Loading leaders in 2016

It’s been a great year to date for all quarrying customers looking for new robust and productive loading models. Guy Woodford reports.

Volvo Construction Equipment is demonstrating its commitment to innovation despite the tough global sales market.

No better example of this can be seen in the Swedish construction and quarrying equipment giant’s bauma 2016 unveiling of its 90tonne Tier 4 Final/Stage IV complaint EC950E hydraulic crawler excavator – its biggest hydraulic crawler excavator to date.

“I’m very pleased to say that on the first day of the show, we were taking orders on this,” said Martin Weissburg, president of 3573 Volvo CE, during the company’s bauma 2016 press conference. “We’re very excited about it. It’s the best in class, driving the best total cost of ownership for our customers in terms of cost per tonne moved. It’s meeting demand and strengthening our support for customers in the mining, quarrying and heavy construction segment.”

Powered by a 446kW Volvo D16 engine and offering over 424kN of breakout force and 408kN of tearout force, the EX950E is said to deliver more tonnes/hour due to its high bucket capacity, powerful performance and high durability.

For increased versatility, the model’s attachment management system enables the use of various attachments, allowing the operator to pre-set hydraulic flow and pressure inside the cab through the monitor.

The EC950E features a wide track gauge, long track length, a retractable undercarriage and an optimised counterweight, resulting in a well-balanced, solid machine. All machine interfaces – including joysticks, keypad and LCD monitor – are said to be ergonomically positioned and designed for optimum control and efficiency.

The heavy-duty design of the EC950E is said to ensure a job is done quickly. Built with protected components, including a heavy-duty boom and arm, a strong frame structure, and a heavy-duty plate, the giant hydraulic crawler excavator can be relied on for longevity and sustained uptime in demanding applications. Volvo’s durable, high-quality buckets are said to be perfectly matched to the EC950E for digging in all working conditions. The General Purpose, Heavy- Duty or Extreme-Duty buckets are built with wear-resistant, steel plates, perfect for quarrying and mining applications.
In order to maximise uptime, Volvo has ensured that essential maintenance points are easily accessed via the wide-opening and conveniently located compartment doors, using central and surrounding walkways. The Swedish sector giant also offers a range of services to help to improve uptime and decrease the total cost of ownership.

These include Customer Support Agreements, CareTrack, and an extensive global dealer network. CASE Construction Equipment is said to be reaping the benefits of its significant investment in two new European production hubs.

The CNH Industrial Construction Equipment brand is developing its wheeled equipment production hub in Lecce and its excavator production hub in San Mauro.

Speaking at bauma 2016, Andy Blandford, vice president CNH Industrial Construction Equipment Europe, Africa & Middle East, said, “A key element for our growth is having an efficient manufacturing footprint.

Our excavator hub in San Mauro includes the introduction of 7341 Sumitomo and 394 CASE designed, CASE crawler excavators into its production. This project builds on more than 20 years of successful collaboration with them. They have shared their manufacturing processes with us, and their standards, and helped us to implement these standards into San Mauro.”

Blandford said production of the first Sumitomo and CASE designed, CASE crawler excavator models at the San Mauro production hub had now started, and by June 2016 the first eight, ranging from 13-30tonnes, were due to roll off the production line.

The wheeled equipment production hub is focused on five product families: wheeled loaders; compact wheeled loaders; tractor loader backhoes; graders; and telescopic handlers.
CASE is this year adding six new models to its D Series crawler excavator line-up, including the CX490D and CX500D for the quarrying sector, and the CX160D and CX180D in the earthmoving sector. All new models feature the company’s fuel-efficient Tier 4 Final Performance Hydraulics Control to boost controllability and smooth operation.

Near Balve in Germany’s North Rhein-Westfalia region, Cemlapis Warstein is said to be reaping the rewards from its decision to purchase a 439 Liebherr R 960 SME crawler excavator. At the company’s Sanssouci quarry, the R 960 SME crawler excavator is used to load limestone onto 50tonne dump trucks. These supply the primary crusher with limestone to be processed in the downstream steps to form crushed sand, mineral aggregates, split and other special products. The new R960 SME excavator in the 60tonne class is working at the Sanssouci quarry with a 3.5m³ backhoe bucket, handling on average 350 tonnes/hour. Developed in Colmar, France, the R 960 SME has reached the 1,000 operating hours mark and continues to impress Cemlapis Warstein management with its robust design, reliability and low fuel consumption.

Liebherr SME crawler excavators are custom-engineered to withstand the harsh conditions of quarrying operations. Four models are available with operating weights of 44-102tonnes.

Each SME series excavator is equipped with heavier components typically used in the next size up in its class, featuring more robust undercarriages and larger suspension components. For example, the R 960 SME features components from the 70tonne standard model R 966.

Liebherr SME crawler excavators also feature ballast weights of the larger standard machine, said to increase the stability of the machine and allowing for larger backhoe buckets to be used. Custom hydraulic cylinders are said by Liebherr to provide outstanding ripping and breakout power. All-in-all, these measures ensure excellent efficiency and economy of the crawler excavator.

On average, the R 960 SME crawler excavator operated by Cemlapis consumes between 41 and 46litres of fuel/hour, depending on the operating mode. Like all Liebherr crawler excavators, operators are able to select any of four different operating modes. For instance, the engine and hydraulic power can be adjusted according to the conditions of use – for maximum performance under challenging working conditions or for fuel economy.

Cemlapis Warstein managing director Martin Wollschläger said: “Due to the available options and configurations, Liebherr was able to offer us a machine configured specifically to our requirements and applications,” Wollschläger said the company is also completely satisfied with the maintenance and servicing work performed by the Liebherr subsidiary in Dortmund.
Held biennially, the 427 Hillhead exhibition in Buxton, county Derbyshire, England is the scene of many product launches and European demonstration premieres.

At this year’s event (28-30 June), 411 Doosan was due to stage the first showing of its flagship DX530LC-5 52tonne Stage IV compliant excavator, with the model’s claimed phenomenal stability and very wide digging platform combined with best in class lifting capacities over both the front and side, with the lifting capacity over the side being increased by a notable 12%.

Doosan was also set to debut at Hillhead 2016 its new DX255LC-5 25tonne crawler excavator. While overall dimensions are very similar to the previous DX255LC-3 model, the DX255LC-5 Stage IV excavator combines greater power with a 500kg increase in operating weight, resulting in claimed increases of up to 17% in lifting capacities over both the front and side, and a 1dBA reduction in sound levels.

Meanwhile, Doosan’s top-ofthe- range DL550-5 wheeled loader will also be demonstrated for the first time in the UK at Hillhead. Like the DX530LC-5, it is powered by the 661 Scania DC13 engine, and is said to provide generous torque at low rpm and up to a 10% reduction in fuel consumption, while meeting Stage IV emissions regulations without the need of a diesel particulate filter.

The same engine powers the new Stage IV DL420-5 wheeled loader also due to be on Doosan’s exhibition stand. Like the DL550-5, the model is intended to meet a wide range of material-handling needs, from loading and transporting granular material (such as sand and gravel) to industrial, mining and quarrying applications.