Dressta says its new TD-16N dozer will set a new benchmark for visibility.
When the LiuGong Dressta design team set out to create the new dozer, their goal was to create the best all-round dozer for the customer.
The Red Dot award-winning team led by Edward Wagner, executive director of New Technology, and Gary Major executive director of Industrial Design, knew that listening to the operator was key to designing something unique.
“We literally started with the operator, the blade and the tracks and then built everything around them without compromise,” Wagner said.
The result is a dozer that delivers 309 degrees of visibility.
“We set out to create the best visibility in class – I think we’ve achieved that, but the real test is to put a seasoned operator in a cab and ask him,” Major said.
Invitation ot Dressta
When the design was complete, the Dressta team invited a select group of operators to preview and test the machine prior to ConExpo, where the dozer made its debut.
“It’s like sitting without a cab – you have the visibility right round you,” said Irish operator Neil John Mckeown.
The dozer features a mid-cab design over a mid-mounted automatic, dual path hydrostatic drive train. It comes with a standard six-way angle blade and it is compatible with 2D and 3D grade control systems.
Controls are easily accessible, and easy to use thanks to the electro-hydraulic joysticks. As well, the dozer features an operating weight of 19,090 kg and net horsepower of 170 hp.
The dozer also improves upon versatility thanks to its unique undercarriage design, which utilizes a single-track gauge for all track shoe widths. This allows the dozer to be reconfigured at any point in its life, from standard to LGP undercarriage, by simply just changing the track shoes and the blade.
This feature increases versatility and will improve resale values, according to Dressta, by allowing future owners to reconfigure the machine to perfectly match their needs.
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While visibility and performance were high on the design team’s agenda it was not the only consideration; operator safety was also a priority.
“Every operator out there has a story about falling off the tracks. This is the first machine where you don’t have to get onto the tracks,” Major said.
The team designed non-slip steps at the rear of the machine, eliminating the need to step onto the tracks. Complete with safety handrails, the steps allow easy access to and from the cab with three points of contact maintained at all times. The TD-16N is the only dozer in its size class with this type of no-track access.
As well, the dozer is designed so that all access points for daily checks, maintenance and fuelling are reachable from ground level.
“Everything we do, we do to make our machines deliver more. The superior visibility of this machine will certainly help operators be more productive and do a better job in less time,” said Dressta Chairman Howard Dale.
“We also know that this machine will make the worksite safer for everyone. The easy access for daily checks and maintenance is going to reduce downtime and ensure that this machine keeps working and delivering.”
