VOLVO EC950F
machines including the 350 loader
and the A45G hauler. According to
Gallant it was an easy transition.
“When you’re dealing with the
technology of a Tier 4, Stage V
engine, there’s a lot of testing that
goes along with it. e biggest part
was not actually physically tting
the engine but testing it.”
Hydraulic accuracy
anks to constant high hydraulic
pressure, operators can experience a
powerful digging force, particularly
when working with hard and
controls on-demand ow and
reduces internal losses in the
hydraulic circuit.
“ is is a production
machine,” says Gallant. “ at means
we need to make it very powerful so
that the hydraulics have the power to
break out and handle a large bucket.”
Advanced hydraulics in this
machine help with the fuel
58 iVTInternational.com February 2020
“YOU MIGHT THINK,
‘THAT’S PUTTING A LOT
OF POLLUTION INTO
THE ATMOSPHERE’,
BUT PRODUCTION
RATE IS OFTEN BETTER
THAN SMALLER
MACHINES DOING THE
e ciency by getting productivity
as high as possible and fuel burn
as low.
“We have electro hydraulic
controls and prioritisation so that
the operator can tailor the set up of
the machine to achieve maximum
e ciency, depending on the job
type. ere are still small hydraulic
lines into the cab to the joysticks.
e system is controlled using
so ware to adjust the priority,
pressure and ow of the pilot oil
at the main control valve, giving us
the features and operator assist
functions we need. In the future,
we intend to go to a full electro
hydraulic system.”
Big effi ciency gains
To further improve e ciency
operators can choose the best work
mode for the task at hand: I (Idle),
F (Fine), G (General), H (Heavy)
and P (Power max).
“Meeting new standards has
taken our pollution levels down
dramatically,” says Gallant. “Any
time you’re burning fuel you’re
going to have some pollution.
SAME JOB”
Ray Gallant
However, larger machines o er the
ability to be more e cient on litres
of fuel burnt. You might think, ‘that’s
putting a lot of pollution into the
atmosphere’, but production rate is
o en better than smaller machines
doing the same job.”
e 90-tonne excavator can be
tted with a range of attachments,
including general purpose, heavyduty,
and extreme-duty buckets.
When the application requires
something unique, Volvo can o er
custom-built attachments to develop
the right solution and achieve
ultimate digging results. To boost
machine versatility further, the
attachment management system
can store settings for up to 20
di erent attachments, enabling the
operator to pre-set hydraulic ow
as well as pressure through the incab
monitor.
“Even the novice operator can
very quickly get to be very
productive with this machine,”
concludes Gallant. “ at will make
you as e cient as possible. And that
to me is what’s so exciting about this
vehicle launch.” iVT
424kN
Breakout force of the
EC950F excavator
(SAE J179 Normal)
heavy materials. e optimised
hydraulics system increases
pump power for fast and
smooth operation, while the
electro-hydraulic system
ABOVE: The EC950F
cab layout is the same
as many other Volvo
machines in order to aid
operator transition
/iVTInternational.com