JAMES ALLEN & TOM STONE, IVT INTERNATIONAL
22,100kg
Operating weight
Perfect
balance
ADVANCED OPERATOR ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS AND SMART DESIGN
MAKE THE HX220A L FROM HYUNDAI A STRONG NEW CONTENDER
IN THE POPULAR 19-24 TON CRAWLER EXCAVATOR MARKET
When designing a vehicle for a competitive
segment there is inevitably a trade off for
OEMs between introducing new systems and
technologies and being competitively priced.
Crawler excavators around the 20 ton mark are
a prime example of such a segment – which is
why Hyundai Construction Equipment’s latest
offering in this class, the HX220A L, must
perform this balancing act.
Undoubtedly, one of the main attractions
of the HX220A L is the advanced operator
assistance systems now integrated into
the vehicle. Hyundai-designed
machine guidance comes as
standard on the crawler
excavator, providing the
operator with directions
and grade suggestions
while digging, but added
to this there is also an
optional extra system
that is a genuine step
down the path toward
full automation.
A third-party machine
control system can be added, which
can take control completely out of the
operator’s hands for some parts of the grading
38 iVTInternational.com June 2019
task. The system will automatically direct the
boom and cutting edge of the bucket to achieve
the precise grade required, while also performing
leveling with semi-automatic movements of the
excavator’s arm.
Applications for the system include highway
and railway construction as well as airport
runways and golf courses.
“Thanks to machine guidance systems, we
actually turn the excavator into a highly precise
digging machine,” Laurent Declercq, a product
specialist at Hyundai Construction
Equipment Europe tells iVT. “At
any time, the operator knows
the exact position of the
cutting edge on his bucket,
allowing him to dig to the
required slopes, trench
depth and predefined shape
in the design. This saves
valuable time as there is
much less effort needed
to check the digging work,
while there is no need to
continuously check the grade,
depth or a slope with a laser
Net power provided by
the Cummins B6.7
catcher. Additionally, the accuracy at
130kw
Stage V engine
(174hp)
which the operator is grading becomes so precise
/iVTInternational.com