The Wirtgen Group with an extensive portfolio at World of Concrete 2024

The Wirtgen Group presents an extensive portfolio of innovative and market-driven solutions for precise and efficient concrete paving at World of Concrete 2024.

The highlight at the World of Concrete show from 23-25 January 2024, is a complete concrete paving train from Wirtgen – comprising a placer/spreader WPS 102i, a slipform paver SP 124i and a texture curing machine TCM 180i. The offset paver models SP 15i and SP 25i impressively round off the selection of Wirtgen Group solutions on display at the booth shared with John Deere at the show (C5327).

With the SP 15i and SP 25i, Wirtgen will be showcasing two extremely versatile pavers for offset concrete paving. Both machines enable flexible positioning of the slipform paving mould, which is an enormous advantage when producing monolithic profiles in the offset process. The SP 15i features a telescoping extension for the operator’s platform. This affords operators a better overview of the paving results, the concrete feeding system, the transfer hopper and the inside of the consolidation compartment of the mould. The multifunctional slipform paver SP 25i can pave a wide range of monolithic profiles up to a height of 2 m and concrete slabs with a width of up to 4 m. Furthermore, the machine can be controlled without a stringline using the specially developed AutoPilot 2.0 control system.

The SP 124i is a fully modular, 12-metre class inset slipform paver that impresses with the enormous variety of tasks it can fulfil in the construction of wide roads and highways, airport aprons, taxiways and runways. The machine frame, which can be hydraulically telescoped lengthwise and mechanically telescoped sideways, enables ideal adaptation of the machine to the needs of each construction site. Four hydraulic swing legs enable easier transportation of the machine and ensure its outstanding ability to adapt to all conditions typically encountered on construction sites. In Las Vegas, the four-track paver will be shown in a paving train together with a placer/spreader WPS 102i and a texture curing machine TCM 180i.

When road surfaces and paths are paved over preplaced reinforcing steel, the concrete can often only be supplied from the side. The placer/spreaders from Wirtgen are the perfect choice for this task. As the leading machine in a paving train, they travel over the pre-placed steel rebar ahead of the slipform paver and the texture curing machine. The concrete supplied from the side by a truck is then evenly distributed across the entire working width by the placer/spreader. The concrete can be placed for working widths ranging from 4 to 12 m at thicknesses of up to 500 mm. Thanks to its fully modular construction concept and standard fitted quick-release hydraulic couplings, the WPS 102i can be just as easily reconfigured as its ‘little brother’, the WPS 62i. This enables fast transportation from site to site and maximises machine utilisation rates. The WPS 102i can be precisely controlled by stringline scanning, by stringless 3D application or by Wirtgen AutoPilot 2.0.

AutoPilot 2.0 is a control system developed by Wirtgen for stringless paving as an alternative to the conventional mechanical scanning of a stringline. The system, which precisely controls both the machine’s height adjustment and steering, is available for all offset pavers and placer/spreaders. A GNSS signal and, depending on the configuration, various local sensors – for example, an ultrasonic sensor on the machine – serve as a reference. This completely eliminates the need for a stringline and the time and effort otherwise required for setting it up and removing it after job completion. It also enables fast and precise paving of tight radii and complex geometries. The Wirtgen AutoPilot 2.0 system provides machine control and stringless control of the concrete paving process in one.