The innovation award is awarded in the run-up to bauma for the ninth time. More than 200 applications, national and international, had been submitted for the award offered in five categories; 15 world premieres made it to the final round.
 
These six winners in particular fulfilled the criteria according to which the jury had evaluated the innovations: their being future-compliant, their being of high practical use, their being a further development as regards protection of the environment and making the workplace more favourable to the human being and their being economical and productive and, at the same time, energy and cost efficient.
 
At bauma in Munich you can meet the winners of the categories machinery, machinery component and design.
 
The winners are:
 
Category Machinery

SL 750 EiControlPlus shearer loader by Eickhoff Bergbautechnik GmbH
 
With this shearer loader, it is possible - for the first time ever – to operate underground longwalling fully automatically, with the human being only having to fulfil monitoring functions while being himself in a safe and unencumbered surrounding. Equipped with linked infrared cameras and newly developed sensors, a system constantly monitoring the surroundings, a navigation system based on radar screening and a couple of visual cameras, the machine is able to avoid collision, detect and follow deposit boundaries and run the entire haulage and extraction automatically - thereby avoiding the extraction of  surrounding rock, which would be unnecessary and unwanted. In addition, using this machine helps saving energy and reducing CO2 emissions.

Category Machinery Component

Energy storage cylinder by Liebherr Hydraulikbagger GmbH

This energy storage cylinder is, in fact, an energy regeneration system designed especially for hydraulic excavators used in material handling work. Every time a load is lifted, a high amount of energy has to be exerted. When lowering the equipment, some of the energy, created by compressing gas, can be stored in an additional external gas cylinder. When lifting the equipment again, the energy stored in this gas cylinder assists the action of the two boom lifting rams. This means less fuel consumption and less pollutant as well as noise emissions.

Category Construction Process / Construction Work

Boring wells with the help of glass beads – a technique by  Ochs Bohrgesellschaft mbH

This new technique by Ochs applies glass beads for well boring – which marks a totally new supporting material between the bore hole wall and the well filter drill. The purpose of the supporting material is to support the layers of soil particles at the wall of the bore hole in such a way that clear and sand-free water is able to pass through the free pore spaces to the well filter pipe with as little resistance as possible. Sand and gravel are normally used in this process. Compared to sand and gravel, glass beads are four to ten times stronger and have an optimal roundness with all beads having nearly the same size. This results in a greatest possible free pore space through which the water can flow unimpeded. Dissolved lime, iron or manganese are far less likely to be found inside the well – also requiring less cleaning intervals. This ensures a longer, better and more economic service life of water catching wells.

Category Research

Acoustic geo scanner developed by Clausthal University of Technoloy, Chair of Civil Engineering and International Mining

The geo scanner is a new acoustic scanning device used for surveying ground and deposits as well as detecting unconsolidated rock in an effective and professional way. Its principle is easy: Different materials have a different sound behaviour. Its body sound vibrations make for the typical fingerprint of a mountain range and the new device enables us to make it visible. A visual evaluation of the material, as commonly used, is no longer necessary. With this method, raw materials can be obtained very efficiently thereby avoiding the extraction of unwanted material.
 
New drilling procedure by Technical University of Dresden, Chair of Construction and Conveying Machinery

Drilling based on the electro-impulse procedure makes use of the destructive effect of the high energy electrical changes which are produced inside the material which is to be loosened. This loosening process is totally different from the ones commonly used. Instead of its compressive strength of the rock, its tensile adhesive strength must be overcome here. At the university, a down-hole-tool was developed. This is a device which can be integrated into the drilling process just like a conventional drilling tool. The advantages of this new method: nearly no wearout as no mechanical forces are working on the device and a higher drilling speed of 4 m/h in granite. This leads to cost saving when drilling of nearly 30 per cent.

Category Design

Liebherr LH 120 C materials handling equipment by Liebherr Hydraulikbagger GmbH

With its totally new design, Liebherr developped a new functionally optimized shape of a machine with their new Liebherr LH 120 C. Its newly developed comfortable cabin  offers optimal ergonomy and vision; operating and control elements are located within easy reach for the driver. The new cubic body allows for new panel shapes also and makes the engine compartment easy to access. It provides a roof under which maintenance work can be carried out even under poor weather conditions. Servicing points are neatly laid out and the fuel tank is exceptionally large requiring  refuelling less frequently. Additionally, some innovative safety instruments were integrated into this new machine.
 
More information is available at www.bauma-innovation-award.com.