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沃尔沃未来概念挖掘机图文精
THESHAPEOFTHINGSTOCOME
MEETINGTHEFUTURE’SDEMANDSWITHTHETECHNOLOGYOFTOMORROW
ThephilosophyofVolvoischaracterized
byQuality,SafetyandEnvironmentalCare.
Whilethesecommonvaluesarepeople
centered,theyalsocreategreatdemands
ontheproductsthatVolvoCEproduces.
Inordertoleadtheindustryinquality,
safetyandcarefortheenvironment,the
equipmentVolvoCEdesignsandmanu-
facturesmustbeattheleadingedgeof
technologicaldevelopment.
Thisbrochureexaminesthework
ofateamofindustrialdesigners
intheirquesttodesignthe
VolvoConstructionEquip-
mentexcavatorofthe2020s.
Withthecorporatevaluesatthe
coreofthedesignphilosophy,
theendresult–theSfinXexca-
vator—isasymbolnotonlyof
Volvo’sadvancedtechnologicalthin-
king,butalsoofwherethecompany
wantstogoinitssearchforproductexcel-
lenceandcustomerintimacy.
2THESHAPEOFTHINGSTOCOME
SfinX:
guardianofthefuture
TheSfinXprojectwasthebrainchildofVolvoCE’sProductPortfolioand
AdvancedEngineeringdepartment.WorkingcloselywithSwedishindustrial
designhouse,“ProspectiveDesign”andVolvoGroup’sTechnologyCentre,the
teamtalkedtooperatorsaboutwhatfeaturestheywouldliketoseeonnew
machines.Inaddition,thedesignersalsolookedoutsideoftheconstruction
industrytosearchforemergenttechnologiesthatcouldhaveapplications
suitabletoconstructionequipment.Theautomotiveandaerospacesectors
providedrichpickings,asdidlaboratoriesanduniversities.
Theexcavatorwaschosenasthesubjectoftheresearch,asthisisthe
mostcompetitivesectoroftheconstructionequipmentmarket,andalsothe
mostpopularpiece.TheSfinXteamwasnottakingtheeasyoption.
Whilestillrecognizableasanexcavator,
almosteverycomponenthasbeenradically
altered.Theengineisnolongerdieselbuta
smallfuelcell,whichproduceselectricenergy–
butemitsonlyheatandwatervapor.Thisfrees
upspaceinthesuperstructureandallowsthe
enginetoperformasan‘activecounterweight’,
whichmovesinandouttocompensateforthe
forcesontheboom.Hydraulicshavebeenlargelyreplacedandtherehas
beenextensiveuseofnewmaterials–notallofwhichareavailabletoday
andwillneed‘inventing’.Infact,someofthetechnologymaynevercometo
fruition–whileotheraspects(e.g.GPSareavailabletoday.“Wehadtoguess
sometimes,”saysHansZachau,chiefdesignerontheSfinXproject.“Butthat’s
thewholeidea–toimaginepossibleoutcomes.Welearnednottobescared
ofnewtechnologyandradicalconceptsandhavehadthecouragetoinclude
themintheSfinX.”Hungrytodig
Thefinaldesignoftheexcavatorisamixturebetweenspaceage
andprimordial,likeaprehistoricmoonbuggy.Theanimalisticlookis
intentional;SfinXshouldbeefficient,leanandhungrytodig.Purposefuland
alittlemeanlooking.Butit’sstillaVolvomachineandthereforemustreflect
thecorevaluesofQuality,SafetyandEnvironmentalCare.Ithasthefamiliar
outlineofanexcavatorbutthedesignupdatescurrentconceptsofboom,
cab,tracksandsuperstructureinaninnovativeway.ThefamiliarVolvologo
andcolorschemetiethedesignbacktothecurrentmachines.Thereduced
useofhydraulicshelpstoachieveacleanerlooking,moreattractivedesign.
Theexcavatorwaschosenasthesubjectoftheresearch.
THESHAPEOFTHINGSTOCOME3
Powerpack
Thefuturemachineswillnolongerusedieselengines.Thedesignerstoyedwiththeideaofusinggasturbines(effectivelyjetenginesbutsettledontheideaoffuelcells.Fuelcellsconvertafuel’senergyintousableelectricityandheat–withoutcombustion.Becausehydrogenreactswithoxygentoproduceelectricity,itistheoptimalfueltouse,asitsonlyemissionsarewatervaporandheat.Theyarelikebatteriesthatdon’trundownaslongasyoukeepfeedingthemhydrogen.Thehydrogenisstoredinliquidformatverylowtemperatures(circa.-45°C.
Fuelcellsarecurrentlyinthedevelopmentstage(althoughtheautomotiveindustryhasworkingprototypesundereva-luationbutithasbeencalculatedthattopoweranexcavator,afuelcellthesizeoftwonormalsuitcaseswouldbeneeded.Thisfreesupalotofspaceonthesuperstructurewherethedieselenginewouldnormallysit–hencethemachine’sabilitytohavesuchalargecutawaysection.Theengineactsasthemachinecounterweight,whichmovesallthetimetocom-pensatefortheforcesontheboom.Bymovingittowardsthecentreoftheexcavator,itcouldbemadesmallfortransport,movingitrightoutwouldgivemaximumstability.(Zeroswingorlargeswing.
Increasinglyonerousemissionlegislationsarealsolikelytospeedupthemovetohydrogencells–amostenvironmen-tallyfriendlypowersystem.
