Production Comparison Summary: Additional T590 Production (%)
Standard Flow
Drilling 19 Trenching 26 Pavement Milling
18
High Flow --- 14 21
M-Series lift arms have been substantially redesigned. Compared with the K-Series design (inset), the new lift arms are taller and wider in cross-section and feature an “inset” confi guration that places the main (upper) axis of the arm in a plane farther from the side of machine than the more narrow lower section. (Watch video of the T590 at ConstructionEquipment.com/T590).
In addition, says Hoesel, more efficient M-Series hydraulic plumbing results in a slight gain in system flow, which combines with a modest increase in main relief pressure (200 psi) to boost hydraulic horsepower for more competently handling high-pressure attachments. “At the end of the day, these small gains in
efficiency taken together—a percent here, a half percent there—probably result in an overall boost in hydraulic efficiency of 10 to 12 percent,” says Hoesel. “That means we’re giving the operator more useable power without actually adding horsepower— and without increasing operating costs for the owner.” Gains in hydraulic efficiency, however, are just one aspect of the M-Series design, says Hoesel. The entire machine, he says, was subject to a critical design process, resulting in significant alterations to the cooling system, lift-arm configuration, weight
balance, and operator’s station. “We took what we learned from our voice of the
customer meetings,” he says, “then formed small design teams that were challenged with developing systems that would work across the product line— from 800- to 500-frame-size models—by just changing the scale.”
Bobcat began this overhaul of K-Series models in 2009, applying the M-Series design, in turn, to the company’s 600-, 700-, 800- and, most recently, 500-frame-size models—the latter officially launched January 2013. M-Series models, says Hoesel, have a family appearance, share a high percentage of common parts, and, given their consistency of design, are easier to manufacture—for example, permitting many welds to be placed in exactly the same manner, model to model, except that welds might be longer on a larger machine.
Construction Equipment | January 2013 Reprinted from Construction Equipment, January 2013 15