Telehandlers
Given that it already produces telescopic truck loader cranes and wheeled loaders, it is perhaps unsurprising that Atlas Weyhausen has now produced a line of telescopic handlers. Models available are the 30.8 (3t capacity, 8m lifting height), 30.11 (3t, 11.5m), 40.8 (4t, 8m) and 40.11 (4t, 11.5m). The telescopic arms have been engineered for heavy loads, with hydraulic hoses and actuators protected inside the arms.
Terex now offers five Italmacchine telehandler models, the biggest of which is the Girolift 5022. Thos model can lift 2.5t up to a height of nearly 22m and – unlike the three smallest Italmacchine models – has continuous rotation.
Sennebogen has brought a telehandler to market before but without significant success. Now it is trying again with a full 360° continuous rotation boom model. The TS 9 Multihandler is the personal project of company founder and president Erich Sennebogen Sr, who at the age of 69 still lives on the top floor of the company’s administration building next to the factory. The all-wheel drive, all-wheel steer TS 9 lifts 2.5t (not 3t, as previously anticipated) up to a height of 12.6m. The company says that it has made sales of this model in Germany, but will not reveal how many, or to whom.
Ingersoll-Rand will add to its Bobcat range with the launch of the T40170, a 4t telehandler that has a maximum lift height of 17m and reaches 13m. The new model extends the existing seven model range upwards from a line that starts with a 2.5t-capacity, 5.6m lift height model.
Liebherr will not be showing a telehandler at Bauma but it has also stepped a toe into the market. It exhibited a prototype model at the Intermat show in France last year to test market reaction. The response was “excellent” the company says, and it has definitely decided to proceed with the project and plans a full series of them. No date has been earmarked for a launch yet, however.
Components
If you are a mobile crane owner, possibly the most significant new component on show at Bauma is the ZF AS Tronic transmission. The system is a combination of an electro-pneumatically shifted constant mesh gearbox and automated dry clutch which means gear shifts are fully automatic and no clutch pedal is needed. Fuel savings, ease of use and reduced weight are major benefits, ZF claims.
A 12 gear version will be shown in Liebherr’s new LTM 1055/2 all terrain, and a 16 gear variant, already used in the LTM 1100/2, will be available on the new 200 tonner. Other manufacturers to use the AS Tronic are Tadano Faun and Grove, both on four axle machines.
DaimlerChrysler has brought all of its components activities into a new business unit called DaimlerChrysler Powersystems. This follows the acquisition of the US engine manufacturer Detroit Diesel (DDC) and the integration of MTU Friedrichshafen.
For mobile cranes a Mercedes-Benz power pack will be shown. It combines the V8 OM 502 LA engine with the G240 16-speed gearbox. Also on show will be the 16t capacity HL7 planetary hub reduction axle with disc brakes. High ground clearance is claimed from the cast unit.
Engine manufacturer Cummins has developed a common electronic management platform for 40 power ratings across the 120kW to 475kW power band for mid-size and heavy-duty construction equipment. “Electronic commonality ensures that the equipment manufacturer, service engineer and operator can benefit from using the same electronic tools and devices to interface with each individual engine,” explains Neil Harrison, general manager of Cummins’ construction business.
Deutz engines in the 1008 to 1015 series for construction machinery will be shown in their latest versions. These have been developed to comply with the latest emission standards and the demand for more power. Cylinder capacity has been increased by 13%, pushing power up 14% for only a 2% weight increase, Deutz claims. Changes to the injection system mean emission levels meet EU level 2 and EPA Tier 2.
A new ball valve for hydraulic suspensions is being shown by Rötelmann, a specialist in shut-off and control technology. The ball valve is used instead of a solenoid to shut off the hydraulic suspension when a mobile crane is on its outriggers. Being a ball valve, there is less pressure and so the unit goes faster when travelling, Rötelmann explains. Customers for the new ball valve include Tadano Faun, the company says.
Jabsco reports a 50% growth in sales in its vehicle-mounted refuelling pumps last year, and upgrades to its range are promised for Bauma, alongside other products such as hydraulic oil transfer pumps.
