Hyundai adds to 9A series

Hyundai Heavy Industries’ now completed 9A series, on show at Bauma, includes mini excavators, wheeled and crawler excavators up to 120 tonne operating weight, and up to 6m³ class wheeled loaders.

Also, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has said it plans to become a top three construction machinery manufacturer by 2017.

All HHI 9A machines comply with the Tier 4 Interim/EU-Stage IIIB standards on emissions. They are driven by Perkins and Cummins engines with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and diesel particulate filters (DPF) standard for machines over 130kW. There will be no DPF for Cummins engines under 130kW.

The DPF is regenerated automatically, but can also be regenerated manually in particularly difficult work environments outside a possible danger zone. They need to be cleaned after 5,000 to 6,000 hours.

There are a number of new features on the 9A series HL wheeled loaders. For example, from Bauma onwards, the joysticks on the HL780-9A will be electrically controlled for particularly delicate work.

These wheeled loaders are fitted with various transmission and power modes to allow the operator to customise the switching characteristics, switching points, working speed and hydraulic power to suit the application. The torque converter lockup is standard from second gear upwards – the rigid transmission of the converter is said to reduce fuel consumption noticeably.

Some of the wheeled loaders in the 9A generation onwards are fitted with automatic differentials and converter lock up, which reduces fuel consumption further. Lockable differentials are available as an option for various configurations. The HL780-9A has an automatic lockable differential for the front axle as standard.

On the Robex 9A series of hydraulic excavators, there are a number of innovations in the cab which are designed to appeal to the operator.

Mini excavator

The new R25Z-9A mini excavator is said to fill a big gap in the Hyundai range between the R16-9 and R27Z-9 in the 2.6 tonne class of mini crawler excavators. The R25Z-9A has a Tier 4 Mitsubishi engine with Z rating (Zero-Turn-Radius, which means that it can turn within its own contours) and is fitted with buckets with a capacity of up to 0.07m³.

This mini excavator will be supplied on the European market with a glass ROPS/FOPS cab. HHI said that an important factor when developing the R25Z-9A was easy access for maintenance. All doors, flaps and hoods can be fully opened, all service points are located in the same area for effective daily checks, it said.

The R25Z-9A has a maximum excavation depth of 2.42m and its boom length of 4.48m is said to make it top of the range for this class of excavators. As with all Hyundai Heavy Industries mini excavators, the R25Z-9A has two driving speeds – 2.5 and 4.5 km/h – so it can be used more slowly in a delicate work environment or be driven at higher speed to the work site.

Hyundai said the introduction of a new top-end excavator in the 100 tonne-plus sector endorsed the company’s commitment to large-scale investment in developing new products and new market opportunities.

Building on its experience with the 50 tonne and 80 tonne high capacity models, the new 120 tonne R1200-9 has been conceived with an eye on the expanding worldwide mining and quarrying sector.

The R1200-9 is powered by the 23-litre, 6-cylinder Cummins QSK23-C rated at 567kW. This version of the new 120 tonne machine is equipped with a heavy-duty 7.55m back-actor boom, 3.4m dipper-arm, and 6.7m³ bucket – a combination which gives a maximum digging depth of nearly 8m, an outreach of 13.76m, and a load-over height of 7.8m.

Hydraulic system

Hyundai Heavy Industries has also introduced the Hi-POSS system, a new hydraulic system which is said to result in a 20% lower fuel consumption compared to conventional systems.

The R220-LC Hi-POSS – a concept model that is still undergoing testing and fine-tuning – is described as a next generation excavator power system, and is being shown at Bauma.

The Hi-POSS (Hyundai Intelligent Power Optimal Sharing & Energy Saving) system maximises energy usage through optimal control of an electronically-controlled pump and valve in lieu of a conventional spool-operated valve. This is said to render an excellent fuel consumption rate.

The system minimises flow waste such as relief flow, through optimal flow distribution, and by recycling waste energy through a high capacity accumulator. It is expected to show an improvement of fuel consumption rate by 20% or higher compared to conventional systems.

Hyundai Heavy Industries has said it intends becoming the third largest construction equipment manufacturer by 2017.

It claims to be a market leader in 11 major excavator markets around the globe, including Korea, China, India, Russia and Brazil. It said HHI’s world-wide market share for hydraulic excavators up to 120 tonne operating weight was at 9%.

SG Rhee, managing director of the European HHI branch in Geel, Belgium, said, “The five-year plan is based on new plants, the development of new markets and new products."

New facilities

HHI is currently producing construction machinery in seven plants in Korea, China, India and Brazil. New production facilities for construction machinery are planned in the most rapidly growing markets. Own sales organisations are being put into operation in South Africa, Algeria and Malaysia. HHI said their task was to develop the markets for HHI products, establish the dealer network and co-ordinate training, parts management and marketing.

To become independent of suppliers, HHI is currently developing its own hydraulic components such as slewing and traveling motors for hydraulic excavators and control blocks and also variable displacement hydraulic pumps.

Mr Rhee said, “In the major European markets such as Germany, England and France, we knit the dealer network even closer to enhance our market coverage. Also we acquired near Geel, a new development where we will build by 2015 our new European spare parts warehouse and headquarters.”

He added that the company was increasing the supply of spare parts by 25%, so it can offer spare parts availability of 98%, which it claimed was a peak in the industry.