Wirtgen’s W 220 Fi cold milling machine features the exclusive Mill Assist standard assistance system that provides the optimal balance between performance and operating costs.
When it comes to cold milling machines, it is always to the contractor's advantage to have options. From taking a little off the top to full-depth removal, Wirtgen's new W 220 Fi offers the ability to perform the task in the most effective and economical way.
Full-service road construction and asphalt producer Atlas Paving Company recently used a W 220 Fi to remove a residential two-lane road in Canadian County, Okla., as part of a full-depth reclamation project. The job called for milling 6-in. of existing asphalt, a little more than half of the 14-in. capability of the 801-hp.mill. The W 220 Fi has a drum width of 7 ft., 3 in., so Atlas Paving Company removed each 20-ft. lane in three passes throughout the entire 3.5 mi.
"With the new W 220 Fi we were taking up 30 to 40 feet per minute, which is about double what we would normally get on a project like this," said Atlas Paving's Milling Lead Man Randy Stafford. "There are a lot of great features that increase production. For instance, with the push of a couple of buttons you can easily switch between the ski, shoe, slope or GPS."
Mill Assist for Optimal Performance
With the W 220 Fi, operators have multiple modes to choose from, including Power, which runs the milling drum at 1,700 to 1,800 rpm and increases drum-speed efficiency, as it chews its way through hard asphalt. It is one of five modes available on the W 220 Fi, including Auto, which, when used with Wirtgen's exclusive Mill Assist standard assistance system, provides the optimal balance between performance and operating costs, according to Gregory Gatewood, technology specialist of Wirtgen America.
"Auto mode with Mill Assist not only improves performance, it also reduces diesel, water and pick consumption, as well as CO2 emissions," Gatewood said. "Mill Assist lets users set the milling index, including the drum and cutting tools, to get the best pattern possible, along with excellent performance. The mill also has Eco, Manual and Pattern modes, so there is a lot of versatility, and operators can easily match the mode to the task for optimal efficiency. Pattern is great for profile jobs."
Two-Speed Transmission Extends Drum Speed Range
The W 220 Fi has various drive concepts that ensure maximum performance in all applications and modes. For example, it is equipped with a two-speed dual shift transmission that switches from low to high during operation and offers a broad range of applications. Its intelligent control extends both the upper and lower ranges of possible milling drum speeds. At lower speed, fuel and pick wear can be significantly reduced. At higher speeds, milling pattern quality is ensured.
Operators also can preselect a working strategy from "Cost-optimized," "Performance-optimized" or "Milling texture quality." For example, it is possible to define the required milling texture quality on a scale of 1 (coarse) to 10 (very fine) in advance with the touch of a button.
Further expanding the technological offerings on the W 220 Fi is the new Wirtgen Performance Tracker (WPT), which calculates the precise milling surface performance, volume and consumption values. WPT collects and displays the data during operation in real time on the machine's operator platform. It also gathers the operational data and automatically generates a report immediately upon completion of a project.
"The advanced features on the Wirtgen W 220 Fi make it an ideal milling machine for a variety of applications," said Kirby-Smith Machinery Territory Manager Don Jacobson, who helped Atlas Paving add the mill to a fleet that already included Wirtgen W 210 and W 220 models. "We are planning to connect additional technology to the W 220 Fi and make it compatible with a Topcon 3D system. This will allow intelligent machine control with GPS and a base station."
(Reprinted with permission from the Kirby-Smith Connection January 2021 magazine.)
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