Construction automation company Xpanner announced the commercial launch of the X1 Piling R6, a fully automated pile driving machine engineered to accelerate civil installation timelines on utility-scale solar and battery energy storage system construction sites. 

The system pairs Xpanner’s field-proven automation hardware and software stack with an Everstar R6 crawler base machine to automate pile positioning, travel, alignment, hammering, and depth control in a single execution cycle. 

Conventional pile driving typically requires a two-person crew operating alongside separate surveying, marking, and site preparation teams. The X1 folds those manual steps into an automated workflow executed via remote control. Operators upload a pile schedule and coordinate file, guide the machine to the start of a row, and initiate operation with a single command. 

High-precision dual-antenna GNSS receivers with Real-Time Kinematic support deliver centimeter-level positioning and orientation accuracy. Controlled by an onboard industrial controller operating on a real-time operating system, the system automatically navigates the crawler to each target location, aligns the mast, and drives piles to specified elevation and plumb tolerances without requiring personnel near the mast. 

The underlying stack builds on Xpanner’s PD10 platform, which has been deployed across more than 67 U.S. job sites by major engineering, procurement, and construction contractors. Integrated on the Everstar R6 carrier, the X1 achieves a 45% faster cycle time compared to the previous generation, according to the company. 

7 gallons per minute, the crawler features a high-frequency hydraulic hammer delivering up to 929 foot-pounds of impact energy. 35-inch borer pole with three energy settings to adjust for varying soil resistance and geotechnical conditions.

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