4THESHAPEOFTHINGSTOCOME
Fluidthinking
orelectricideas?
Theintroductionofelectricitycouldalsodoawaywithhydraulics.Allsystemsthatarecurrentlyhydrauliccouldbeconvertedtoelectricmotors.Noticehowhydrauliccylindershavebeenre-movedasmuchaspossibleandhydraulicpipingabandoned.Thiswouldobviatetheneedtocir-culateoilalloverthemachine.Hydraulicsisanoldtechnologybutitstillhassomelifeyet.Volvobelievesthatgraduallyhydrauliccylindersmaybephasedoutandreplacedbyelectricmotorssitedatthepivotpointsofthestick&boom.
Boomboon
Thecentralconceptwastomakealightboom–becauseeverythinginweightontheboomislostincapacityforliftingordigging.Thesee-throughlatticeallowsvisibilitythroughtheboom,aidingsafetybyreducingtheoperator’sblindspotcausedbysolidmetalbooms.Whilecurrentsteelswouldstruggletocopewiththelargeforcesimposedontheboom,thedesignerareexpectinganewgenerationofhighstrength
steelstobeavailablethatcouldmakethisadesignpossibility.Independentthinking
Theadoptionoffourtracksistomakethemmorewheel-like.Whendrivingonroughgroundtraditionaltracks‘tiptoe’andthecontactareaisquitesmall.Fourtrackshaveamuchhighercontactareawiththeground,aidedbyindependentsuspensiontoeachtrack,suspendedviaaswingarmfromacentralpivot.Eachtrackhasaseparatewheelmotor,whichcanbrake,accelerateandallowthetracktosteertheexcavator.Ontraditionaltracksyoueitherbrakeoraccelerate,leftorright.Trackswillalsouseanon-metalrubber-likematerialthatcancopewithhighabrasionsurfaces.Thefourtrackscanbemovedtoformatraditionaltwotrackappearancetodistributetheweightbetterwhenonsoftground.Thissystem(alsopoweredbyelectricmotorscanbeusedtoextendthetracksoutwardsforincreasedstabilitywhileworking–orinwardsunderthesuperstructurefortransportation.
THESHAPEOFTHINGSTOCOME5Theengineactsasthemachinecounterweight,whichmovesallthetimetocompensatefor
theforcesontheboom.
Drive-By-WireAnotherareawhereaerospaceisdevelopingnewtechnologiesofinteresttotheSfinXteamis‘fly-by-wire’.Thisiswherethereisnophysicallink(solidcables,mechanicallinksorhydraulicpipingbetweenthedrivercontrolsandthecomponentstheyoperate.Insteadcommandsaresent‘wirelessly’tosensorsonthecomponentsorviaelectricwires.Inconstructionmachinerythiswouldenabletheeradicationofhydraulicormechanicalcontrolsandthereplacementwithelectronicandelectricalcontrols.Thesesystems,likeonaircraft,wouldhavemultiple‘redundancy’oncriticalsystems,suchasbrakesandsteering,wherebyasecondaryback-upsystemwouldnotonlyensureconstantperformance,butalsoenhancesafety.Thecominggenerationofexcavators,gradersandwheelloadersislikelytofeaturesomeformofdriveby-wire.Ithaspotentialapplicationsinbraking,steeringandmovingtheboom.Legislationwillalsoplayapartindeterminingwhendrive-by-wirebecomesareality.Arecustomersdemandingdrive-by-wire?
Customersaredemandingsoftleversandeasytousecontrols–anddrive-by-wireallowsthistohappen.Drive-by-wirealsoeliminatestheneedforhydraulicoiltobepipedintothecab–whichcangetveryhot(therebyheatingupthecab.Houston:
wehaveasolutionSatellitetechnologyisalreadyavailableandwillbecomemuchmorepopularinthefuture.VolvoCEisworkingonGPS(GlobalPositioningSystembasedtelematiccapabilitiesforitsfuturepro-TheSfinXexcavatorhoversonanelectro-magneticfield.GPSinformationcanhelptonotifytheoperatorhowthebladeshouldbeplaced.ductrange.‘Geo-fencing’canmakesurethatamachinedoesn’tleaveapredeterminedarea–soundinganalarmandincapacitatingthemachineifnecessary.Alsodatasuchashoursworked,temperature,fuelconsumptionandproductivityinformationcanallbecaptured.Thisnotonlyhelpsprepareservicepro-grams,butalsohighlightsmachinemisuse/abuseandenablesequipmentownerstocalculatelifetimeownershipcosts.Realtimefleetmanagementisnowareality.GPSalsohasoperationaladvantages.Forexample,inexcavatorsorgraders,GPSinformationcanhelptonotifytheoperatorhowthebucketorbladeshouldbeplacedsothatonlythepreciseamountofmaterialisremoved.Thereforethereisnowastedeffortandproductivityiscorrespondinglyimproved.6THESHAPEOFTHINGSTOCOME
MaterialevidenceAsshowninSfinX,metalwillincreasinglybereplacedasacomponentmaterialbycomposites.Thisisbecausetheyareresistanttotheenvironmentandcanberelativelyeasilyrepaired(theyarealsogenerallylighter;canbemoldedintomoreinterestingshapes.Plastics,meanwhile,arelowercost,canbepaintedtoahigherspecificationand–inlinewithVolvo’scorevalues–environmentallyfriendlyplasticsarebecoming