Unique finds at MOBA – the ‚Super-Level‘

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Unique finds at MOBA – the ‚Super-Level‘

Within 45 years of MOBA history there are quite some systems that have either accumulated over the years or find their way back to us in a number of ways.

So it came, that lately we received this great piece from the mid-80s – and it is still working! The ‘Super-Level’ is an electronic spirit level, which has been built upon an individual request by one customer. By that time, the electronic spirit level could not be bought commercially yet. For this reason, we produced a small amount of 100 pieces.

It was used in road construction to determine the grade of the paved asphalt. The exact value was then shown on its display. Some of the technical specifications were a capacitive liquid sensor and a 9volt block battery as the power supply.

When it comes to the production of technologies for the construction sector, it has always been important to adapt it to special conditions. Exposed to extreme heats, for example, it was essential to use the right sensor and material. For this reason, the scale is made out of wood to protect the sensor from the heat rising from the hot asphalt when freshly laid.

This electronic spirit scale is just an example of how MOBA products have always been adapted to the surrounding they are exposed to. In 45 years of constant feedback from the market, a certain know-how has established itself that is invaluable for us today.

Do you happen to have a MOBA system still in use that we might not even produce anymore? Tell us about your finds! We look forward to see one or another treasure from the very beginning again!

Developed and developing countries – different requirements for machines and machine control systems

by mklingenhagenBlog, Road ConstructionPosted on Comments are Disabled

Developed and developing countries – different requirements for machines and machine control systems

All over the world, road building machines and machine control systems are working in different projects. That can be the construction of a completely new road or the renovation of an old road.

For all these projects machines as well as machine control systems have to be robust, work precisely and reliably.

The difference, however, can be huge, depending on which country a machine is working. While in developed countries the most important factors are reliability, precision and the latest technologies and flexibility; in developing countries robustness, easy operation and cheapness are the main factors.

In developed countries reliability is very important because the planning of road construction projects is very strict, that means there are no buffers in timelines. The whole chain from asphalt plant over truck planning, asphalt laying up to compaction is jam-packed and if only one single machine is not working properly or a machine breaks down, the whole chain stands still and the complete process is postponed. That, in turn, means the project can’t be finished on time and often the company has to pay penalty payments for the delay. Penalty payments or on the other side bonus payments for imprecise or on the other hand extremely precise work are the reasons why precision also plays an important role. And for precise work, machine control systems with the latest technologies are essential, as a machine works much more precisely with an appropriate machine control system. When companies in developed countries acquire such systems, one decisive factor is the flexibility of a system. That means that for example a control system for a paver can work with different sensors, accordingly to the requirements of different projects, like MOBA-matic with its different sensors and possible combinations.

In comparison to developed countries, in developing countries it is in most cases important to have a machine and a machine control system that is very robust because the circumstances are often rough. For example, extreme heat or dust demand a lot from machine and control system. It is also important that the operation is simple, so that also unskilled workers can work with it without time-consuming instructions. Also, the equipment must not be too expensive, that is why often machines like pavers are reused in developing countries after being taken out of service after having already worked seven until ten years in developed countries. The machines are often getting refurbished and modified with MOBA systems.

Asphalt compositions for different application scenarios

by mklingenhagenBlog, Road ConstructionPosted on Comments are Disabled

Asphalt compositions for different application scenarios – a brief overview

Asphalt is the key material for road construction. It is, however, as versatile as there are use cases for paved roads. There is not one universal recipe for each application. It is rather the composition of components, which defines the physical properties of a road.

Asphalt consists of aggregate and bitumen. The choice of binder type and quantity as well the type of aggregation play an important role in the right composition. Depending on that, asphalt has different cavities. Consequently, different compositions lead to different properties of the asphalt. Dependent on the road requirements, the right choice thus needs to be made regarding the composition of materials. Here an example of how the right composition cancels noise:

The asphalt mix types below describe the recipe of the optimum noise absorption, permeable and porous mastic asphalt.
– The asphalt concrete (AC 8 D) has a uniform grain size distribution and has relatively few cavities
– Due to the high binder contents, the Stone mastic Asphalt (SMA 8) has a relatively low void content.
– By contrast, in the case of cast asphalt (MA 8 n), the space between the coarse grain structure is almost completely filled by its high mortar content.
– The Open pored asphalt (PA 11) is formed by pronounced cavities, as a grain size distribution is present.
– With open poreded cast asphalt (PMA 5), a special cavity structure is achieved by a failure grain in the area of fine aggregate.
– In the noise-optimised asphalt surface (AC 5 D Loa), the special surface texture is achieved by a continuous particle size distribution and a reduced binder content.

