ENGCON’s new EC233 series tiltrotator has gone into full production following extensive testing in both laboratory and “real life” situations.
Boasting a break torque of 340 kNm, the manufacturer said it will be the most powerful tiltrotator in the market built for excavators up to 33-tonnes. The machine replaces Engcon’s EC30, which has been in operation since the mid 1990s.
Robert Hunt, managing director of Engcon UK said, “The EC233 tiltrotator for excavators over 26-tonnes is a fantastic product. Combined with our standard QS70 and QS80 quick hitchs, which are now fitted as standard with Engcon’s EC-Oil automatic hydraulic and electrical coupling, we have started taking orders on the EC233 already. We’re expecting this tilty to be very well received.”
Fredrik Jonsson, development manager at Engcon, said the process from the first prototype has gone “very well”. He added that the product development cycle was focused on “destructive tests” where both mountings and connectors were exposed to “extreme overload in laboratory environments”. Testing then moved on to large excavators in the field.
“We always start by putting our test products under huge stress in a powerful hydraulic rig where we overload the unit in a controlled environment,” he explained. “It gives us a clear picture of where any structural flaws may exist.”
When the lab tests are complete, Engcon said a number of prototypes are fitted to big excavators to enable further testing in “real life” environments.
“Even though we have subjected the equipment to some serious pressure in a laboratory environment, things happen in real life that you can’t always anticipate in the lab,” Fredrik explained. “It’s everything from changing temperatures to an infinite number of stresses that can’t be simulated easily, but the EC233 has sailed through development.”
