All About Heavy Machines

HYDREMA 912D Dump Truck

2009-11-13T02:58:00.000-08:00

The new Hydrema 912D has a host of features designed to improve operator safety and output. The proven articulated chassis is designed to keep the nett weight low and give excellent cross country performance while still carrying a high payload. The new cab offers the operator the highest levels of comfort and the new tier 3 engine will keep the 912D ahead of the field.

HYDREMA 900FDV Flood Defence Vehicle

2009-11-13T02:53:00.000-08:00

Saving critical time and resources Floods are difficult to predict and cause great devastation. Up until now, when excessive water masses threatened an area, oceans of time and resources have been spent in the struggle to retain the water with sandbags.

But no longer: The Mobile Dam replaces the use of sandbags in case of flooding. In just 5 hours, four men using the Hydrema 900FDV are able to lay out 1 km of mobile dam.

HYDREMA M1400C Excavator

2009-11-13T02:52:00.000-08:00

The M1400C, 14 tons is a true city excavator - compact, strong and comfortable with high capacity hydraulic and engine output. The precision excavator geometry makes the M1400C a universal excavator.

On road or off-road - the M1400C can move quickly from one work place to the next. Like all Hydrema excavators, the M1400C is equipped with a computer-controlled instrument panel, advanced Load Sensing hydreaulics and modular undercarriage - offering high excavating performance.

The design, performance and comfort all benefits the professional user. Powerful arguments...obvious advantages!

Turbine Generators(Hydrogen/Water Cooled Generators (Cross Compound Type))

2009-11-13T02:45:00.000-08:00

1,000MW Turbine Generator
(Cross Compound Type)Soma Kyodo Power Co.
Shinchi Power Station Unit No.1 (Japan)

634.8MVA (3,000rpm) / 519.9MVA (1,500rpm)

Hitachi and Sumitomo Corp. Win Joint Order for Two Steam Turbine Generators for Egypt's First Super-Critical Thermal Power Plant

2009-11-13T02:40:00.000-08:00

Tokyo, September 15, 2009 --- Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT / TSE:6501) and Sumitomo Corporation today announced that both companies have been awarded an approximate 30 billion yen contract for 2 steam turbine generators for Egypt’s first super-critical thermal power plant. This plant will be constructed on the Gulf of Suez by Egyptian power company East Delta Electricity Production Company.

The order is a full turn-key contract involving the manufacture, installation and trial operation of equipment, including two 650 MW steam turbine generators. Plans call for the construction work and handover to be completed in the summer of 2013. Tenders had been filed on March 19, 2009 and following subsequent business and technological scrutiny by the customer, the contract was awarded to Hitachi and Sumitomo Corp. based on the overall superiority of their tender. The project will be financed by the African Development Bank.

The generators will be installed at the new power station to be built in the Ain Sokhna region, which is located about 120 kilometers to the east-southeast of Cairo, and will meet growing demand for electricity within Egypt which is being spurred by the country’s steady economic growth. The generators will be the first in Egypt to employ super-critical thermal power generation technology, which controls CO₂ emissions through highly efficient generation by increasing the operating pressure and temperature of steam. The generators will be fueled mainly by natural gas and the power station will boast an output of 1,300 MW of electricity.

Hitachi and Sumitomo Corp. won orders in Egypt for steam turbine generators for combined-cycle thermal power generation facilities in May 2002 and September 2005, as well as an order for thermal power plant boilers in September 2007. With electricity demand forecast to grow by 6% to 7% per annum through 2012 in Egypt, more power plants are expected to be built in the country. Hitachi and Sumitomo Corp. will continue actively seeking to win orders in Egypt and surrounding regions.

247B Series 2 Multi Terrain Loader

2009-11-07T02:53:00.001-08:00

The Caterpillar Multi Terrain Loader, with its many work tool options, is a highly versatile, compact construction machine. It is designed to deliver traditional Cat reliability and productivity in the toughest working conditions.

583T PIPELAYER

2009-11-07T02:46:00.000-08:00

Engineered for reliable production in the toughest conditions. The 583T's high horsepower and rugged components are designed for tough and varied working conditions. This machine offers the reliability and durability expected from Cat Pipelayers.

RM-300 ROTARY MIXER

2009-11-07T02:41:00.000-08:00

The RM-300 combines superior performance and reliability to achieve the most demanding job specifications while maximizing machine uptime. With many enhanced features and options, the RM-300 is designed to work well in both full depth reclamation and soil stabilization applications.

