FEATURE PNEUMATICS & HYDRAULICS Helping to keep things quiet
With increased demand from manufacturers, warehouse operators and supermarket chains for quieter materials handling equipment, Hiab Moffett enlisted Bosch Rexroth to assist in the creation of the world’s quietest Truck Mounted Forklift
Left: with Bosch Rexroth already supplying hydrostatic drives and gear pumps across the vast majority of Hiab Moffett’s Truck Mounted Forklifts, the company was well placed to ensure the new machine’s operation was as silent as possible
features a round tooth profile, which allows fluid to flow continuously, as a result of permanent tooth contact. The reduction in pump vibration, which is typically as much as 75%, also reduces vibration in other components in the hydraulic system, which means it can make a significant impact on the noise of the machine as a whole.” In order to ensure the new gear pump was
up to the challenge of a mobile application, Bosch Rexroth added its own patented wear-free axial force compensation technology to improve longevity.
I
n order to ensure the new machine’s operation could be as silent as possible
a key area of focus was the gear pump. With Bosch Rexroth already supplying hydrostatic drives and gear pumps across the vast majority of Hiab Moffett’s Truck Mounted Forklifts, Kevin Turnbull, engineering director, approached Craig Grant, mobile applications manager at Bosch Rexroth, to see if the company could provide a solution. Speaking about Hiab Moffett’s decision
to develop a near silent Truck Mounted Forklift, Turnbull said, “There has been a trend in recent years, where deliveries are not just to typical building sites or industrial estates, but also to residential areas. With this increased move towards more residential areas, operators need to be aware of lower noise emission thresholds, particularly at night or in the early morning when most supermarket deliveries take place. Because of this we were seeing increasing demand for quieter fork lift trucks, and took it upon ourselves to develop a near silent version for those customers where keeping noise pollution to a minimum is a top priority.” Speaking about the project, Grant said,
“Having worked with Hiab Moffett for a number of years, we knew that noise pollution was becoming an increasing concern for the company’s customer base. While there was a product on the market that professed to reduce noise
30 APRIL 2014 | AUTOMATION
emissions, it hadn’t been specifically developed for mobile applications. Fortunately, when Hiab Moffett approached us we had just brought a product to market that, as well as meeting its demands for an electrically powered pump, operated with near silent hydraulic functions.” Developed specifically for mobile
applications, and forklift trucks in particular, the Rexroth Silence Plus Gear Pump was highly commended in the Noise Abatement Society awards 2011, and provides a more robust bespoke design for use on moving vehicles.
PUT TO THE TEST To demonstrate noise reduction potential of the new pump, Grant provided sound files of a traditional gear pump running at 1,500rpm across different pressures alongside the company’s silence pump and the latest silence plus pump. Describing how the new Silence Plus
Gear Pump is able to reduce operational noise Grant added, “In a traditional external gear pump there is a single point non-continuous contact between the tooth and the groove, which results in pulsation of the fluid and it is this pulsation that causes much of the vibration that results in high operating noise. The reason we are able to reduce operation noise by an average of 15dBA is that the Silence Plus Gear Pump
Below: Bosch Rexroth’s Silence Plus Gear Pump contributes to Hiab Moffett’s new near silent Truck Mounted Forklift
A SIMPLE DECISION Speaking about the decision to choose Bosch Rexroth as the preferred partner for its new vehicle development programme Turnbull said, “Having used and specified hydraulic pumps for a number of years, I had become used to the fact that they have a relatively high operating noise. While we used a supplier in the past who supplied a helical pump, its functionality wasn’t optimised for use on forklifts. Once Craig demonstrated the noise reduction capabilities of Bosch Rexroth’s latest pump, along with its increased functionality and durability, it was a simple decision for us to work with the company.” Since the initial stages of the project, Bosch Rexroth engineers have worked in collaboration with Hiab Moffett to create a working prototype which has since been awarded its own commended award from the Noise Abatement Society in 2012. Following on from the award success, the world’s first virtually silent Truck Mounted Electric Forklift
is now in pre-production. Grant concluded, “We pride ourselves on our ability to work alongside
customers to provide the right technological solutions for them and their customers. Our noise reduction project with Hiab Moffett is a great example of this collaborative approach and we know that for them our engineering expertise and support are as important as our product portfolio.”
Bosch Rexroth
www.boschrexroth.co.uk T: 0121 456 3004
Enter 215 /AUTOMATION
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56