YouTube - Volvo SFINX - Volvo's futuristic Excavator concept machine I can't decide what to think.
No reflective vest, operator did not walk around machine before getting in, operator did not check fluid levels, I also did not see anything that would not be passable with todays technology. Just takes a bit of money.
YouTube - Doosan CX Eco Transformer, Concept Excavator, www.maskinia.se Here's Doosan's pointless blatant copy. All these machines look stupid. They're just throwing in useless unreliable gadgetry - who cares about colour changing panels? The quadrtac on a ball design would be very dangerous and unpredictable on soft ground. Not to mention the fact that rubber tracks wear out too quickly and are rather delicate for the rough tough terrain that excavators often tread on (eg. climbing piles of sharp rusty scrap iron, jagged stones, all things I frequently must do). They're just throwing colourful presentations together to impress investors with their impractical and useless designs. The CAT 2xx machines can do all I need without any of the electronic crap I don't want.
Oh dear....when they arrive i leave...what a boring looking machine
We had I guy who used to show up to work dressed like that. We had to let him go. I'd post a link, but I think that might get me some vacation time here.
Yup, I can just see it now. They will have a 1-800 call center some where in India for troubleshooting and diagnostics. Who would have thought 30 years ago we would have all the gadget crap in our trucks to keep the steelers busy with repairs.
So stupid.
Somehow when I watch that video I can only think of Dire Straits Money for Nothing. Could have loaded three trucks by the time that thing got going..
"They're just throwing in useless unreliable gadgetry" I don't know about that. My newest farm tractor has electronic everything. It even has autosteer, so i just sit there as it steers across the field. It sips fuel, its very smooth and comfortable. The tractor simply works great, and the best part is you can operate for many more hours each day without it taking so much out of you. Granted, the technology adds a host of components that can fail, but I think that those bugs will be ironed out. Just look at your late model truck or car. Compared to something from the 70's they are far more reliable, last longer, and do everything better, because of the technology. imo
Some technology is helpful, but in the last 10 years or so, I believe a lot has been going in the wrong direction. Machines from the 90s are definitely much better than those of the 70s, but the machines of today aren't much better than the machines of the 90s (new machines automate some things, but will the automated stuff still work 50 years from now?). And the emissions stuff isn't improving reliability either. For example, I had a 1993 GMC Suburban that ran 17 years and almost 250 thousand km without a single major failure or repair. This year, I sold it to my mechanic (who's fixing it up) because it started getting a bit worn and troublesome. I also have a 2005 Chevy Tahoe that needs >$1000 repairs every 6 months on all sorts of stuff ranging from emissions sensors to the ECU to faulty brakes. I've spent nearly $12,000 in repair bills on it in the last 4 years. My 2005 Volvo SUV is just as unreliable too. Wheel loaders are another example. How are the H series CAT loaders any better than the Fs of the nineties? The Fs were (and still are) rock solid, fast, efficient, and very comfortable. There wasn't much they could improve on from that point, and so they haven't. The Hs are no more reliable, efficient, or comfortable than the Fs of the 90s. Now some of the technology shown in these videos is completely useless. Ooh... colour changing windows... what use are they? A detachable cab for digging in toxic waste... everyone does that, right? And eliminating all roll over and falling object protection by making the cab all glass... now that's smart. And Daewoo's fancy "haptic controls" look awfully useless and unergonomic. Other technologies shown in the video can be useful but they introduce a plethora of problems. For example, the auto levelling tracks introduce extreme uneven ground pressure, and can cause the machine to unexpectedly tip over when you hit a soft spot. As for farm tractors, electronic stuff is cool but will it work for 50 years as many farmers expect. All my tractors from the 60s and 70s still chug along despite their age. Computer boards and have limited life as their contacts and connections will inevitably corrode and even one broken connection can screw up an entire motherboard. And diagnosing such issues is practically impossible, so the entire board must be replaced which is expensive, tedious, and time wasting. And what's the operator supposed to do if the computers do everything for him? I know that turning the steering wheel can get tiring (it really does) but joystick steering can fix that without adding unnecessary computers. Operators ought to be skilled enough to steer. GPS guidance can be helpful but it should be independent from the operation of the machine so that computer failure shouldn't halt production. At least that's what I think.
That's not a problem with technology, that's a problem with economics. People want to pay less to companies are forced to operate with smaller profit margins, which in turn results in them trying to cut costs. The end result? The quality of parts and workmanship goes down. Did your 93 tell you when one of your tires was low on air before it overheated and had a sidewall failure? Nope but your 95 probably does. THAT is technology.
Menzi Muck and Kaiser already have a adjusting undercarage, hell Kaiser even has one on tracks, so other than the detachable cab and a spandex operator nothing is new oh and their already is a detachable cab for a 1200 out their, so what is left a spandex operator????