EARTHMOVING TOOLS FOR TOMORROW'S WORK

A large contractor believes that one of the primary items that should be built into tools is better life. A machine with 20,000 productive and economical hours of life is needed, along with at least 90% availability. While existing machines are more agile and faster and horsepower has been increased, the cost of steel, petroleum products, labor, and vendor-purchased items has increased, forcing the price of machinery up. To survive energy-related and economic constraints, fleets must be run longer in order to realize a 20,000-hour life. Significant accomplishments have been made in building machines with unitized components for ease of installation and removal. Equipment designers must concentrate on evacuation systems for all lubricant sumps of a machine, and more research and development time must be spent on tires. Designing a machine to accept all future product improvements is essential in order to avoid the cost of completely redesigned machinery every few years.

  • Availability:
  • Supplemental Notes:
    • Presented at SAE Earthmoving Industry Conference, Peoria, Illinois, 10-12 April 1978.
  • Corporate Authors:

    Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)

    400 Commonwealth Drive
    Warrendale, PA  United States  15096
  • Authors:
    • Thomas, G J
  • Publication Date: 1978

Media Info

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00395896
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
  • Report/Paper Numbers: SAE 780478, HS-025 510U
  • Files: HSL, USDOT
  • Created Date: Jul 31 1985 12:00AM