John Deere customers have had a first look at the Premium Circle, a new motor grader innovation that the company says offers lower maintenance and improved torque, speed and cutting accuracy.
The Premium Circle, described as a “fully-sealed bearing”, is now a standard feature on all Deere graders fitted with Deere’s SmartGrade technology for increased grading precision.
John Deere’s Western Australian dealer Afgri Equipment held two demonstration days at a farm north of Perth last month, which was the first opportunity for customers to see the Premium Circle.
The feature offers 40 per cent more circle torque and 15 per cent more blade speed, the company says, and the only maintenance required is greasing every 500 hours.
“At the moment, a standard grader in the middle has a circle and it has all these wear strips in there which need adjusting, replacing and maintenance,” Afgri sales representative Leigh Esplan says.
“What Deere has done is built a fully-sealed circle, which is basically like an excavator slew ring.
“With your traditional circle, when the strips used to wear while you are trying to final trim something, you had a couple of millimetres play there and a couple on your blade.
“This takes the extra tolerances out of the circle because it doesn’t have any wear strips, so that always remains in-spec.
“All you have to do is keep your blade in-spec and tight and you’ll give a good final trim every time.”
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John Deere’s new Premium Circle motor grader feature now comes as standard on machines with SmartGrade
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Afgri’s general manager of construction and forestry James Mckillop says feedback about the Premium Circle had been positive and believes customers were looking at the total cost of ownership.
“For our customers, the main thing in business is uptime and because the Premium Circle is fully enclosed and maintenance-free, it means customers have got more time on the job with the machine,” he says.
“When you have something like a Premium Circle, you’re going to reduce your maintenance time and have more time being productive and making money with the grader instead of it being in the workshop having to adjust it.”
Afgri technical advisor Tom Meany says the Premium Circle’s reduced maintenance cost would result in long-term savings for customers.