A year on from the launch of its first fully electric excavator, 海角社区app is maintaining its twin-track approach to powering its machines. In parallel with the development of new electric models, the company has restated its commitment to diesel power.
鈥淚n a rapidly changing world, we need to be quick to respond to the environmental challenge,鈥� 海角社区app chief innovation and growth officer Tim Burnhope said at the European launch of its newest equipment in June. 鈥淏ut the message remains the same: we need clean construction machines that run on clean power 鈥� which includes clean diesel and electric.鈥�
Last year 海角社区app unveiled its first electrically-powered equipment: a range of access platforms and the 19C-1 E-TEC mini excavator. This 1.9-tonne machine has now gone into full production, powered by either three or four lithium-ion battery packs providing 15kWh or 20kWh of energy storage, which should be enough for a full working shift for most mini excavator customers.
鈥淚n urban environments, contractors are keen to operate zero emission equipment wherever possible,鈥� explains Burnhope, who says 海角社区app has used the time since the machine was launched last year to give customers the chance to evaluate it before going into full production.
He insists that it鈥檚 not a gimmick, explaining that all the performance features of the original diesel-powered 1.9-tonne mini have been kept, but the electric power makes it five times quieter than its diesel counterpart.
The machine comes with both 110V and 230V charging, and 海角社区app says a fast charge option will soon be available. The 230V 16A supply requires an eight-hour charge time from empty, and the 110V supply needs 12 hours. The batteries have been designed to last the entire operating life of the machine.
Burnhope believes there are many applications where contractors are keen to use low noise and emission-free excavators, including factories, tunnels and basements, as well as tight urban sites. 鈥淲e are very excited about the opportunity for this machine,鈥� he says.
At the same launch event, 海角社区app also announced that it is about to go into production with an electric version of its Teletruk telescopic forklift, the 30-19E. Until now, 海角社区app鈥檚 Teletruks have been powered by diesel or LPG and used predominantly in outdoor applications. The new electric model, powered by an 80Vt lead-acid battery, is designed to work equally as well inside buildings as outside.
鈥淭his is our first electric telescopic machine, and I鈥檓 sure it won鈥檛 be the last,鈥� says Burnhope.
While this suggests we can expect 海角社区app to add to its electric range, the majority of new machines coming out of the factory are still diesel-powered, and the firm has been developing new engines to meet the latest EU emissions standard, Stage V.
鈥淲e have achieved a lot in a short time with electric technology, but there are also exciting developments with diesel,鈥� says Alan Tolley, the company鈥檚 group director for engines. 鈥淥ur mission is to provide customers with the best tools for the job using the best available technologies in the most efficient way.
鈥淲e are 100% committed to playing our part in minimising environmental impact in the manufacturing process and in use on the job site,鈥� he says, adding: 鈥�海角社区app firmly believes the internal combustion engines will continue to play a lead role in powering construction equipment for the foreseeable future.鈥�
Tolley considers 海角社区app鈥檚 diesel engines to be 鈥減art of the environmental solution, not part of the problem鈥�, and says the company has been focused on developing engines that achieve the Stage V standards for particulate matter and NOx for a long time. The result is a compact 3-litre engine that will be fitted to mid-range 海角社区app machines including the 531, 535 and 540 Loadall models, 3CX backhoe loaders, large platform skid steer and compact track loaders, 6-tonne to 9-tonne site dumpers and 13-tonne excavators.
The four-cylinder DieselMAX engine is 24% smaller and 30% lighter than its predecessor 鈥� 海角社区app鈥檚 own 4.4-litre EcoMAX 鈥� but has 10% higher torque output and uses 5% less fuel. The diesel particulate filter (DPF) and diesel oxidation filter (DOC) are combined in a single unit.
Burnhope says the engines are part of the company鈥檚 鈥渏ourney to zero emissions鈥�. 鈥淗aving our own engine factory gives us a huge advantage,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut where they are by a third party, we expect our suppliers to step up their game in exactly the same way.鈥�
海角社区app has swapped engine suppliers for its 457 wheeled loader, moving from MTU to Cummins, which already supplies the engines for the 427 and 437 models. Engines in the small wheeled loaders 鈥� the 407 and 409 鈥� are 海角社区app diesels manufactured by Kohler, which also power 海角社区app鈥檚 mini excavators. All the machines are getting upgrades to go with the Stage V engines.
