Komatsu rolled out its new PC220LC-12 at the Bauma show in Germany earlier this year, and now the next-generation, 22-metric-ton excavator is ready for the U.S. market.
On this episode of The Dirt, we hear from Nathaniel Waldschmidt, Komatsu excavator product manager, about the company’s complete redesign – its first major excavator upgrade in 12 years.
“What is new on the 220?” host Bryan Furnace asks.
“To be honest with you, we don’t have that kind of time today,” Waldschmidt says, partly joking. “It’s more or less what’s not new, and that list is much, much, much shorter.”
The upgrades and improvements hit every aspect: operator comfort, the engine, hydraulics, work equipment, performance, maintenance, technology, durability, he says.
Over its predecessor, the new PC220 gets increased cab space, horsepower, torque, hydraulic capacity, lift capacity and digging force. Even with the added performance, the engine significantly reduces fuel consumption.
The PC220LCi-12 version gets Komatsu’s next-generation 3D intelligent machine control system, called iMC 3.0.
So to learn more about Komatsu’s new PC220LCi-12, check out the latest episode of The Dirt.
Tap into the power of Fusable's vast industry intelligence – over 100 million entities, activities, and transactions – to identify and capitalize on new growth opportunities for your business. Explore at Fusable.com/TheDirt. (Fusable is the parent company of Equipment World and the sponsor of The Dirt.)
In This Episode:
- 00:00 – Komatsu’s Next-Gen Excavators
- 00:30 – What’s New?
- 01:02 – Cab Improvements
- 02:20 – Machine Control: In-Cab Screen
- 03:38 – Machine Control: Boundaries
- 06:20 – Machine Control: In-Field Design
- 06:33 – Machine Control: Travel-to-Line
- 07:13 – Machine Control: Swing-to-Line & Auto Swing
- 08:45 – Machine Control vs. Traditional Operation
- 09:27 – Power & Fuel Consumption
- 10:51 – Productivity Increases
- 11:41 – Aftertreatment
- 12:11 – Lift Capacity, Dig Force, Stability, & Durability
- 13:23 – Final Thoughts
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00:00:00:05 - 00:00:21:09
Bryan Furnace
Get reimbursed faster for extra work with equipment, watches, rental rate blue book. Learn [email protected]. Slash the dirt. Hi everybody. Welcome back to Equipment World. You're watching the dirt. I'm your host, Brian. And today we're here to talk to Komatsu about the new PC 2020. From what I understand, this is a complete from the ground redo of the 220.
00:00:21:11 - 00:00:29:08
Bryan Furnace
And here to talk with us today is Nathaniel Waldschmidt with Komatsu.
00:00:29:10 - 00:00:32:11
Bryan Furnace
So tell me what is new on the 220?
00:00:32:16 - 00:00:53:02
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
Well, to be honest with you, we don't have that kind of time today. It's more or less what's not new. And that list is much, much, much shorter. So it's a ground up redesign on this excavator. Okay. From creature comforts to work equipment to engine to hydraulics, performance maintenance, technology, you name it.
00:00:53:02 - 00:01:08:05
Bryan Furnace
So if it is that big of a redesign, let's kind of break it down into sections and then let's hit the high points that you really feel like are worthy of bringing up. So first of all, cap improvements that is is what is operators. We're going to notice right away what's new with the cab.
00:01:08:10 - 00:01:16:03
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
Well I mean yeah, I mean that's that's the main focus right. That is an operators. That's their office. That's like that's where they go every day.
00:01:16:04 - 00:01:16:19
Bryan Furnace
Absolutely.
00:01:16:19 - 00:01:33:00
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
Our cab we tried to treat it like you're sitting in your truck. Right. So the width of the cab has been increased by 30%. We've increased the length of the cab. We've increased visibility because of these improvements by up to 50%. Wow.
00:01:33:02 - 00:01:45:04
Bryan Furnace
So here's a very real and tangible question from an operator. Is there finally enough room when I use that roll up door, I'm not having to cross over so that I don't get banged in the in the forehead with that window.
00:01:45:07 - 00:02:08:19
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
We have increased all spaces to alleviate that. Previously heard feedback from customers. Perfect. And again, this is why this this entire development has been as long as it has because we have spent day in and day out with customers, not just sending them, you know, an online survey. Hey, what do you like? What don't you like about an excavator?
00:02:08:21 - 00:02:19:08
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
You know, these generalities. We're spending time in the dirt with them to hear this back and forth and and trying to really come to the conclusion of really what they need out of an excavator.
00:02:19:10 - 00:02:41:07
Bryan Furnace
Well, moving on from cab improvements, my big ask in curiosity, is what is different with machine control? We're starting to see where most of the OEMs are incorporating machine control into these machines, but I'm always excited to see what the next iteration looks like. So can you give us a little detail on that? But before we get into that, I want to take a second to tell you about the sponsor of this video.