Komatsu, Adaro and United Tractors Execute a Basic Agreement Regarding Indonesian Bio Diesel Fuel Project

2009-11-07T01:39:00.000-08:00

Komatsu Ltd. (President & CEO: Kunio Noji) ("Komatsu"), PT Adaro Energy Tbk (President Director: Garibaldi Thohir) ("Adaro") and PT United Tractors Tbk (President Director: Djoko Pranoto) ("UT") have executed a basic agreement to jointly advance the Bio Diesel Fuel Pilot Project in Indonesia (the "Project").

By March 31, 2010, Komatsu, Adaro and UT will start the Project to produce Bio Diesel Fuel (*1) ("BDF") from Jatropha (*2) and other feedstock plants and operate Komatsu mining dump trucks (payload: 90-ton class, "Komatsu Dump Trucks") fueled by the BDF at the Adaro coal mine in Kalimantan, Indonesia.

The project aims to ultimately achieve a sustainable environmentally friendly mining operation in the mining concession area of PT Adaro Indonesia, Adaro's wholly owned subsidiary.

Komatsu will establish a BDF plant (production capacity: 1 to 2 tons/day) and a laboratory to ensure quality of the produced BDF on the Adaro coal mine. As a manufacturer, Komatsu will also render the standard warranty to Komatsu Dump Trucks fueled by the BDF produced from the Project.

Adaro will plant Jatropha and other feedstock plants on its reclamation areas and produce BDF from their seeds or fruits to be used by the Komatsu Dump Trucks operating at the Adaro coal mine.

UT, as the Komatsu distributor in Indonesia, will provide product support for the Komatsu Dump Trucks fueled by the BDF.

The target of the Project is to operate 100 units of Komatsu Dump Trucks in and after 2012. When 20% of the currently used mineral diesel fuel will be replaced with BDF to operate dump trucks on a scale of 100 units, approximately 8,000 tons of BDF will be used annually and contribute to the reduction of approximately 20,000 tons of CO2 emissions which are roughly equivalent to 10% of CO2 emissions generated by Komatsu manufacturing plants in Japan. In the event that emission credit will be issued from the Project, Komatsu will be entitled to such credit under the basic agreement.

Notes

*1 BDF is an alternative fuel to mineral diesel oil, produced from vegetable oil or waste food oil. Popular feedstock plants are soybeans, rapeseed and palm. It is regarded that BDF will not increase the amount of CO2 in the air because the feedstock plants absorb CO2 from the air while they are growing.

*2 Jatropha is considered as one of ideal feedstock plants that produces oil from its inedible seeds and grows even on dry and less fertile soil.

Outline of the Komatsu Hybrid System

2009-11-07T01:37:00.001-08:00

The proprietary Komatsu Hybrid System converts energy generated when the upper structure of a hydraulic excavator reduces its speed while turning, stores the energy in the capacitor and uses it to assist the power of the engine via the power generation motor when the engine accelerates.

While standard equipment normally uses a hydraulic motor to turn the upper structure, we have developed an electric motor exclusively for the Hybrid. Through the use of this new motor, which recovers energy generated when the upper structure's turns slow down, we have achieved a hybrid hydraulic excavator.

Compared with the standard PC200-8, we have achieved an average reduction in fuel consumption of 25% via test results. Furthermore, in field tests with our customers, we confirmed a maximum reduction of 41% at a job site where the machine's upper structure turns more frequently.

Making Inroads in Hybrid Technology to Power the Future

2009-11-07T01:35:00.000-08:00

In May 2008, Komatsu announced the world's first commercially available hybrid construction equipment, the PC200-8 Hybrid hydraulic excavator. We spoke with Mr. Hikosaburo Hiraki, who was centrally involved from the outset with the development of the Komatsu Hybrid System, which contributes to reductions in CO₂ emissions and fuel consumption.

Views: Can hybrid systems be effective in hydraulic excavators?

Mr. Hiraki: Actually, hybrid systems are more effective in hydraulic excavators than passenger cars. When a car travels on an ordinary road, the driver will typically apply the brakes (decelerate) about once every 5 to 10 minutes. In contrast, the upper structure of a hydraulic excavator turns at a rate of once every seven seconds when loading, generating energy each time it slows down. Since the structure turns and reduces speed at a high frequency by efficiently storing energy, it makes the hybrid system a perfect fit.

Views: How is the hybrid system of a passenger car different from that of the PC200-8?

Mr. Hiraki: It may seem surprising, but the kinetic energy of the PC200-8 hydraulic excavator is about the same as that of a standard passenger car. Kinetic energy is proportional to the multiplication of the mass and the square of velocity. As such, there is little difference in the kinetic energy of a passenger car that is light and moves quickly and that of the PC200-8, which is heavy and moves slowly, but the upper structure turns quickly. We therefore believed it was possible to take certain aspects of the hybrid system of a passenger car and apply them to the PC200-8 hybrid system. With this in mind, we pursued further research into the hybrid system of the passenger car, confident that we could utilize it in construction equipment. However, because the upper structure of hybrid excavators are required to turn frequently, it was imperative to identify how to efficiently store in a small device the instantaneous energy generated while turning in order to make hybrid construction equipment a reality. Eventually, we developed a capacitor that could store and discharge electric energy instantaneously. In the PC200-8 hybrid system, the electricity discharged from the capacitor is used to assist the engine when it is accelerating, which is the major difference from the hybrid system of a passenger car.

