A premium circle option for John Deere G Series, GP Series, and SmartGrade motor graders reduces maintenance costs and downtime, the company says. The circle has a fully sealed bearing and pinion, eliminating circle wear inserts, and is designed to increase circle torque and speed.
“To be profitable, customers constantly work to balance ever-tightening margins with increasing expenses,” said Luke Kurth, motor grader product marketing manager, in a prepared statement. “John Deere is focused on providing new ways to help reduce those costs, and we are able to do that with the new Premium Circle option for all G- and GP-series motor graders worldwide. By eliminating the circle wear inserts and need for adjustment or replacement, customers will benefit from reduced parts and labor costs, while still maintaining an accurate grade.”
With traditional circle designs, the company says, motor grader users need to replace or shim the wear inserts in order to maintain tightness for accuracy and to prevent damage to the circle. This shop time contributes to machine downtime. The premium circle option replaces wear inserts with a sealed bearing that only requires a few minutes to grease every 500 hours. Additionally, the gearbox oil change intervals have been extended from 2,000 to 4,000 hours, while the pinion and circle teeth are completely sealed from dirt and debris to minimize wear.
With the premium circle, John Deere motor graders produce 40 percent more circle torque and 15 percent more speed over the standard circle.
Contractors who use grade control will also see improved performance and accuracy by no longer having to compensate for wear in the circle.
Source: John Deere
