MSOE Receives Donation of Excavator from Gehl Co.
| Published: 10/31/2005 |
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Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) received the donation of a compact excavator from the Gehl Co. to be used by faculty and students for future research.
"The excavator will be used as part of mechanical engineering senior projects. The goal is to look at the current equipment and think about what could be done to improve it, such as added efficiency or operating autonomously," said Tom Labus, mechanical engineering professor. "It benefits MSOE students who get to work with real equipment, and Gehl as well, since they get extra minds looking at their equipment."
The excavator also will be used as a test platform for the proposed engineering research center (ERC) in compact and efficient fluid power to be funded by the National Science Foundation in which MSOE is a support institute. Other applications include:
- Working with controller
developers and RF control strategy using GPS positioning and
electro-hydraulic technology. - Providing new capabilities in
the areas of hard rock, concrete and frozen ground
excavation/demolition.
- This could be expanded into a rescue vehicle that could be used to remove debris from collapsed building without disturbing the debris pile such as in earthquakes and other natural disasters.
- Using integrated actuators to increase the overall efficiency of the excavator.
- Interacting and obtaining industrial support for specific projects as well as providing a demonstration vehicle to exhibit new technology in typical field applications.
The excavator, Gehl model 503Z, weighs 5-metric tons and operates with zero-tail swing, industry-leading hydraulics, serviceability and operator comfort. The current market value of the excavator is $61,500.