Hatz Diesel: Mike Hartoonian, President & CEO, Dr. Maren Hellwig, Head of Digital Business Development, and Dr. Sebastian Wohlgemuth, Director R&D

Business can be a Driver responses provided by (left to right) Mike Hartoonian, President & CEO Hatz Diesel of North America, Inc., Dr. Maren Hellwig, Head of Digital Business of Amazingly Development, Motorenfabrik Hatz GmbH & Co. KG, and Dr. Sebastian Wohlgemuth, Director R&D, Motorenfabrik Hatz GmbH & Co. KG Creative Innovations

Advancements in internal combustion engines and alternative energy solutions will be determined by industry needs and creative engineering.

Diesel, Electric & Other Power Alternatives

How, if at all, do you see the role of diesel engines evolving in the coming years?

Wohlgemuth: Engines will remain important for applications with high power demand/wide operation range, but only with synthetic fuel (decarbonization); equipment with low power demand and limited operation range won’t be driven by a diesel engine in the future, however, engines will contribute to the power supply of heavy-duty equipment.

Hartoonian: Furthermore, I would say confidently that IC (internal combustion) engines in general and diesel engines specifically, have many years of service ahead of them, particularly in commercial equipment applications. Of course, there will be innovation and as we see throughout history, left to its own inspirations business can be the driver of amazingly creative innovations.

Engine manufacturers will continue to develop new and more efficient designs, but beyond that I think the relationship with equipment manufacturers to realize additional efficiencies and downsize engine size seems to make sense, as does the use of alternative fuels.

I do expect that there will be an increased market share of fully-electric equipment. However, I further expect that the largest increase in market share, especially with commercial equipment, we will see will be in hybrids.

How will electrification—or other alternative energy/power systems— continue to advance in the heavy equipment industry?

Wohlgemuth: Electrification and other alternative power systems will have a massive impact on the heavy equipment industry. There will be a diversity of technologies in the future; future equipment will have the power system/energy system which is best suited for the particular use case.

What new emissions regulations do you see on the horizon, and how might they impact future product development?

Wohlgemuth: More strict emission regulations around 2023…2026 (depending on region and power class). Engines of the lower power classes will get more expensive due to the regulations which will lead to a smaller gap between expensive new technologies (getting cheaper due to future development and scale effects) and diesel engines getting more expensive due to exhaust gas aftertreatment requirements.

Very strict emission regulations could lead to a change in technology not only caused by increasing costs but also by emission limits impossible to reach.

Data, IoT & Connectivity

What will be the best use cases for the Internet of Things (IoT) and data in the coming years?

Hellwig: In the coming years, four types of use cases will benefit from the possibilities of connectivity. First, those that are installed in hard-toreach regions. Second, those that can create additional value for customers through automation. Third, those that simplify or optimize customer business processes through additional information. Finally, those who want to plan and carry out their maintenance in a usage-based, predictive, and optimal manner.

What potential do you see in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR)—both for the design and manufacture of products as well as within equipment?

Hellwig: AI will support manufacturers to develop optimized smart (predictive/prescriptive) maintenance. Augmented content will support technical trainings. In combination with connectivity (via phone and/or with additional machine and sensor data) remote help in maintenance and repair situations is possible. Technical personnel on site, which do not have enough knowledge to solve critical situations on their own can be optimally supported from anywhere in the world. |

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CABLE CONTROL for Tractor-Drawn Equipment

LeTourneau’s Power Control Unit utilized wire rope and enabled control of two devices as a means of improving performance of dozers and other heavy machinery.

by Thomas Berry, Archivist, Historical Construction Equipment Association

As we have already seen, Robert G. LeTourneau was responsible for several major innovations in scraper design, including the first

scraper that could be controlled from the towing tractor, the largest scraper of the early 20th Century, and the first motor scraper. In addition, he was also an early designer of dozer blades for The Historical Construction Equipment Association (HCEA) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated crawler tractors. to preserving the history of the construction, dredging and surface mining equipment industries. With

LeTourneau’s early dozers and scrap- over 3,800 members in over a dozen countries, activities include publication of a quarterly educational ers were operated by electric motors magazine, Equipment Echoes, from which this article is adapted; operation of National Construction Equipment Museum and archives in Bowling Green, OH; and hosting an annual working exhibition of powered by an onboard generator, restored construction equipment. The 2022 show will be September 16-18 in Bowling Green, OH (learn and the motors turned winches on the more, 10598970). Annual individual memberships are $35.00 US within the USA and Canada, and $55.00 scrapers or a rack-and-pinion mechUS elsewhere. HCEA seeks to develop relationships in the equipment manufacturing industry, and offers a college scholarship for engineering and construction management students. Information is available at anism on the dozers. But in the mid www.hcea.net, by calling 419-352-5616 or e-mailing info@hcea.net. Please reference Dept. OEM.

1920s, he found this technology unsatisfactory. Despite its relative convenience and efficiency, the motors were too slow. Something better was needed, and Mr. R. G. once again had the idea. In 1928, he introduced the Power Control Unit. It was an enclosed winch, driven from the tractor’s rear power take-off. A wire rope was attached to the device being operated, and was wound in or out to control it. A dozer required only a single drum, but the scraper’s complexity made a double-drum unit necessary. The Power Control Unit and its competitors went on to power other machinery, including “Buggy” positive-ejection bottom dump wagons that slid the body back from the frame to dump; pull rippers; towed cranes; and even shovels, backhoes, draglines and cranes mounted to the tractor. The double-drum unit

made it possible to operate two devices, such as a dozer and ripper, and tractors could be equipped with front and rear units to operate both a dozer and scraper. While positive down pressure was impossible with wire rope control, that disadvantage was more than overcome by faster operation. But that speed increase was not without restrictions. Just as on cable-operated excavators, rope had to be paid out carefully, and if the device being lowered were dropped in free-fall the rope could become snarled or kinked. If the winch was not disengaged, damage could occur as the rope kept pulling the device against resistance. Wire rope also had its own set of maintenance needs to monitor normal wear and damage. While LeTourneau went on to market Tournarope-branded wire rope, A LeTourneau Double-Drum Power Control Unit enables this these issues with wire rope led the Cat D7 to operate both a dozer and a pull ripper. The scene is a industry in general to accept hydrauplacer gold mine operated by Parker Brothers Corporation and Last Chance Gulch, near Helena, MT. lics as that technology became more practical, and LeTourneau to return to electric power in very large ways after World War II.|

CATERPILLAR, INC., IMAGE COURTESY OF DUANE PARSONS, HCEA ARCHIVES