Machinery maker the Wirtgen Group, part of John Deere Construction & Forestry, recently tested its Generation X2 round-shank pick for asphalt milling on a busy Dutch motorway against its newer Generation Pro counterpart, and found the latter lasted twice as long before needing to be replaced.
Asphalt milling contractor Freesmij carried out the test on the project to widen the A9 motorway near Amsterdam’s Schiphol International Airport. It’s being widened to four lanes in each direction.
Freesmij has for years helped Wirtgen refine its pick technology, and tested the new picks on a W 220 Fi milling machine while removing temporary traffic lanes built to bypass the widening operation.
Close to freezing point
Freesmij’s applications engineer Gerard Roelofs and his milling crew carried out the selective removal of the various asphalt layers at temperatures close to freezing point.
The surface layer was relatively soft, low-noise asphalt but, typical in the Netherlands, the underlying binder and base layers were harder asphalt, which takes a heavy toll on the picks.
“Over the years, we have always been very pleased with the performance of the Generation X² round-shank picks. But the hard asphalt we have to deal with here is very tough on them’, said Roelofs.
“The advantage of the Pro picks is that they last twice as long,” Roelofs said.
“We had to replace our old picks twice a day, but the Pro picks need replacing only once. That saves us both costs and time and it’s good for the environment as well.”
The Einarsons’ verdict
A father-and-son team of machine operators, both named Imar Einarson, tracked the data during milling on operating consoles on and next to the machine.
“Changing picks is a part of our job. But that doesn’t say it’s particularly enjoyable,” said the Einarsons. “We certainly wouldn’t do it as a hobby.”
Thanks to the connectivity between the Wirtgen Performance Tracker and the John Deere Operations Center during the job, the machine dispatcher also had access to the data, including area milled and fuel and water consumption.
Wirtgen said the secret of the Generation Pro picks is the self-hardening carbide they’re made of. At high temperatures, their structural strength increases, reducing the wear on the carbide tip.
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