Job Story – Big Sonic Ski 4 Sensors

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Job Story - Big Sonic Ski 4 Sensors

On April 2, 2018, the technical team of MOBA TECMASERM carried out the installation of a new Big Sonic Ski 4 Sensors system.

On this occasion, it was carried out in a Vögele Super 1900-3i paver, leaving the system fully integrated and working perfectly thanks to its universal installation in any type and brand of paver.

The project consisted of the conditioning and improvement of accesses to the CM-420 road in the town of Alcázar de San Juan from Manzanares in its section from pk.12 to pk. 23. This Work belongs to the Board of Communities of Castilla La Mancha being the contractor Alvac S.A. (Pavalco), which relied again on the MOBA systems to carry out the execution of this important project.

Undoubtedly, the project was a new opportunity for the Big Sonic Ski 4 Sensors system to display all its qualities, since we were facing a section with great irregularities in the surface, and in which thanks to its extension of up to 13 meters and its four sensors optimized the accuracy of the results and a better verifiable planimetry was achieved during the asphalting. The installation of four sensors was fundamental since thanks to this irregularities were detected that appeared at a regular distance of five to seven meters and that can not be detected by fewer sensors.

At MOBA we are aware of the virtues and great advantages of our systems, but also that without companies with great professionals and committed to the application of good practices in asphalt, it would not be possible to carry out the work. For this reason we must highlight the enormous professionalism and commitment with the good work that the workers and personnel of the company Alvac S.A (Pavalco) showed throughout the execution of the work.

From start to end – the “life” of a product

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From start to end – the “life” of a product

In the last years, product lifecycle management, the integration of all information during a product’s lifecycle has become more and more important. That opens the question, what exactly is the lifecycle of a product?

The product lifecycle describes the different stages of a product from the market entrance until degeneration.

First one is the market introduction. Typical for this stage is that a company wants to build awareness for its new product. Launching a new product means the company has to spend a lot of money: cost for development, research and marketing are very high. At this stage, the market decides if the product is accepted. Then sales increases. The competition is still low.

The next phase is the growth stage, which might already generate a net profit if sales and profit grow rapidly. Production numbers rise and unit costs decrease. So the profit margins increase. The company yet has high costs as marketing has to be intensified to reach the maximum potential and to gain higher market shares.

The third one, the maturity stage is characterized by a strong product, which is now established in the market. Sales and profit still rise and then reach the maximum. During this stage, competition grows as other, similar products are introduced to the market. The company has to invest in marketing and product improvements to assert itself against competitors. The company tries to hold the market share and has to increase productivity to gain profit, as the price is under pressure because of the competitors.

The product reaches the stage of saturation, which is characterized by falling sales and profits, high competition and relaunches or variations of the product to extend the lifecycle.

From MOBA-Matic-I to the MOBA-matic-II
In the decline stage, the market share shrinks, either due to competing products or due to saturation, which means all potential customers already bought the product. The company can still profit from the product by less-expensive production or by other markets, but sales drop rapidly and at last the product is eliminated.
From MOBA-Matic-I to the MOBA-matic-II

Source: Anand Subramaniam

The lifetime of a product lifecycle varies from product to product and sometimes the stages cannot clearly be differentiated. While some products stay in the market, especially brands in the consumer market, for example food brands, others are eliminated rapidly, for example fashion. Customers and competition as well as other factors like economy, laws, sales strategy and others have great influence on the product lifecycle.

