Caterpillar Paving Products Inc.

James Arthur DeLong

Jacob Ryan Ellwein

A milling machine can include a frame; a cutting rotor coupled to the frame, the cutting rotor configured to be lowered a selected distance into a surface; and a controller, the controller being configured to control a plunge rate of the cutting rotor into the surface based on a measured density of the surface.

System and method for controlling plunge velocity for milling and reclaiming machines

A system for automatically controlling operation of a milling drum on a cold planer includes an input device, a display device, a memory device configured to store a database of recommended plunge velocities at which a rotating milling drum having particular operational characteristics should be lowered into a pavement surface to break up and remove pavement material for various depths of cut to be achieved by the milling drum, and a processor in communication with the input device, the display device, and the memory device. The processor may be configured to receive, via the input device, a signal indicative of a particular depth of cut desired by an operator of the cold planer, determine from the database at least one plunge velocity at which the rotating milling drum should be lowered into the pavement surface during a milling operation for achieving the particular depth of cut, display the at least one plunge velocity for the particular desired depth of cut on the display device, generate a command control signal indicative of the at least one determined plunge velocity, and communicate the command control signal to an actuator configured to regulate a rate of descent of the milling drum into the pavement surface.

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Maple Grove, MN, United States of America

James Arthur DeLong