Thanks, I hope to do a few more this year

Hi Alex, you are right, I am looking into it. Started off with the good old gopro and having had a play about, I now realise it needs some improvements and sound is one of them

Its on my list of videos to make but I find it hard to make time for when on site as there is always pressure to get the job done, not mess about filming!

No laser for this. I used the measuring function to work out what existing gradient I had and used that data to input into the Idig grade screen. This allowed me to copy the same grade as I worked along the bank, even though the bank height diminished as I got further away from the camera. Between Idig and your experience as a machine operator, there isn't much you really need the laser for I find.

Yep, I didnt lay the patio....

The basic setup including install is around £6.5k from memory. You can add tilt sensors, grade to blade, extra mounting plates for other machines etc to this

Hi, the system does not control the machine at all, it is purely guidance. You can dig sideways with the tiltrotator in softer ground or for trimming up something like this, but its not the most efficient way to dig - more useful to keep things tidy if that makes sense. The bigger machines would dig sideways in harder ground I would think

@@Olliegunns I meant that would the grade reading or idig controls still be functional with rotation of cab without moving the tracks?

There are sensors in the machine, the boom, dipper and on the quick hitch that calculate exactly where the bucket is - if you tell it you have the right bucket on that is!

So I charge more when on day work for my machines equipped with Idig, and the contractors I work for, appreciate the advantages it brings. On price work, I charge for two men per day and only turn up with myself and some smart kit. Works well on most jobs but it cant lay pipe or kerbs, or make tea! So sometimes it works well but other days you are working twice as hard to make it work - in and out of the machine.

@@Olliegunns alright. Thanks. Smart way of doing it. Yeah, im second year in going solo with a small excavator in sweden. And pricing is tricky. Thanks for the insight. Taking it into consideration

Sure I could have done this by eye, and I don't think any of these systems make a bad operator better, you still need to use your head. What the Idig does is help you check what your eye is saying is right. And I needed to demonstrate the feature on something - this little batter was all I had but the principles remain the same no matter how big the batter.

@@Olliegunns I know that mate, shame not a big shedbase etc to demo it etc

@@cyberprop My Idig with laser video is on a 60x30m shed base. All dug 2m deep into a hill with a 3t digger and a 1t dumper! (I was on daywork don't ask!) But it demonstrates how I use it to grade a large area.

@@Olliegunns didn't see that one but watching it now

Good question , as a senior operator i have aquired this skill from practice

I paid just over £13k plus vat for the whole setup including a grab. But obviously it would be more expensive on a 135. These things vary so much in cost really depending on what control system you are after. I could have had one on my 8026 for £6k for example. Its difficult to compare prices on vastly different setups. As for return on investment, it took me 3 years to get my head around purchase price - but once I made the leap, its been brilliant for me and has earned me money in ways I would never have thought possible. But they aren't for everyone and it really depends on the type of work you do. If you are grading and shaping all day - its a no brainer. If you are on deep drainage or muck shifting, then there isn't much point really.

@@Olliegunns yeah was thinking of getting on on a sk75sr kobelco

For the money this saves me, Ill make my own tea! An old labourer of mine once used milk that was 7 months out of date on the theory that he wanted to use up the old stuff in the site fridge....

Hi James, it doesn't control the machine, its guidance. But for £6k what do you expect!