Plant Equipment and Hire March 2018 | Page 46

PRODUCT FOCUS CASE Construction Equipment offers a 1-D, 2-D, and 3-D version of its iCon Excavating System (iXES) for excavators. an electric motor to collect the energy generated when the upper structure slows down while turning. This allowed the excavator to use regenerated energy to assist the engine when it accelerates, enabling the use of the engine in a low revolution zone with high-efficiency combustion. The excavator also maintained an extremely low revolution rate when the engine was idling, further reducing fuel consumption. In December 2012, Caterpillar unveiled its 336E hybrid excavator, using a hydraulic hybrid technology developed by Caterpillar. The company defines a hybrid machine as one that is equipped with devices to collect, store, and release energy to perform (Volvo CE), to name but a few. While there are different approaches to hybrid machines, the overall goal is the same: to reduce operating costs by minimising use of fuel. Komatsu launched sales of its PC200-8 Hybrid, the world's first hybrid excavator, to the Japanese market in 2008. Powered by the Komatsu Hybrid System using an electric motor to turn the upper structure, a power generation motor, a capacitor, and a diesel engine, the PC200-8 Hybrid used about 25% less fuel than a standard PC200-8 hydraulic excavator. Rather than using the hydraulic motor to turn the upper structure in standard equipment at the time, Komatsu developed The iXE3 3-D system from Leica Geosystems works with high-precision GPS and can monitor the excavation position by means of a digital model, improving efficiency rates by up to 30%. 44 MARCH 2018 work during machine operation, and is not dependent on any particular technology. “A hybrid is independent of any particular technology — it doesn’t have to be electric,” explained Ken Gray, global product manager for large hydraulic excavators for Caterpillar’s Excavation Division, on the machine’s release. Unlike electric hybrids, which use an electric swing motor to convert the machine’s kinetic swing energy into electrical energy using an alternator, the 336E hybrid instead uses a hydraulic swing motor. Compared to the standard model of the excavator, which has the engine driving the hydraulic pump, which then powers machine functions, the hybrid version of the 336E has a large accumulator