00:02:41:09 - 00:03:04:03
Bryan Furnace
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Bryan Furnace
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What is different with machine control? Can you give us a little detail on that?
00:03:22:05 - 00:03:53:21
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
We have a dedicated team on development for our intelligent machine control systems. So starting with within the cab, we have a very, very sleek, nice 10-inch ICT monitor that has I would call smartphone like navigation and response time. Right. Within that we offer now a 3D boundary control. So what this means to the operator is you can set boundaries within your job site plan not only when you think about machine control, when you're grading with the excavator, but also all the safety around you.
00:03:53:22 - 00:04:19:09
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
You can set ceiling perimeters, you can set grade perimeters, and you can set wall parameters. And what's important here to understand is within. When you say 3D boundary versus what some competition has as 2D boundary, 2D boundary, the second you move that excavator, whether it be up or down, left or right, that fence is going to move with that preset boundary.
00:04:19:09 - 00:04:46:08
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
On our 3D boundary control, we will actually have the capability of setting a job site plan, and that excavator can move within that entire plan without having to reset that boundary. That boundary will maintain, because that 3D control will understand a change in the overall excavators elevation and or, left to right movement and so forth.
00:04:46:12 - 00:05:08:11
Bryan Furnace
So let me see if I understand this correctly. I'm going to use my phone as an example of a wall. And here's my excavator and I have a boundary set to where I can only swing to this point before the excavator stops. But now I'm going to track over here. And with traditional machines, I still have a boundary to where I can only swing to here.
00:05:08:13 - 00:05:26:02
Bryan Furnace
But because your machine knows where it is, it's now going to allow me to swing to here. Is it my understanding that correctly that it will adjust that boundary to where I still can't hit the wall, but I can now swing further than I could with the original boundary set?
00:05:26:05 - 00:05:29:04
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
Yes, without having to reset it. That's exactly right.
00:05:29:06 - 00:05:37:09
Bryan Furnace
Wow. So and I'm assuming that's height restrictions as well. So if I go down four feet in grade, I can now raise my boom up four extra feet.
00:05:37:11 - 00:05:47:11
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
That's exactly right. Wow. So without having to reset anything, once the plan is in the project, you can go to work and not have to do any of those re calibrations.
00:05:47:13 - 00:06:05:08
Bryan Furnace
And just as clarify, for some people that still have a hard time with 3D and 2D, 3D is we're really talking about with GPS on site. And so in order for these boundaries to work, this will require GPS on site. Otherwise you're back to a 2D situation where you're only working in two planes.
00:06:05:13 - 00:06:19:21
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
That is correct. Which I should mention we do have the capability of doing as well. We can still accommodate to a to a point, but that's what we want to emphasize though, is if you are within that, that 3D in that cellular communication, we can accommodate.
00:06:20:00 - 00:06:22:14
Bryan Furnace
Any other machine control improvements that you want to speak on.
00:06:22:17 - 00:06:43:20
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
So the other thing I'd like to point out is the things like you have a change in design, we can do that with infill design technology and capability on our 3D machine control. On the other side of that, we're going to be continuously updating as we move on to our 12 excavator. We're going to have a lot of other features that roll out and will be available to any customers who purchase our 12.
00:06:43:20 - 00:07:12:17
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
We will offer what we call our travel to line feature. So what this means is within the GPS system, within a 3D system, that machine can hook up to, a polyline within the project to be able to again, just use that trenching application. You can actually move that machine, track the machine and that machine as you're tracking will hold that polyline by automation.
00:07:12:18 - 00:07:40:08
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
Our 3.0 intelligent machine control. We're on a journey towards automation. Now with automation we understand that there are experienced operators like yourself, that say I don't need automation. So we've also incorporated the customization. So to give you an example, another feature that will be coming out with is our swing to line feature. So think about a utility application.
00:07:40:08 - 00:08:03:23
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
Your digging trench okay. You know of course normally it's always the operator input to put you back right on that polyline of exactly where that trench needs to be. Okay. So we now have the capability of adding that polyline to the plan. Now the operator can enjoy this in two different ways, one being simply more or less at the swing of a stick.
00:08:04:04 - 00:08:36:15
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
A stop functionality will not let you go past exactly where you need to go back and continue to dig. Number two being again that journey towards, automation of the press of a button and that machine puts you right where you need to be to dig. And again, that kind of plays along with also our auto swing technology as well, which is again a separate function, but kind of similar where you can set three different waypoints to get you from dig to elevation to dumping point with a press of a button.
00:08:36:17 - 00:08:44:17
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
So we are trying to accommodate all, all operators of all, expertise levels.
00:08:44:22 - 00:09:05:15
Bryan Furnace
The industry likes the knee jerk to this technology, and I can't say that I'm not included in that because, your dozer, in fact, the slot dozing capabilities of your dozer. Absolutely. Was was Brian Furness knee jerked as an operator. There's no way this thing's going to outperform me. And and the reality of it was it ended up being more efficient than I was.
