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Motor graders are versatile machines in construction: They help build roads, cut ditches, move aggregates, make sloping banks and grade surfaces.
Even with advancements in grade control platforms and other technology, motor graders are essential to construction.
This month, CONEXPO-CON/AGG 365 is giving these machines their due by featuring assorted models and spotlighting trends in graders’ design, production and use.
Below are the latest offerings from five top manufacturers. Inlcuded in each section will be certain featured models, their specifications and some captivating videos of the machines in action.
Case Construction Equipment’s 836C, 865B and 885B
The 836C, checking in with an operating weight of approximately 13.8 tons (12,500 kg) and a 156-horsepower engine, is the lightest and smallest of the trio.
As for Case CE’s two 800 Series models, the 865B has a 220-hp engine and an operating weight of 16.9 tons (15,330 kg), and the 885B works with 234 hp and an operating weight of 20.6 tons (18,710 kg).
According to the manufacturer, the two smaller models (836C and 865B) are suited for infrastructure and quarrying, but the largest 885B machine can handle agriculture, recycling and urban development functions, as well.
Watch Case CE’s 865B motor grader go to work.
Caterpillar’s 10 motor grader models
Caterpillar’s Cat 24 motor grader
Four of Cat’s motor grader models are named after their blade width: The Cat 14, Cat 16, Cat 18 and Cat 24 have blades that measure 12, 16, 18 and 24 inches, respectively.
The manufacturer’s other six models are mostly smaller (topping out at 14-inch blades and with engines ranging from 139-250 hp), but they boast Caterpillar grading and emissions-conscious technology that allow them to
perform with more efficiency and lower operating and maintenance costs.
Watch the Cat 140 motor grader in action.
John Deere’s 772G motor grader
John Deere’s eight motor grader models
With eight options, John Deere’s selection rivals Caterpillar’s catalogue while putting the company’s own spin on the roadbuilding equipment.
All John Deere models are available with the manufacturer’s SmartGrade platform as an option, and four machines (622G, 672G, 772G and 872G) have six-wheel drive.
The eight John Deere motor graders range from approoximately 20-22.6 tons of operating weight, and the models’ engines range from 215-300 hp.
Watch John Deere show off the Motor Grader Premium Circle option for its models.
Komatsu’s GD655-6 and GD655-7
The GD655-7 motor grader from Komatsu
The manufacturer’s two models are quite similar: Both have dual-mode transmissions, engines with 218 hp, 14-foot moldboards and operating weights within 1,000 lbs of each other (18.7 tons for the GD655-6 and 19.1 tons for the GD655-7).
Setting the two apart are the cab design enhancements (such as a smaller, “right-sized” steering wheel) included with the GD655-7, the newer model of the two that was introduced in March 2019.
Watch a video to familiarize yourself with the GD655-7’s upgraded controls.
Volvo Construction Equipment’s 34 motor grader models
Volvo CE has launched several generations of motor graders since 2001, and in 2002, the G700B Series were powered exclusively with Volvo engines.
After the manufacturer sold its compact motor grader business in 2004, the company launched the G900 Series in 2006, and finally in 2012, the first of the C Series models, equipped with more powerful Tier 4 engines, were introduced.
Watch Volvo CE’s C Series motor graders on the jobsite.
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