WORX+ draws its lineage from King Concepts, a company founded by the family who pioneered the ‘Dual Drive’ grinder in the early 2000s. “We made a real innovation in the Dual Drive,” says WORX+ managing director Tim Van der Veen. “Our grinder was actually taking the industry forward, what we considered was quite a big leap forward with regards to that control over the big head, and we spent the next seven years essentially building machines, refining them and selling them.”

While King Concepts was later acquired by Husqvarna, the driving force behind the machine, the Van Der Veen family, have continued to work in the concrete grinding and polishing industry for over a decade through education, servicing, and tooling. Josh, Tim, and other Van Der Veen family members have sat down and told their stories from the beginning on the WORX+ TechTalk podcast. The unveiling of the King Series grinders now represents a return to their roots.

When the King Series is launched in January, the company says that this is only the tip of the iceberg as  the WORX+ team aim to enhance the launch via the ‘Grinder Series’ episodes via its YouTube channel (youtube.com/worxplus). With this, the aim is to pull back the curtain to behind the scenes experiences to witness the challenging process of crafting the grinders. In the Grinder Series, Tim, Josh, Hayden and Brandon explain not only the evolution of grinding technology, but all the details about how WORX+ believe they are making their best machine yet.

Big motor, big intelligence

In the episodes, the team discuss how a 22kW permanent magnet motor will crown the King Series. This motor is said to be more powerful than most on the market, with its presence meaning the grinder will be 50kg lighter. Though 22kW is a big motor, it is not the biggest. “We’re moving away from just bigger, more brawn, and we’re going to more intelligence,” says product innovation specialist Hayden McDonald.

The motor is designed with intelligent control capabilities, and integrated sensors which aim to provide real time feedback to frequency inverters. This enhanced data feedback means contractors will be able to fine tune their operations and maximise their productivity. For those wanting to scale the power down because they are using a smaller generator or standard house power, WORX+ have incorporated a dual power setting feature, with the choice between operating at 15kW or the full 22kW power capacity.

Inside the King Series’ head

It is no secret that the grinding head is the heart and soul of the machine. “This is the bit that gets the job done. It’s doing the hard work. Everything else is really a support act to the grinding head of the machine,” says Hayden. WORX+ have opted to use a three head rather than four head configuration.

This choice is designed to enable the King Series to work across a wide range of applications while delivering superior floor flatness. 

The WORX+ three head machine is designed to incorporate the advantages of a four head system. Traditionally, four head machines offer more contact between the diamond tooling and the floor. However, WORX+ believes it has countered this by engineering extra-large discs for the King Series. These larger discs are designed to not only replicate the contact area of four head machines but also house more diamond tooling. Another key benefit of the three head design is how it allows enough space to maximise torque. “It gives us a much bigger opportunity or range of options, as far as that ratio between centre drive pulley, fly pulley and of course the disc that it’s driving,” says Tim.

In contrast, the compact design of four head machines restricts space for belt wraps, reducing the gripping area on the pulley. This limitation affects the drive mechanism’s ability to deliver peak power.  The King Series is said to overcome this constraint, ensuring that every gram of its torque potential is realised. 

Size really does matter

WORX+ has carefully considered the machine’s geometry and recognised its crucial impact on handling and performance which means the machine looks ‘different’. But in this instance, bigger is not better. The King Series grinders will be compact and similar in length to smaller machines in its class, while offering the power and productivity of a larger machine. WORX+ states it has strategically optimised the distance between the wheels and the head. This means the traditional load on the drivetrain is reduced, with this optimisation meaning delivery of what the company believes is excellent manoeuvrability.

“What’s it going to do? How’s it going to get around a pole? How’s it going to tip back?” asks Hayden. “How far a wheel is from a head has a whole lot to do with how the machine’s going to react.” The company also states that its unique King Series design maximises the distance between the wheels and the machine’s edge enabling grinding along walls and around obstacles more effectively.

A new way of troubleshooting

Historically, troubleshooting grinder problems has involved a frustrating process of trial and error, often over the phone in busy environments, and relying heavily on the information provided by the frequency inverter. This stumbling process means downtime is often substantial. The introduction of remote controlled machines has presented more data to help fix issues faster, but still, this data is limited in scope. That is why WORX+ is spearheading a new era of remote diagnostics by introducing grinders with a built in system of remote monitoring and data logging.

The cloud based platform is designed to allow both technicians and operators to access live data from the King Series, including motor speeds, current draw, voltage, and other critical parameters, eliminating the need for onsite inspection and phone based data relaying of cryptic error codes. This shift to sophisticated troubleshooting means that users will be able to monitor their King Series grinder and proactively address problems before they appear. If they do arise, technicians will be able to access accurate and high quality information and reduce the machine’s downtime dramatically.

Wheel drives reimagined   

The team at WORX+ have put extensive thought into the wheel drive system and have incorporated an electronic control system where each wheel is driven by a dedicated, high capacity controller, with a PLC system governing the entire wheel drive system. With this control, the company says users can fine tune wheel speed with exceptional precision and tailor the machine’s performance to their specific needs and preferences. The team have also prioritised heavy duty components to make sure the King Series is rock solid and resistant to wear. To further bolster the grinders’ stability and address a common issue of ‘twitchy’ head movements, large pins in the locking system have been incorporated in order to deliver a more controlled grinding experience and a smoother result.