00:09:05:18 - 00:09:07:05
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
It's almost like cheating, isn't it?
00:09:07:09 - 00:09:24:00
Bryan Furnace
It is like cheating. And that's the thing is, there is a there is a hard part of the ego that the industry has got to swallow, that you've honed your craft, but at the same time, there are certain areas will where you'll never be able to compete with a machine and a computer.
00:09:24:00 - 00:09:25:22
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
Exactly hit on the head.
00:09:25:22 - 00:09:34:13
Bryan Furnace
So enough about all of that. Let's get into engine control. Fuel management. What have you guys done there to improve the machine?
00:09:34:15 - 00:09:50:06
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
So from our engine standpoint, we've actually increased our horsepower by 5% compared to our previous model. All well increasing torque but reducing fuel consumption by up to 18%.
00:09:50:08 - 00:09:51:22
Bryan Furnace
Wow. That's substantial.
00:09:52:02 - 00:10:06:09
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
We know the first thing that we hear in North America is more productivity, more performance. So we hear that loud and clear. But if we can give you even more on top of that, that's what we're aiming to do. And that's what we did do with the 12.
00:10:06:09 - 00:10:20:07
Bryan Furnace
And you hit it on the head. We on the front lines don't care so much about the fuel consumption. We care about the power and the productivity. But it is really nice when you kind of go at the end of the day, after you've had a really productive day, you go, I still got half a tank of fuel left.
00:10:20:07 - 00:10:41:16
Bryan Furnace
I still got three quarters of a tank of fuel left. Like that's when that's when we as the operators really noticed that. And you're talking 20%. That's a substantial amount of fuel savings from the previous models. Like that's enough to make you stand up and go, Holy crap, I did notice that. So all that to say, if the performance doesn't suffer, I'm all about the fuel savings.
00:10:41:16 - 00:10:55:15
Bryan Furnace
But I do love that you had the priorities straight there, that you kept the performance. You improve the performance, but you also gave you a really good fuel savings. So what are some of the other improvements you guys made with this machine with your ground up redesign?
00:10:55:17 - 00:11:18:00
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
So again, as we kind of talk about that journey with our engine and control system advancements, we've increased our overall productivity from our previous model up to 18% as we have added an additional working mode. So now we have L mode, which is basically, you know, lifting loading applications. We have an economy mode. There are actually three different levels of that.
00:11:18:04 - 00:11:40:14
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
And then we have p mode, which is kind of your your general power, your general application. But then we have added P plus mode. So that is where we get up to that increase. And that kind of ties into the story of, again, we can talk about what we've done to our hydraulic system, but we've increased our hydraulic capacity, within this space to, to be able to keep up with that kind of overall match and productivity.
00:11:40:15 - 00:12:01:12
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
But the last thing I want to talk about with when we talk about engine and control system, we are still a tier four final compliance engine, and we have actually removed our eager to meet that standard. So there is no more service issues and or costs associated with an eager for a tier for final emissions. Of course, we still do have a DPF filter.
00:12:01:12 - 00:12:10:12
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
We still do have death, but still maintaining that that 1 to 1 ratio, very close to 1 to 1 ratio of, fuel fill to fill.
00:12:10:16 - 00:12:17:11
Bryan Furnace
So when you talk about performance improvements, what kind of performance improvements are we seeing on these new models?
00:12:17:17 - 00:12:52:12
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
Speaking specifically of our PC 220 we've increased our overall lift capacity by, north of 7% with digging forces up to north of 35,000 pounds on this machine when figured in plus mode. But the other thing that out to is built a legacy on. We have actually accommodated, within our design everything from our plate thicknesses to our bore cylinders, on our hydraulic cylinders, we've increased to maintain that stability that come out to is known for to maintain that durability that Komatsu is known for.
00:12:52:12 - 00:12:56:00
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
So that has not fallen out of vision for Komatsu.
00:12:56:02 - 00:13:22:05
Bryan Furnace
Well, that's kind of what sticks out to me is for a long time, manufacturers were just trying to keep up with the compliance with the emissions regulations, and so much of their time and effort went into just that. It was all focused on that. And it's been really exciting over the last five years or so to see the manufacturers come back to now, we get to focus on making the machine better.
00:13:22:06 - 00:13:39:15
Bryan Furnace
I'm genuinely excited to get my hands on this machine and play with it, not only from a performance standpoint, but I am really curious about all the features with the machine control and the boundaries. All of it. I'm very excited to get my hands on one of these. Nathaniel, I really appreciate the time today.
00:13:39:15 - 00:13:40:17
Nathaniel Waldschmidt
Brian, thank you.
00:13:40:19 - 00:13:58:08
Bryan Furnace
For thank you for Nathaniel coming on the show to talk to us today about the new PC 220 and some of the new improvements and updates that are coming to the machine. This is one that's really exciting, and it's pretty incredible how technology is changing this industry. As always, I hope this helps you and your business. We'll catch you on the next episode of The Dirt.