Thermal Segregation and Leveling

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Thermal Segregation and Leveling - Live Trial in Thailand

SDC International, ROADTEC, CCC Intertrade and MOBA AG participated on a road construction event in Surat Thani in the south of Thailand. A total of 140 visitors joint the event which was split into a theoretical introduction of construction solutions in the AM and a practical live pavement demonstration in the PM.
We presented the ROADTEC Shuttle Buggy “SB2500D” and the ROADTEC paver “RP195EX” equipped with MOBA’s PAVE IR system and MOBA’s state of the art leveling system Big Sonic Ski as well as a matching ski on the other side.
The setup was presented to a group of contractors, road authorities and other government bodies concerned with road construction.

Next to Pave IR and MOBA Big Sonic Ski, the paver was equipped with our MOBA material sensor which controls the outflow of material from the screed. Next to leveling equipment MOBA is the leading manufacturer of such material sensors.

How does the Shuttle buggy support the laying of the asphalt with the correct temperature?

The shuttle buggy solves the majority of the problems that arise connected to thermal segregation. The shuttle buggy acts like a mobile mixing plant that ensures that the material is transported through insolated chambers but also keeps moving which ensures homogenous temperature of the material. It also reduces the number of paver stops which subsequently lead to a smooth crossing from truck load to truck load keeping the temperature on a homogenous level. An animated video is showing this process:

PAVE IR supports the operator to not only understand the temperature dynamics of the paver but also monitors the temperature of the in- and out-flowing material. As for the inflow of material, that means that the operator can improve in coordinating the truck loads. A better coordinating of incoming truck loads means less risk of wasting material or jeopardizing temperature. As for the outflowing material – Pave IR supports the conduct of compactors to ensure material has been compacted within the suitable temperature range. Compacting material that is too hot can lead to pushing the asphalt sideways which will result in surface irregularities whereas compacting material that is too cold can lead to cracks within the material. Both issues decrease the quality and the duration of the new pavement of the road.

The PAVE IR results from the live performance are illustrated below:

This pictures shows the differences from using a Shuttle Buggy and not using a Shuttle Buggy. Section 1-2 is paved without ShuttleBuggy. As you can see there are many Paver stops (indicted in green). The blue circle indicate that Material temperature is distributed uneven. As you can see the material differences strongly corelate with the paver stops.

The second picture shows a range of 50 meters paved with shuttle buggy As you can see from the screenshot we were able to reach 99,5 % homogeneity. In terms of temperature distribution this is an excellent result.

Next to the challenge of Thermal segregation which was tackled with Pave IR and the Shuttle Buggy – MOBA displayed their state-of-the-art leveling system: The Big Sonic Ski.

As smoothness is one of the most recent focus in Thai road construction, the Big Sonic Ski is the answer for this request. While automatically operating the screed of the paver, the Big Sonic Ski works without an artificial reference. One can sense straight from the ground. The BSS uses a special algorithm to smoothen out the height differences that it senses from the surface and converts the measurements into a smooth result.

Working with the Big Sonic Ski results in time & costs savings, higher quality and subsequently leads to longer duration of the road.

A very special thanks to SDC International and Roadtec who organized this event.

How would Smart IoT shape our lives in the future?

by mklingenhagenRoad Construction, Success StoryPosted on Comments are Disabled

How would Smart IoT shape our lives in the future?

The concept of ‘connectivity’ is going beyond laptops and smartphones as we see it moving towards smart cities, smart homes, smart retail, smart farming, connected cars, connected wearable devices and connected healthcare. In short a connected life.

The Internet of Things is a popular terminology these days, but unlike many technological fads, which have come and gone in the last years, the Internet of Things proves to be an important trend, which is having long lasting effects on the society. The term “Internet of Things” itself is used to mean a variety of ideas. The IoT cloud platform is primarily designed to store and process IoT data and forms the core of all IoT devices and IoT solution. The platform is built in a way that it enables taking in a huge amount of data generated by sensors, websites, applications and initiate actions for real-time responses and analytics.

For example, Smart Refrigerators can automatically order the run out items, similarly when you use Smart Locks, you do not need to have multiple keys for them, and you can unlock them by using smart phones. The platform can provide businesses with an extensive and integrated perspective of customers, without needing much technical expertise of a data analyst. The platform can intake lot of events each day and users can define rules that state events to act on and what actions to take. The demand for cloud enabled IoT services and solutions is rapidly increasing. A report by Zinnov Zones says India has about 43 per cent or $1.5 billion of the global $3.5 billion IoT market. Experts predicts that Indian IoT market will grow from $1.5 billion today to more than $9 billion by 2020 with over 2.7 billion connected devices and growing. Another Gartner report predicts, by ‘2020 the number of connected devices across all technologies will reach to about 20.6 billion’.

