Cutting assembly mounted on rear of mouldboard

A motor grader comprising:

• a frame supported on wheels for rolling movement along the ground in a forward working direction;
• a mouldboard having a main body supported on the frame that is elongated in a longitudinal direction of the mouldboard and that is tiltable relative to the frame about a tilt axis oriented in the longitudinal direction of the mouldboard such that the tilt axis is transverse to the forward working direction;
• a blade body fastened along a lower portion of the main body of the mouldboard, the blade body having a lower blade edge for engaging the ground;
• a cutting assembly comprising:
• a cutter body including a forward mounting face mounted along a rear face of the main body of the mouldboard and fastener apertures receiving fasteners therethrough that fasten the cutter body against the rear face of the main body of the mouldboard;
• and
• a plurality of cutting tips supported within respective sockets along a row in the cutter body;
• the mouldboard being pivotal about the tilt axis between a normal working position and a cutting position of the mouldboard in which the lower blade edge of the blade body is tilted about the tilt axis upwardly and forwardly in relation to the normal working position;
• the cutting tips being supported on the cutter body and the cutter body being supported on the mouldboard such that an orientation of the blade body and an orientation of the cutting tips on the cutter body remain fixed relative to the main body in the normal working position relative to the cutting position of the mouldboard;
• and
• the cutting tips being supported on the cutter body and the cutter body being the cutting tips being supported on the cutter body and the cutter body being supported on the main body of the mouldboard such that:
• (i) the cutting tips are raised relative to the lower blade edge of the blade body in the normal working position of the mouldboard;
• and
• (ii) the cutting tips protrude below the lower blade edge of the blade body in the cutting position of the mouldboard;
• wherein the fastener apertures in the cutter body are in alignment with fastener apertures in the main body of the mouldboard and the blade body such that the blade body and the cutter body are mounted onto the main body of the mouldboard using a common set of fasteners.

A method of operating a motor grader including a frame supported on wheels for rolling movement along the ground in forward working direction and a mouldboard having a main body that is elongated in a longitudinal direction of the mouldboard and that is tiltable relative to the frame about a tilt axis oriented in the longitudinal direction of the mouldboard such that the tilt axis is transverse to the forward working direction, the method comprising:

• providing a blade body fastened along a lower portion of the main body of the mouldboard at a front side of the main body of the mouldboard such that a lower blade edge of the blade body is configured to engage the ground;
• providing a cutter body fastened at a rear side of the main body of the mouldboard, the cutter body including a forward mounting face mounted against a rear face of the main body of the mouldboard in which the cutter body includes fastener apertures in alignment with fastener apertures in the main body of the mouldboard and fastener apertures in the blade body such that a common set of fasteners received within the fastener apertures commonly (i) fasten the cutter body against the rear face of the main body of the mouldboard and (ii) fasten the blade body against the front side of the main body;
• providing a plurality of cutting tips supported within respective sockets along a row in the cutter body;
• and
• displacing the cutter body between (i) a normal working position in which the cutting tips are raised relative to the lower blade edge of the blade body, and (ii) a cutting position in which the cutting tips protrude below the lower blade edge of the blade body by pivoting of the main body of the mouldboard relative to the frame about the tilt axis.