Guy Woodford, editor of our sister title Aggregates Business, reports on a new standout hybrid excavator from a leading off-highway machine manufacturer and how some proven rock-loading stars are earning their worth at the quarry face.
The best ideas are said to be the simplest. Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) has taken this idea to heart with its ingenious new EC300E Hybrid excavator. Unlike other systems that capture the swing energy of an excavator’s superstructure to electrically assist the engine, Volvo CE’s novel hybrid machine harvests ‘free’ energy generated by the down motion of the excavator’s boom and uses it to supercharge the hydraulic system.
The EC300E Hybrid’s powerful and regular boom-down motions charge 20-litre hydraulic accumulators, which then deliver energy to drive hydraulic assist motors that help power the hydraulic pump. The new model offers the same levels of controllability and performance as the standard 30-tonne class EC300E, including the ability to work in ECO mode and Hybrid mode simultaneously.
All this simple and uncomplicated cleverness takes load off the engine, and in the process delivers between 10-12% lower fuel consumption, up to 12% lower CO² emissions – and all with no loss of performance. When used in production ‘dig and dump’ applications (esp. those with a 90° swing), Volvo CE says the payback of this simple approach can be a little more than a year. The machine provides the same levels of controllability and performance you would expect from the equivalent conventional machine and, Volvo CE claims, up to 17% fuel efficiency improvement dependent on application.
Not only is the idea simple – the componentry is too – consisting of just a few add-on components that are simple to maintain.
While not commercially available yet, EC300E Hybrids are currently undergoing field tests at customer sites in order to validate the technology in real-world applications.
With a new Stage V engine, LiuGong’s bauma 2019-showcased 856H wheeled loader brings the Chinese off-highway machine manufacturer’s high-performance model capability to more customers in material handling and aggregate preparation.
A Stage V emissions-compliant machine said to move more for less, the 856H’s carrying and V cycle speeds are said to be consistently high thanks to the machine’s 186kW engine, wet axle, 5-speed transmission and standard lock-up clutch torque converter.
An ergonomically designed joystick further enhances the 21tonne operating capacity, 2.5m³ bucket loader’s operator comfort, while also increasing its overall productivity. Silicone oil shock absorbers improve the ride quality over the roughest terrain and help prevent material spillage.
LiuGong also highlighted at bauma 2019 its new 890H wheeled loader for the European market. For customer applications which require heavy lifting, the 30.8tonne operating weight, 9m³ bucket capacity loader is said to deliver more power (276kW) for lower consumption.
The 890H’s Cummins Stage 4 engine is designed to develop more power at low speed, maximising torque output. The power shift transmission and advanced load-sensing hydraulics combine to deliver superior breakout force with speed and agility. Efficiency is improved further by the Intelligent Power Cut Off function, which improves braking and supports the hydraulics in reducing fuel consumption. The 890H also features driver safety and comfort improvements including enhanced dust filtration which significantly improves the cab environment.
Great Tew ironstone quarry in north Oxfordshire, England, has purchased a new top-of-the-range Doosan DL580-5 wheeled loader to help the quarry increase its limestone product output. The DL580-5 carries huge 14-16 tonne blocks of ironstone from the quarry face to a new £1 million stone processing plant that has recently begun production at the top of the quarry.
Great Tew ironstone has a striking brown and blue vein and is only available from this Oxfordshire quarry. Quarried blocks can be used for building and walling stone, architectural details, mullion windows, copings, quoins and flooring. Smaller quarried block is suitable for rockery stone and one-off garden features. The quarry lies on the historic Great Tew Estate, which always quarried block for its own use and in 2000, the quarry was opened further to satisfy a wider demand for this novel product.
Great Tew is part of Johnston Quarry Group, the largest supplier of quarried and mined block stone in southern England. As well as Great Tew, the group owns and operates Sarsden quarry in Oxfordshire, Creeton quarry and Ropsley quarry, both in Lincolnshire, and Oathill quarry in Gloucestershire. The group also runs three stones mines in Bath, Somerset. With the wide choice of building stone and masonry products available, the group supplies over 60,000 tonnes of stone block and 300,000 tonnes of aggregates per year.
Paul Keyte, operations director at Johnston Quarry Group, who is responsible for overseeing the Great Tew, Sarsden and Oathill sites, said: “We are delighted with the boost in productivity provided by the new DL580-5 and the processing plant, which allows us to process up to 100 tonne of stone a day. The arrival of the DL580-5 and the opening of the new plant are both timely and are enabling us to meet a significant increase in demand for our Ironstone products in the UK.”
Equipped with specially matched pallet tines, the DL580-5 brings the large blocks from the base of the quarry to the top and along a short road, at the end of which it loads them on to the sawing machines in the processing plant. Previously, the quarry was only able to move blocks weighing up to a maximum of 10 tonnes, so the arrival of the DL580-5 has made this a much more efficient process.
To take on heavy material handling jobs like this, the DL580-5 features robust structural components and an advanced double circuit axle cooling system to provide an ideal solution for heavier work. This ensures the DL580-5 is ideal not only for block lifting in quarries and mines, but also heavy-duty applications in industrial, construction and recycling operations.
The overall size of the DL580-5 is almost the same as the DL550-5, the next model down in the Doosan range, but it has an operating weight of 36030 kg and higher static tipping loads (straight/full turn 40°) of 29.7tonnes and 26.2tonnes, respectively.
In addition, the new model is equipped with a series of features that make the machine extremely reliable and durable. For example, the front structure is more rugged, with greater rigidity and strength. The DL580-5 has reinforced Z-bar kinematics for heavier lifting with few moving parts. This design also helps stabilise the loader, enables rapid bucket movements and keeps the bucket at the right-angle position at all times.
The DL580-5 at Great Tew quarry was supplied by Doosan dealer, Filtermech Plant Sales Ltd, based in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England.
On a 40-hectare quarry in East Java, Indonesia, an SDLG L956F wheeled loader is hard at work moving large quantities of material for road contractor PT Gorip Nanda Guna. The reliable and fuel-efficient wheeled loader is helping reduce operating costs at the quarry.
“We have a huge quarry and our project will take at least 10 years to complete. Therefore, it is very important for us to choose the best and most efficient machines to work on site which is why we chose SDLG’s L956F wheeled loader,” said Gorip, owner of PT Gorip Nanda Guna, which also owns the quarry. “The heavy-duty L956F is powerful and features a large bucket that makes moving materials easy.”
At the quarry in Cukurguling, East Java, the L956F works about eight hours per day and loads 150-200 tonnes of material hourly, with average cycle times of about two to three minutes.
The 5 tonne-rated L956F has a 3m³ bucket capacity and is the smallest of the three F-series wheeled loaders. Powered by six-cylinder Weichai engines, the L956F is one of the newest wheeled loaders in SDLG’s F-series and features an updated frame, chassis, transmission, cabin, engine hood and counterweight.
Onsite since October 2017, PT Gorip Nanda Guna, a Surabaya-based road building contractor, purchased the wheeled loader from PT Indotruck Utama, SDLG’s distribution partner in Indonesia. In addition to the L956F, PT Gorip Nanda Guna also owns a SDLG LG938L wheeled loader. The 3tonne LG938L features a 1.8m³ bucket capacity and maximum breakout force of 73kN.
“The SDLG L956F is a heavy-duty machine that is powerful. The machine has proven to be very tough and reliable and certainly value for money. Its low fuel consumption has greatly helped us to reduce costs,” said Gorip, who, like many Indonesians, uses only one name.
