Maddox's WL50 wheel loader learns to fill its own bucket
An automatic bucket-fill mode reads rimpull and lift pressure to load a full bucket on every pass, whoever is in the seat.
Maddox Machinery has introduced the WL50, a mid-size wheel loader with an automatic bucket-fill mode meant to close the gap between new and experienced operators. The operator drives into the pile and holds a button; the machine manages lift, tilt, and wheel speed until the bucket is full.
The system watches rimpull, lift cylinder pressure, and wheel slip together. When the tyres start to spin or the bucket stalls, it crowds and lifts in short pulses, much as a skilled operator would, instead of driving harder into the pile.
Consistency over speed
Maddox is not claiming the feature is faster than its best operators. In yard trials, the automatic mode matched the top quartile on bucket fill and cycle time, and the gains came from lifting the bottom of the range. Tyre wear also fell because the loader spun its wheels less often.
“Our best operator was slightly faster than the machine. Everyone else was a lot slower. That's the whole business case.”
The WL50 also comes with onboard payload weighing, so each truck can be loaded to its legal limit without a trip across the weighbridge. Maddox has not announced pricing.
- Wheel loaders
- Automation
- Aggregates