Views: It seems that some of the people who viewed the PC200-8 Hybrid for the first time were disappointed that it looked almost the same as conventional models. Is there a reason the exteriors look the same?

Mr. Hiraki: We commenced development based on the idea that as long as conventional and hybrid systems existed together, the appearance should be similar. The reason for this is to make it possible to mass produce this machine on standard factory production lines rather than equipment solely for research purposes. Originally, however, the shape and size were such that it looked nothing like conventional construction equipment. In the end, I am proud we found a way to make it look the same, which is what we do at Komatsu.

Our basic policy is to make all core components in-house. We have always manufactured engines and hydraulic devices internally, but electric motors were a whole different realm. Komatsu always seeks to challenge unfamiliar territory, however, which is our policy and part of our corporate characteristics. Through in-house production, we can make refinements according to our needs and provide outstanding products to customers.

Views: What other areas were particularly difficult during development?

Mr. Hiraki: Since the voltage used by hybrid systems is higher than conventional construction equipment, we had to be vigilant in ensuring a safe design. Simply switching off the power doesn't necessarily make construction equipment safe, and we needed to consider every possible scenario for how the machine would be used. This meant we had to think of each and every possible safety measure. We visited the factory on numerous occasions to seek advice and considered various scenarios before deciding on the safest possible design. In addition to guaranteeing human safety, we also enhanced monitoring to ensure the proper operating condition of the construction equipment itself, or in other words, improved fault diagnostics. We extensively conducted logic checks as well as preliminary tests using actual equipment. It took a long time, for example, to resolve unexpected variations in voltage that occurred when the environmental temperature was -30°C (-22°F).

Views: What has been the result at customers' sites?

Mr. Hiraki: Some customers have achieved a 30% or 40% reduction in fuel consumption, surpassing the 25% reduction our test results showed.

Konatsu Products Overview

2009-11-07T01:28:00.000-08:00

Komatsu Ltd., established in 1921, is a diversified provider of industrial-use products and services. While remaining an international leader in the field of construction and mining equipment, the Company engages in other business, such as industrial machinery and vehicles, logistics, electronics and other solutions-based operations. By upholding “Quality and Reliability” as the most important management policy, Komatsu is resolutely committed to providing safe, innovative products and services that best meet the needs and expectations of its customers around the world.

420E/420E IT Backhoe Loader

2009-11-07T01:22:00.000-08:00

With standard pilot-operated joystick controls, a more comfortable operator station, extendible stick design and increased performance, the 420E/420E IT lets you get more done with less effort.

730 Ejector Articulated Truck

2009-11-07T01:18:00.000-08:00

Cat 730 Ejector with 31 ton rated payload offers proven reliability and durability, high productivity, superior operator comfort and lower operating costs. Spacious two-person cab with forward facing trainer/passenger seat and off road oil/nitrogen front suspension cylinders keep the operator comfortable through out the working day. True “on-the-go” differential locks with simple operation improve cycle times and productivity. Strong, durable Cat ACERT engines and electronically controlled transmissions deliver high productivity with low fuel consumption.

Bulldozer Operation Methods for Saving on Fuel Consumption and Improving Fuel Efficiency

2009-11-07T00:15:00.000-08:00

The basic job of a bulldozer is to dig and carry earth. Productivity and fuel consumption are highly dependent on factors such as site geography, including level or sloping ground, as well as soil composition. In addition, since a bulldozer predominantly operates at full power using its own weight, it is difficult to save on fuel consumption while working. Useful bulldozer operation methods that boost fuel efficiency by improving productivity and saving on fuel consumption during idling periods such as waiting for a dump truck are provided herein. We use results from the D155-6 model to illustrate this point.

Please note the fuel efficiency data shown here may vary depending on the actual work site, machine condition and operator skill.

1. Avoid High Idling and Practice Idling Stops

When waiting for a dump truck at the dumping site, for example, it is possible to curb fuel consumption by avoiding high idling whenever possible. Specifically, use either low idling or depress the decelerator pedal to slow down the engine speed. Test results are as follows:

(1) Switching from high idling to low idling for 30 minutes a day saves on fuel consumption by 1,710 liters (452 U.S. gal) a year.

(2) Turning the engine off rather than using low idling for one hour a day saves on fuel consumption by 2,430 liters (642 U.S. gal) a year.