Hitachi Construction Machinery is planning to launch the ultra-large EX2000-7 hydraulic excavator in October 2021.
The EX2000-7, suitable for small-to medium-sized mining and quarrying operations, is remodeled from EX1900-6 and the manufacturer claims it consumes up to 19% less fuel while maintaining the same productivity.
Hitachi CM says the EX2000-7 has high durability of structural parts achieved by the design employed on the current EX-7 series machines and it can incorporate support services for repair works and inspections based on ICT and IoT. It is also said to achieve higher fuel efficiency due to features including an entirely new hydraulic circuit and an addition of a work mode selection function.
At an operating weight of 193 tonnes, the EX2000-7 is one of the smaller Hitachi EX-7 ultra-large excavators.
The EX2000-7’s impressive 19% fuel saving has been achieved through a range of new designed, energy-efficient features that have made the engine more compact while retaining productivity. Hitachi says that, when compared with its predecessor the EX1900-6, the EX2000-7 can save as much as 460 tons of CO2 emissions per year per machine.
An all-new hydraulic control system has been developed and, for the first time, employed for an ultra-large hydraulic excavator which allows more precise management of the hydraulic oil flow in each control valve throughout the digging and loading cycle.
In the EX2000-7’s new hydraulic circuit, the oil flow rate to each cylinder (for boom, arm, or bucket) and swing motor is independently controlled for each operational pattern such as excavation, swinging or dumping and the load to the front-end attachment to optimise energy efficiency of the system. Thus, fuel consumption is kept as low as possible.
A new mode selection feature on the EX2000-7 allows the operator to select one of three working modes – High Power (HP) Mode, Power (PWR) Mode or Economy (ECO) Mode – to optimise productivity and fuel efficiency for different types of operation. This feature has been applied to medium- and small-sized hydraulic excavators.
High Power (HP) Mode is suitable for heavy-duty operations such as bedrock excavation, and achieves the highest possible productivity from the excavator. Power (PWR) Mode is suitable for most general operations, and has 10% lower fuel consumption and production cycle time than HP Mode. Economy (ECO) Mode is designed for light operations, delivering a further 20% reduction in fuel consumption when compared to Power Mode.
