Leveling a field or preparing soil for farming requires the ground to be perfectly flat or shaped just right. This is where graders come in – big machines with a long blade that scrape and move earth. For years, this work has relied on skill and traditional tools. But now, new technology is making it much more precise and efficient.
Recently, FJDynamics hit a big new goal. Our special FJD AL02 dual-antenna and dual-control system has been successfully tested and approved by our dealer in South Africa. This is a huge step forward for how land is shaped, and it brings a new feature that truly stands out from other systems in the market.
Successful Dual-Control Testing
The FJD AL02 system is designed for graders and land leveling machines, and its main power comes from GNSS-based control. In this testing project, our engineers and South African partners tested a major feature called "dual-antenna control."To put it simply, a regular grader's blade moves as one piece. But with this new feature from FJDynamics, the grader's blade can actually bend and move differently on its left and right sides. This means it can perfectly follow the shape of the ground, no matter how uneven it is. This "independent" control on both sides helps achieve much higher accuracy when shaping land.
Let's look at how this advanced system is different from the graders we're used to seeing:
Two Sides, Two Controls
For advanced graders that use two separate hydraulic cylinders – one for the left side of the blade and one for the right, the FJD AL02 precisely controls each side of the blade to move up or down independently. This is key to perfectly matching the ground's shape or creating exact slopes.
Eyes on Each Side
To make this independent control work, a GNSS antenna (which uses satellites from GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS, QZSS, and Galileo) is placed on each side of the grader's blade. These antennas constantly detect and adjust the height of the left and right sides, making sure the blade is always at the perfect level for shaping the terrain.
Clear View for the Operator
Inside the grader, the screen shows the operator what's happening in real-time. Instead of just one display bar, the FJD AL02 system shows two colored bars – one for the left side and one for the right. This gives the operator a clear, instant picture of how each side of the blade is working in real time.
Smart Earth Moving
As the grader moves, the blade automatically lifts or lowers to dig out extra soil. The soil that's scraped up is then collected in a bucket at the back of the grader. When the grader moves from an area where it's digging to an area that needs filling, the soil in the bucket is automatically dropped onto the ground where it's needed.
Easy-to-Understand Colors
To make things simple, the system uses standard colors: red shows areas that need to be dug out (meaning the blade needs to go lower), and blue shows areas that need to be filled in (meaning the blade needs to go higher). This visual guide helps operators work quickly and accurately.
After everything was set up, our team and the dealers tested this new feature in a big field. The two satellite antennas stayed steady on each side of the blade during the test. They worked with an accuracy of about ±2.5 cm (about 1 inch) with every pass, even when a lot of dust was kicked up behind the machine. Our dealer was very impressed and happy with how it worked.
The AL02 system directly and precisely controlled the two hydraulic parts on the blade. This allowed the left and right sides to move exactly as needed to match the ground's shape. It crushed big clumps of dirt into flat soil, making the land ready for planting. After about an hour of setting it up and testing it in the field, the dual-antenna, dual-control feature was successfully proven to work and will be ready for use very soon.
FJD GNSS Grading System vs. Laser Levelers
For a long time, laser-guided leveler systems were the go-to for precise grading. But with satellite technology getting better, the FJD's GNSS-based system offers some major advantages that win:Centimeter-Level Accuracy
The AL02 system can achieve an accuracy of 2 to 3 centimeters (about an inch). This is incredibly precise and good enough for almost all farming jobs.
Working in Any Weather, Anywhere
Laser systems can be affected by wind, dust, or even just long distances. However, FJD's GNSS-based system works 24/7 reliably. It performs well in open areas and even in mountains, because it relies on satellites, not a ground-based laser beam that can be blocked or disturbed.
Wider Coverage
With a standard base station (which helps get accurate satellite signals), the AL02 can cover an area of 3 to 5 kilometers (about 2-3 miles). With a special long-range base station like the SL100, that coverage stretches even further – up to 10 to 15 kilometers (about 6-9 miles).
Saving More Time
The time-saving benefits of the AL02 are more obvious when compared to laser transmitters, which usually only cover about 400 meters (a quarter-mile) and rarely more than 1,000 meters (about half a mile). If you're working on a big farmland with a laser equipment, you have to keep stopping and moving the laser transmitter, which wastes a lot of time.
Simpler to Set Up
If you have a CORS account (a subscription or access to a network of permanent GNSS ), you can connect the AL02 system directly to your local CORS network. You don't even need to set up your own base station. It's super quick and easy to get started.
Laser leveling systems, on the other hand, need a lot of complex setup. You have to install laser transmitters, receivers on the machine, control panels, and special hydraulic parts. On big farms, you'd have to keep moving and setting up the laser transmitters over and over again to cover the whole area. FJD's system avoids all that hassle.
In this dual-control test, our satellite-based system worked really well on the big field, and it didn't lose its signal. Once the two antennas were quickly put on each side of the blade, and the control screen was set up in the driver's cabin, the AL02 was ready to go. It worked perfectly in the real field, and the very accurate results for leveling the land truly impressed our dealers.
A New Milestone in Land Leveling
The successful testing of the FJD AL02 system by our South African dealer is a fantastic achievement. For farmers and farming contractors in South Africa, they can now benefit from this cutting-edge technology, making their grading work faster, more accurate, and less dependent on perfect conditions or complicated setups.This new system, with its two antennas and two controls, truly sets a new high standard for leveling land perfectly. It shows that FJD is dedicated to helping prepare soil with amazing accuracy and ease, not just in South Africa, but everywhere around the world.