Capital Equipment News February 2019

Local remanufacture of gas engine components saves time, money

As South Africa looks to make greater use of natural gas – and even landfill gas – in the generation of electricity, the good news is that the country has world class engine component remanufacturing capacity to optimise the lifespan and reliability of these generating sets. At Metric Automotive Engineering in Germiston near Johannesburg, skilled staff and cutting edge facilities have been hard at work for decades, remanufactur- ing diesel and gas engine components to meet the exacting original equipment manufacturer (OEM) standards, says oper- ations director Andrew Yorke. “Making more use of gas as a power source is an exciting prospect for South Africa, both in terms of its reasonable cost and its lower environmental impact,” says Yorke. “However, equally positive is the fact that the expertise and state- of-the-art equipment to remanufacture these engine components is already here, and doing this work locally supports the economy, reduces turn-around times and cuts costs.” working closely with customers. This move is aligned with the Volvo Group’s strategic focus on electromobility in all business areas. The first machines will be unveiled at the Bauma exhibition in April 2019, followed by a staged market-by-market introduction and ramp up in 2020. While the company stresses that diesel combustion currently remains the most appropriate power source for its larger machines, electric propulsion and battery technology is proving particu- larly suited to Volvo’s smaller equip- ment. With research and development investment now focused on the rapid development of its electric compact wheel loaders and excavators, Volvo CE is taking a step towards diesel-free compact equipment in the future. “Volvo CE is delivering on its com- mitment of ‘Building Tomorrow’ by driving leadership in electromobility and delivering sustainable solutions that support customer success,” com- ments the company’s President, Melker Jernberg. “The technology we have been developing is now sufficiently robust and this, together with changes in customer behaviour and a height- ened regulatory environment, means that now is the right time to commit to electromobility in our compact equip- ment ranges in the future.” b

He notes that while natural gas is generally a clean burning fuel, landfill creates a much harsher environment for an engine, as it is difficult to control the level of contaminants in gas that ema- nates from any particular landfill. This significantly reduces the intervals that the engine will require between maintenance interventions. “The relatively poor quality of gas requires advanced ignition monitoring systems in the engine, but the wear rates remain high due to the highly abrasive post-combustion residue, despite filtering of the gas,” he says. “With natural gas, for example, cylinder heads will need to be replaced every 20 000 to 30 000 hours. With engines burning landfill gas, howev- er, they could require attention as early as every 5 000 hours.” Metric Automotive Engineering has al- ready been conducting work for customers in the both the natural gas and landfill gas segments, where the generating capacity of the engines is usually between 1 MW and 10 MW. The company also provides Caterpillar has announced the addition of the PL161 attachment locator to the Locator series of the Cat Product Link hardware product line. The PL161 locator is said to be the most advanced OEM integrated technol- ogy solution for attachment tracking. With the ability to track location and utilisation, users can know where their attachments are across all worksites, reduce the number of lost attachments, and plan for attachment maintenance and replacement. The PL161 attachment locator can be used on attachments and non-powered assets as an affordable option for last known location tracking, and it integrates easily into users’ operation for full fleet management of ma- chines and attachments from one dashboard on a smartphone or a tablet. The PL161 locator is a customer install- able device that supports operation in harsh environments. The compact design of the locator makes it compatible for a wide range of assets without interfering with the work they are doing. Bluetooth range is up to 30 m, depending on the environment and any obstructions. The device is battery-powered with an estimated life of two years. The PL161 locator is designed to be used with the Cat App and with other PL Series scanning devices installed on Next Genera-

Metric Automotive Engineering has already been conducting work for customers in the both the natural gas and landfill gas segments.

• 20 000 to 30 000 hours – The time in which natural gas cylinder heads will need to be replaced

customers with service exchange units, to enhance efficiency in the maintenance process and reduce downtime. b

New Cat locator device for machine attachments and jobsite assets

• 30 m –

Bluetooth range on the PL161 locator

The PL161 attachment locator can be used on attachments and non-powered assets as an affordable option for last known location tracking.

tion excavators and retrofit kits are available for older machines. When using the Cat App within range of the PL161 locator device, the location will be logged automatically. This system leverages cellular and Wi-Fi connec- tivity through the user’s own smartphone or tablet to transmit data to the VisionLink and My.Cat.com applications. Purchase of the PL161 locator comes with a subscription to VisionLink for the life of the device. PL161 locator is available from the factory on select attachments and will be factory-in- stalled on all excavator attachments starting from the middle of 2019. The Cat App is compatible with most smart devices that have Bluetooth 4.0 or later and is available for download from the App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android). b

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS FEBRUARY 2019 35