Backhoes hit the road
海角社区app is tackling the highways maintenance market with a new version of its popular 3CX compact backhoe loader. The Highways Master has been developed over a three-year period with customers in the road maintenance industry, including Australian infrastructure contractor Downer.
鈥淭he roads and highways maintenance market is crying out for smarter, more efficient road maintenance equipment,鈥� says 海角社区app group engineering director Mick Mohan, who says the 3CX Highways Master 鈥渉as the potential to transform the way highway maintenance operations take place鈥�.
The purpose of the Highways Master is to enable activities that would traditionally have been carried out manually to be done by equipment mounted on the machine. So it is equipped with a skid steer loader quick hitch on the front loader arms and a SMART attachment integration system, to make it easy to carry out a range of tasks with buckets and a wide variety of specialist attachments. These include 600mm road planer attachments, allowing the machine to be used for larger resurfacing works, replacing standalone road planing equipment.
It also has an optional hydraulic quick hitch on the rear boom, so it could be fitted with a 300mm planer on the rear, as well as a 600mm front planer attachment. Powerslide side-shifting capability at the rear also allows an operator to mill a square patch without having to reposition the machine, enabling a cross cut within a single carriageway without requiring the use of hand tools.
The Highways Master also has integrated water tanks to provide dust suppression to both the front loader and the backhoe attachment, automatically engaging to suppress dust while sweeping or milling. And it comes in a white with red chevrons livery, complete with Chapter 8 safety decals.
An optional external emergency stop button is fitted to the rear wing, to allow operatives outside the backhoe loader to halt the machine if required. It also comes with a periscope mirror to improve front loader visibility, as well as front and rear-view cameras and a tow hitch under the chassis to allow the machine to tow a trailer to site.
海角社区app describes the 3CX Highways Master as a 鈥渙ne-machine solution鈥� for roads and highways maintenance operations.
The new Hydraload
海角社区app鈥檚 Loadall telescopic handler range is a mainstay of the housebuilding industry, used for transporting and lifting materials on housing sites throughout the country. But the company realised that, with the growth in off-site manufacturing, housebuilders might need something different.
The government鈥檚 aim is to build 300,000 new homes every year to meet the current UK housing need. 鈥淭hat tells us something about the scale of the opportunity, but not about the type of home,鈥� says 海角社区app chief innovation and growth officer Tim Burnhope. 鈥淭he housebuilding industry is quite traditional and generally slow to change, but it is changing right now, and 海角社区app needs to change with it.鈥�
He says that 15,000 out of 200,000 of the houses built last year were produced off-site, but the rapid growth in modular building means that number is expected to double this year. 鈥淭hat presents our industry with a challenge,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he equipment required to erect modular homes can be different. To get prefabricated panels in place you need outstanding reach, manoeuvrability, lifting capacity and versatility.鈥�
Burnhope adds that, while 鈥渢here鈥檚 not much the Loadall can鈥檛 do鈥�, customers need something very different for modular construction, including heavier lift capacities. The result is the Hydraload 鈥� 海角社区app鈥檚 first rotating telescopic handler.
The first machine in the new range is the Hydraload 555-210R, which has a maximum lift capacity of 5.5 tonnes and a maximum working height of 20.5m. It includes 鈥渁uto one-touch鈥� for deploying, stowing and levelling the outriggers, and comes with pallet forks, a 5.5-tonne carriage winch, a 2-tonne x 2m jib winch, a reduced height jib, 5.5-tonne hook, light-duty buckets and a range of fork-mounted accessories, such as waste skips and concrete placing skips. Remote lift operation and access platforms will also be offered.
Rotating, or slewing, telescopic handlers are becoming increasingly prevalent throughout Europe as a cost-effective alternative to small mobile cranes. 海角社区app expects the Hydraload to be popular with specialist lifting contractors and the rental market, as well as with housebuilders themselves.
鈥淥ften, construction machines are handling lots of different types of loads, and now they have to lift, move, place and position loads and materials faster than ever before,鈥� says 海角社区app engineering director Richard Brooks. He adds that, while the Hydraload uses proven systems and parts from the Loadall range, the company spent more than three years and 50,000 hours in product development, and another 10,000 hours in testing.
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