Wirtgen introduces precision grinding on X-Tier milling machine

At CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026, Wirtgen revealed the W 210 XF, the first milling machine available with optional Wirtgen Precision Grinding (WPG) technology.

In place of the milling drum, a WPG grinding shaft with more than 300 diamond grinding discs rapidly rotates to deliver a particularly high degree of surface evenness with a depth of 0 to 50 mm and width of 1,875 mm. Wirtgen says that WPG provides a smoother surface, lowering IRI. Operation of the W 210 XF with WPG is similar to traditional milling. The speed is slower, but the controls are the same, and slurry trucks are swapped instead of dump trucks.

Applications for Wirtgen Precision Grinding

WPG is suited to asphalt, cobblestone, and concrete surfaces, including bridge decks and concrete roadways. It can be used to improve surface grip and compensate for surface irregularities; it can also create grooving for drainage on pavement surfaces to prevent vehicle hydroplaning. Wirtgen's LEVEL PRO ACTIVE grade and slope control system ensures precision, improving evenness, cross-slope, and roughness characteristics of the surface.

How Wirtgen Precision Grinding works

Different profiles are created by changing the combination of grinding and spacer discs on the shaft, and a high-performance gearbox enables a range of grinding shaft speeds to suit a variety of applications. The heavy-duty belt drive ensures reliability of the grinding shaft, even at high rotation speeds.

Optimized water injection into the grinding process lowers grinding disc wear, and sensors monitor the slurry temperature to detect if grinding discs are insufficiently cooled. Up to 37 gallons of water can be sprayed per minute (140 litres), and large tanks provide a water supply for up to 60 minutes of spraying.

Powerful suction removes all grinding slurry from the grinding aggregate and leaves a clean surface. Two powerful cyclone separators separate air and slurry in the filtering process, and pumps transport the slurry into a slurry tanker that drives ahead of the machine.

Wirtgen has incorporated sound dampening into the design to reduce the noise level of the pneumatic extraction process.

This article originally appeared in the July/August 2026 issue of Heavy Equipment Guide.