The real world IoT-Cloud platform application:

    1. Smart Home Automation

How would you feel if you could switch off lights after you left home/office or switch the AC on before reaching home? With IoT, taking shape there is introduction of a world where all the smart devices can be in constant connection with each other and are monitored by users remotely via voice commands or by a simple click. With the rapid growth of IoT, it is predicted Smart Homes will be as common as smart phones. It has also been predicted by Gil Press that more than two thirds of consumers plan to buy connected technology for their homes by 2019.

    2. Smart Wearable Technology

A detailed report by TechRepublic says in 2016, wearables were sold at a rate of 38 million and a large portion of them was fitness trackers and smart watches. These two classifications will make up a joint income of $4.9 billion. Wearable devices are installed with sensors and software is which collect data and information about the users. This data is later pre-processed to extract essential insights about the user. The pre-requisite from IoT technology for wearable applications is to be highly energy efficient, low power and small sized. The productivity of data processing achieved by various smart wrist wear, hearable, and smart glasses is getting closer to where wearables will bring exceptional value to our lives.

    3. Connected Vehicles

Gartner predicts that about 250,000,000 connected cars will be out on the roads by 2020. So, what really are connected cars? IoT engineers have come up with an industry solution for connected automobiles that gathers, analyzes, stores and takes action on vehicle sensor data. A connected vehicle is one, which is able to improve and analyze its own operation, maintenance as well as comfort of passengers using onboard sensors and internet connectivity. IoT for automobiles is a vehicle-to-cloud offering that enables awareness of the environment even beyond the vehicles and helps use information to establish a relationship with the driver as well.

     4. Industrial Internet

The IIoT (Industrial IoT) enables industrial engineering with sensors, software and big data analytics to build intelligent equipment. Smart machines are precise and consistent than humans in communicating data. In addition, this analytics on the generated data can help companies pick inabilities and problems fast. In the meanwhile, did you know that about 5.4 million IoT devices would be used on oil extraction sites by 2020 to provide environmental metrics about extraction sites?

    5. Smart Cities

IoT has the potential of solving major problems faced by the people living in cities like pollution, traffic congestion and shortage of energy supplies etc. IoT will empower cities to leverage their network to offer advanced smart city applications for citizens, new eco-sustainability initiatives and create first-hand opportunities for enterprise development.

    6. IoT in Agriculture

To help increase farm performance, IoT technology providers continue to develop IoT cloud based platforms that can sense, process and communicate precisely measured environmental data. Farms are becoming more connected as farmers realize the potential of IoT in helping them reduce cost while achieving improved results.

    7. Smart Retail

IoT Smart Retail enables stores to revolutionize customer service while saving time and money, while simultaneously providing the consumer with a seamless shopping experience. By installing this system, retailers are also able to recapture investment dollars while surpassing expectations for tech-savvy consumers. Some of the components included in Smart Retail are Power shelf, Beacons and Digital Price Tags.

    8. IoT for Healthcare

Research says IoT in healthcare will be enormous in coming years. It is aimed at enabling people to live healthier life by wearing connected devices. For example, through IoT, doctors can use GPS services and be prepared for treating patients being brought to the hospital in emergency cases.

    9. IoT in Telecom Industry

Global telecom operators now use IoT enabled digital platforms that are a combination of connectivity, analysis, security, mobile and cloud to support businesses. This is helping them reduce operating costs while enabling end-users to consume technology in a business-focused manner saving time and money.

Demonstration of a GS506 machine control system

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Demonstration of a GS506 machine control system on a Case 856B Grader

The GS 506 machine control system enables the operator to accurately level and grade undergrounds with a variety of sensors.
The system offers free mobility in difficult terrain and increases efficiency and work speed. All stakeholders of the application are benefitting from using machine control as it saves time, costs (machine wear and tear, petrol) and supports the operator to perform accurate performance.
In the picture below, the GS506 is equipped on the CASE Grader 856B on a trial in Thailand.

