Baugeschäft Sens relies on short tail excavator from Hyundai
The small Bavarian town of Ornbau, 20 km southeast of Ansbach, is the home of the construction firm Baugeschäft Sens. Klaus Sens founded the company in 1999, and son Thomas joined as master mason. The company was in demand right from the start, and not only invested in a 12,000 m2 property in the Ornbau industrial park but also renews its machine fleet on a regular basis. Stefan Sens, the youngest of the offspring, became an agricultural and construction machinery mechanic and founded his own service company. It was there he became familiar with Hyundai products. He now manages the machine fleet, is the third shareholder, and naturally services the hydraulic excavators, wheel loaders, mobile crushers and screening plants. He maintains a good relationship with the nearby Hyundai dealership Engelhardt Baumaschinen GmbH in Schopfloch, and purchased a new HX145LCR short tail excavator from the dealer in early 2018. The machine fleet now includes eight excavators and three wheel loaders, plus crushers and screening plants.
The excavator is used within a radius of about 50 km from the company headquarters, with around 500 hours "on the clock" annually. It is equipped with a two-piece boom, Oilquick quick coupler and screwed rubber plates to protect the road.
With the HX series (14 to 90 metric ton application weights), Hyundai Construction Equipment Europe introduces a newly designed range of modern and high performance hydraulic excavators. Stage IV/V engine from Cummins, a new design, and extensive new and further developments in the cabin, components and operation are attractive selling points. A feature of all HX hydraulic excavators is the interior, which is up to four dB quieter, and cabin, which is now 13% larger. It is a defining design element and gives the HX machines a distinctive look with a high recognition value.
The main focus of further development work is the operator and their demands for comfort and safety. The new ROPS/FOPS cabin is mounted on especially well-insulated dampers, significantly reducing the vibrations at the operator seat. The operator seat and control panels with joysticks are a single unit that automatically adjust to the operator's weight.
The capacitive touchscreen display has been enlarged to 8 inches. The operator can use the display to make numerous parameter settings in clear and intuitive menu items. Two views and three modes are available. In addition to displays and switches, many settings can be made very easily using superimposed sliders and adjusted with minimal effort. To make it easier for the operator to work efficiently, the display has a large, colour ECO display. Coloured bars in the tachometer indicate efficiency – green bars indicate efficient operation, red represent high fuel consumption and wear. Three operating modes – ECO, Standard and Power – are stored in the control and can be selected.
The oil quantity and pressure of up to 20 attachments can be stored in a directory via the touchscreen (Hyundai calls this the EPPR function – the Electronic Proportional Pressure Reducing valve function). For particularly demanding attachments, the hydraulic delivery rate can be increased by connecting two pumps together. This configuration data is also stored in the Hyundai system. This feature is particularly important in demolition.
Safety is a top priority for Hyundai products. The reversing camera is fitted as standard. As an option, Hyundai offers the AAVM (Advanced Around View Monitoring) system, which presents a 360-degree all-round view, compiled from the image information of four cameras mounted on the excavator, on the display. With the with the IMOD (Intelligent Moving Objects Detection) monitoring system that is also available, objects moving in the vicinity of the excavator are detected and presented on the touchscreen display.
Other features of the HX excavator generation
With the two-piece boom and 3,500 mm arm, the excavator reaches a digging depth of
6,000 mm and breakaway forces of 111 kN. With this equipment combination, the breakout force is 62.8 kN. Special features of the new HX series at a glance:
- ECO display
- IPC (Intelligent Power Control)
- Improved variable power control
- Electrically-driven viscous fan clutch
- Volume flow control for attachments can be preselected
- Cooling system with higher air flow
- Large air intake with grille cover
- Single-pedal straight-ahead travel (option)
- Wear-resistant bolts, bushings and polymer washers
- Infotainment cabin
- Intelligent control system
- WiFi Direct with smartphone (Miracast, new audio system)
- Proportional auxiliary hydraulics
- Easy access to DEF/AdBlue supply
- Hi-Mate (machine management system, activation optional)
- Swing Lock (option)
- Fine Swing (option)
- Powertrain with components from well-known manufacturers (Cummins, Kawasaki, Hyundai, Rexroth, etc.)
- Very good ergonomics
- Great performance paired with state-of-the-art exhaust technology
Depending on the function selected, the knob reacts differently to physical feedback. The radio is integrated in the right-hand armrest, in direct reach of the operator. It is equipped with a Bluetooth and USB interface for connecting a smartphone and radio. The standard microphone is synchronised with the hands-free system via the Bluetooth feature of the radio.
To make it easier for the operator to work efficiently, the display has a colour ECO display. Coloured bars in the tachometer indicate efficiency – green bars indicate efficient operation, red represent high fuel consumption and wear. Three operating modes – ECO, Standard and Power – are stored in the control and can be selected by pressing a button.