PIM_14_15.qxp
23-02-2009
15:29
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Power in Motion - March 2009
15
Case Study
Conveyor belts for
amphibious vehicle
To protect Sweden’s lakes from the increasing risk of silt-up, Bengt Eckerblom
AB has developed a reed cutter that can
work both on land and in the water.
The mighty vehicle weighs 2,200 kilograms and is hydraulically expandable to a max. width of 3.6 meters. To enable it to powerfully cut through
reeds of up to four meters in height, Bengt Eckerblom AB relies on standard conveyor belts as drive belts. Heeding the advice of ContiTech’s
partner in Sweden, Ösmo Bandservice AB, the reed cutter manufacturer uses TransConti 40 belts as tracks and ContiClean A-H series belts as
a sliding surface.
“Reeds grow quickly. That’s why the concept sought had to work fast
and also perform well on difficult terrain,” explains Harald Hauff, managing director of ContiTech Scandinavia, “In end-effect, the TransConti
belts, in combination with the screwed on drive cleats, function like a
timing belt drive. Normally crawler chains would be used in this case.
Here, however, the high quality of our standard belts is in evidence. They
work like a charm even under extreme loads.”
The machine’s operating efficiency is quite impressive. In one hour it can
cut as much as a 1,200m2 reeded area and can work down to a depth
of 2.9 meters. The amphibious vehicle’s buoys are made of aluminum
and stainless steel. And where there are reeds, there is also water. Insofar, it was only logical that Bengt Eckerblom AB designed the machine
as a kind of amphibious vehicle. This greatly expanded the machine’s
field of application. It is deployable not only to cut reeds but also to
clean up oil spills – on beaches, for example.
Another solution based on conveyor belt technology was developed
for Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG’s PistenBully, which can be used as
a snow-removal vehicle with attached rotary snow plow, as a slope taxi
or as a snow grooming vehicle. For this purpose elongation-reduced
tracks are used (rubber belts). They are equipped with steel or aluminum
cleats to propel the crawler-type vehicle and thus ensure the PistenBully’s optimum driving stability.
Contitech
SLI: 01545
SLI: 01393