software works with a GNSS-generated site map, enabling precision digging relative to the area and making the process even quicker, simpler and more eco-friendly than with 2D.
More appealing features will be revealed at the 3D Connect launch in Munich this October, including another that’s unique to the industry, according to iDig CEO, Albert Gamal.
“The software is so easy that even operators new to 3D guidance will be able to understand the workflow,” says Gamal, hinting at what’s to come.
iDig says its 2D Touch system changed the excavator guidance industry, offering time and costs savings for construction businesses of all sizes.
iDig 2D guidance is a wireless, solar-powered system that pays for itself in just three to nine months, depending on the user’s expenses. The equipment eliminates the need for manual grade checking, either by the operator or a second-party grade checker. It has also been used on large mining-sized excavators in Australia.
At the 2021 Forexpo in Mimizan, iDig was honoured with a Safety Award for eliminating the need for dangerous descents into trenches and reducing the frequent machine starts and stops, which not only consume excess of fuel, but cause needless fatigue to the operator.
Starting in October, Gamal and his team expect to greatly enhance iDig’s contribution to the industry by offering one of the most affordable and user-friendly 3D systems that will – once again – change the way operators work.