The GS506 system processes the height & slope information from its sensors and automatically controls the blade of the machine to ensure most effective grading.

To show the benefit of the system – MOBA and CNH Thailand created 2 challenges for the demo of the system:

  1.  The first challenge involved the creation of a 2,5% slope simulating a standard road roof profile (where you allow water to run of the highway left and/or right).

For this task, the operator decided to use the MOBA LS3000 sensor in combination with an auto slope laser transmitter.

The laser beam of the transmitter is caught by the laser receiver for height reference. By the use of an electronic mast, the operator does not need to make any height adjustment of the laser manually but can control the process form inside the cabin.

    2. The second trial was based on a curve with the aim to create a slope of 4% with a stringline reference.

For this task, the operator decided to use the MOBA Sonic Ski to read directly from a stringline.
The Sonic Ski enables the driver to stay on the track and the slope sensors of the GS 506 system ensure that the correct slope is created.

Results

Trial 1) With only two passes with the laser- the operator was able to create a slope of 2,6% – it’s merely impossible to manually work with such efficient and accuracy.

Trial 2) With only two passes with the Sonic Ski – the operator was able to create a slope of 3,8%- also in this case one can stipulate that manual grading can never be as accurate

Further passes would have led to absolute accuracy.
I would like to thank CNH Thailand for organizing this event in Thailand and I am looking forward to many more success stories.

Paving new Vietnamese Formula 1

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Paving new Vietnamese Formula 1 racetrack with MOBA’s PAVE-IR

In April the first Formula One race ever should have taken place in Vietnam. Sadly, Corona has upset these plans and the race in Hanoi was delayed to a date that has yet to be defined. Nevertheless, the racetrack was finished in time, and the pavers that paved the whole track were equipped with MOBA’s PAVE-IR system for temperature detection during paving. Altogether six Dynapac pavers were equipped with MOBA’s PAVE-IR thermal scan system and they also used the proven MOBA technology of Sonic-Skis.


PAVE-IR: Thermal visualization of asphalt installation in real time

Construction works on the Hanoi Street Circuit started in the beginning of 2019 and in October 2019 the construction staff was trained on PAVE-IR, a special but yet very simple to operate system, before paving started.

PAVE-IR allows a thermal visualization of the installation process in real time. Therefor the high-precision IR temperature scanner MTPS-100 provides a wide thermal profile of the built-in layer of up to 13 meters width. The visualization offers the possibility to detect points which might be affected by thermal segregation. With this information the construction company can react immediately.


Adrenaline and action: an exciting racetrack

About one third of the track was newly built, while the rest of the route is on public streets that have already been present. But of course they also had to be completely paved as they had not been constructed for Formula 1 races. In February 2020 the whole track was completed.

 
With 1.5 kilometers length, the racetrack includes one of the longest straights of Formula 1 racetracks. Here the drivers can go on full speed, that means up to 335km/h and here are also the stands for the 35.000 spectators.

It also features 23 bends that shall grant spectacular races. The Hanoi Street Circuit was designed by racetrack architect Hermann Tilke. Originally it should have taken place April 5th 2020, but as it was postponed because of Corona pandemic, let’s hope that soon the bolides speed through Hanoi.

Tunisia – Highway Project

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Tunisia - Highway Project

 The proposed project consists of:

  • improvement of about 275 of primary and secondary roads serving the southern hinterland of Tunis and the coastal region of Hammamet, one of Tunisia’s most important tourist areas. Here for the road construction company bought new levelling equipment the MOBA BIG SONIC SKI for the BOMAG Paver to receive a perfect an smooth and evenness asphalt surface of the road. Here we were at the coastal region rout between Korba Menzel and Temime:

  • reconstruction of 51 bridges and culverts, mainly in northern and central Tunisia.
  • resurfacing and rehabilitation of about 1,920 km of paved roads throughout the country.
  • and consulting services for reinvestment studies for further road improvements and for assistance in construction supervision, implementation of the highway maintenance program, improvement of transport coordination and a study of road transport regulations and road user charges.