Parker IQAN helps Paveline improve the performance of road maintenance vehicles

Paveline International is based in Sydney, Australia, was established in 1987 and designs and manufactures a wide range of road maintenance equipment, including patching, sealing and asphalt handling trucks, plus advanced vehicles for road patching, sealing and paving that have been developed for operation by just one person. The company’s owner, Richard Howling, explains that, “Our focus has always been to use the best technology available to ensure that our machines are as simple and safe as possible, while offering our customers reliable and cost effective methods of road repair”.

Until recently, Paveline used traditional hydraulic components but had realised that greater control and functionality was required if its equipment was to be developed further to meet the changing needs of the Australian market. As a result, the company approached Parker for advice. Following a detailed assessment, the two companies then worked together to develop a solution based on Parker’s innovative IQAN control technology.

Parker’s IQAN technology was an ideal choice for Paveline, as it is an integrated software-based hydraulic control system, which allows mobile hydraulic equipment to be designed and controlled simply and effectively.

The first vehicle to be fitted with IQAN was Paveline’s Autopatch one-man operated blower road patching machine. This featured an IQAN-MDL control system with distributed I/O modules mounted at strategic locations on the truck, plus an L90LS valve for controlling the external operating arm that is used to carry out each stage of the road patching work. All operations are designed to be monitored and controlled from the vehicle cab, so that one person can operate the vehicle safely and comfortably, regardless of weather conditions.

The IQAN-MDL system can run up to four independent CAN buses. For Paveline, this makes installation and configuration quick and simple, allowing various CAN networks, including CAN Open, J1939 and IQAN to run on the Autopatch machine. In addition, the use of closed-loop feedback, using real time vehicle data via the CAN bus, allows the IQAN system to update the various operating outputs in order to maintain constant and accurate control of, for example, aggregate, airflow and emulsion units.

Controlling the system is simplified further by the use of an integrated IQAN touch screen interface, mounted in the cab. This provides comprehensive data on all machine functions including payloads, temperatures and pressures; perhaps as importantly, it also enables vehicle operators to record all data so that they can comply with increasingly stringent legislation, which requires that all road maintenance work is fully recorded for use by local councils and maintenance authorities.

IQAN has given Paveline the ability to improve significantly the performance and functionality of its hydraulic systems. Additionally, for its customers, as the system is part of the PTO from each vehicle, it helps to reduce operating costs while offering higher power levels and the ability easily to upgrade each vehicle as requirements change in the future.