Parker Filtration will launch its new hydraulic suction and return line which has been developed for use on mobile equipment with hydrostatic drives. It filters open circuit return oil and provides filtered oil under low pressure to the closed loop hydrostatic circuits, so only the one filter is needed. The company will also show its Racor turbine series filter/separators and the Racor crankcase ventilation filter system.
Newage Transmissions of the UK supplies drivelines for a range of off-highway vehicles and construction equipment and is looking to break into the mobile crane sector. A new rigid axle series is the centrepiece of its Bauma stand.
Trailers
The six trailers being exhibited by Goldhofer are meant to be a representative cross section of the company’s capabilities. The units on show are: a three- and four-axle trailer for transporting construction machinery; two semi-trailers with drop deck; an STZ-L four-axle semi-trailer; and a heavy duty THP/LTSO combination, offering payloads of 65t at 80km/h. Goldhofer says that it wants to use Bauma to “show proof” of its leadership in technology.
Nooteboom Trailers’ latest development on show is manual steering by remote control for lowloaders, semi-lowloaders and teletrailers, using GSM technology. Having been involved in the development of this technology with a supplier, Nooteboom has one year’s exclusive use of it before it will be offered to other trailer manufacturers. The GSM technology enables the handset to be used as a mobile phone which could be useful where loads are being escorted, or where a co-driver is walking behind.
Nooteboom is also showing its ballast trailer, designed to transport crane ballast and other types of heavy load. With hydraulic suspension as standard, the trailer can follow the crane onto the construction site. It can also be equipped with air suspension if axle travel and lateral stability are of less importance.
Latest development from Scheuerle, Nooteboom’s alliance partner since 1998, is the Flatcombi, an ultra-low modular trailer, which can be used as an alternative to the Eurocombi modular trailer. It has been designed for heavy, abnormal road transport where load height is an issue. The height of the axle assembly can be lowered to 800 mm for passing under low bridges or viaducts. The low height of the axle assembly (1,030mm) means that the Flatcombi can be used as a lowloader as well as a semi-lowloader. The steered axles, with hydraulic suspension, allow a maximum weight of 23t per axle line.
Scheuerle is claiming to be the first manufacturer to use hydraulic disc brakes. It has fitted them on its modular trailers with swing axles (see Crane equipment p85). This is a particular benefit on the Flatcombi since they allow greater ground clearance. Hydraulic disc brakes are also claimed to need less maintenance and to be less susceptible to damage than conventional drum brake systems.
Ancillary equipment
Bauma marks the formal coming together of the German companies PAT and Krüger Systemtechnik and Ascorel of France. All three produce operator assistance devices and are subsidiaries of Aditron AG, itself the electronics division of Rheinmetall. Bauma marks the bringing together of the three names into a single entity, the PAT Group. Together they cover a wide range of expertise in electronic controls and monitoring technology. It is this new corporate power that will be promoted at Bauma more particularly than any individual new product.
SMIE comes to Munich boosted by a new agreement with Liebherr which sees Liebherr abandoning its own anti-collision technology for tower cranes and adopting SMIE’s AC 30 system instead. Although there is no knowing how many Liebherr customers will specify anti-collision devices, this could represent a breakthrough deal for SMIE which has been promoting the technology for 15 years to an often indifferent industry.
New from SMIE is a wireless communication link for wind speed transmission from an anonometer at the top of the crane or jib to a site office or an operator’s cab. The company regards this as quite a breakthrough, as there have been so many unsuccessful attempts at anti-collision data transmission without cables in the past – both by SMIE and others.
SMIE also has a new digital wind speed recorder that makes it possible to store wind speed information for the duration of a construction project. One can imagine the importance such information might have in a legal dispute after a crane collapse, for example.
While SMIE and Ascorel lead the market for anti-collision devices, a third French supplier has entered the market recently. The SK Group has 20 systems up and running on construction sites in France with major contractors. SK says that its systems can interface with any other sensor on the market and boasts that no other system is as easy to use. The company is looking to move beyond the borders of France and develop an international distribution network.
For radio control of larger tower cranes HBC will show its new 735/770 system, which can be used to control several different types of cranes with one unit. HBC will also show the 716 micron 5 BK – a handheld radio control with two-step push buttons for small tower cranes. For hydraulic truck loaders HBC will have the new 717 eco L (pictured) and spectrum with new features like four speeds and cable control option.
