Bauma, the world’s largest trade fair for construction equipment and mining machinery, will take place from the 8th to the 14th of April in Munich, Germany. The fair, which will be the 32nd edition, is held every three years. Like the construction industry, the show keeps growing. It will cover about 6.7 million square feet […]
Autonomous cranes on the horizon
Much has been made of the growing use of autonomous mining haulers at several sites around the world. Entrepreneurs at Israeli start-up Intsite hope to do the same for the construction industry, by developing the controls and software to permit autonomous cranes. The company recently announced it was awarded $1.35 million in funding by Terra […]
Cartridge proportional valves for mobile transmissions
The ever-increasing demand for fuel efficiency and emissions reduction continues to spur the need for more efficient and reliable drive systems in mobile, construction and agricultural machinery. These applications require precise, customizable controls, especially regarding the powertrains. ARGO-HYTOS, Kraichtal, Germany, offers innovative powertrain valve systems that help OEMs and equipment users increase reliability, efficiency, performance […]
Hydraulics lets driverless trucks move 2 billion tons
Global heavy equipment manufacturer Komatsu America Corp., Rolling Meadows, Ill., announced that the FrontRunner Autonomous Haulage System (AHS) has achieved the unprecedented milestone of more than two billion tons of surface material moved in driveless operation. According to company officials, the FrontRunner system has now hauled more than all other commercial mining autonomous haulage systems […]
Safe and reliable control of large flows
The CINDY family of cartridge valves from Bucher Hydraulics, Klettgau, Germany, has been proven for decades in countless industrial and mobile applications. That, according to company officials, is due to features such as extremely low leakage, finger-tip controllability and load-independent cylinder travel behavior. Bucher Hydraulics has now expanded its well-established CINDY technology offerings with the […]
Metal-bellows accumulator handles the extremes
Edge-welded metal bellows accumulators are at the cutting edge of hydro-pneumatic accumulator technology, according to Peter Kloft and Daniel Rau, research and development engineers with HYDAC Technology in Sulzbach/Saar, Germany. Compared with other designs such as diaphragm, bladder and piston accumulators, the gas chamber in metal-bellows units is usually hermetically sealed and the metallic barrier […]
Shift in Motion: An innovative propulsion system for mobile machines
Manufacturers and operators of today’s mobile equipment often want a machine that does double duty: provides high tractive effort in the working mode and high maximum velocities when operating in the transport mode. These drivetrain requirements can be met through a wide array of traditional technological concepts, ranging from simple manual transmissions (shifted at standstill) […]
New-generation valve actuation
Proportional hydraulic valves are key components in mobile agricultural and construction machines, as they control motion for a wide variety of functions via cylinders and hydraulic motors. Electrohydraulic actuation is often used to control valve main-spool movement. For lower flows two solenoids can directly actuate the spool, but such arrangements result in high hysteresis and […]
Building a world-class hydraulic pump
Understanding what can go wrong ensures that hydraulic pumps get built right. Every OEM says it wants quality, but the reality is that machine builders can choose from countless hydraulic components that vary widely in performance and price—from cheap, “throw-away” parts to high-quality and, more-expensive, products that are built to last. How does an engineer […]
Error prevention at the source: Proportional valves with on-board electronics
On-board electronics (OBE) is the direct and best way to correct nonlinear behavior of a valve, according to officials at Argo-Hytos, Zug, Switzerland. Direct-acting proportional control valves with integrated digital OBE allows fine control of valve spool position and movement. Incorporating a sensor and electronics into the valve body enables a control loop within the […]