A grader is a construction machine with a long blade used to create a flat surface during the grading process. Characteristic models have three axles, with the engine and cab situated above the rear axles at one end of the vehicle and a third axle at the front end of the vehicle, with the blade in between them. In certain countries, for example in Germany, almost every grader is equipped with a second blade that is placed in front of the front axle. Some construction personnel refer to the entire machine as "The Blade". Capacities range from a blade width of 2.50 to 7.30 m and engines from 93–373 kW. Certain graders can operate more than one attachments, or be used for separate tasks like underground mining.
In civil engineering, the grader's purpose is to refine or set precisely the "rough grading" performed by heavy equipment or engineering vehicles such as scrapers and bulldozers.
Graders are commonly used in the construction and maintenance of dirt roads and gravel roads. In the construction of paved roads they are used to prepare the base course to create a wide flat surface for the asphalt to be placed on. Graders are also used to set native soil foundation pads to finish grade prior to the construction of large buildings. Graders can produce inclined surfaces, for banking of roads.
A more recent innovation is the outfitting of graders with GPS technology, such as manufactured by Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc., Trimble Navigation, Leica Geosystems or Mikrofyn for precise grade control and potentially stakeless construction.
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