Komatsu Ltd. has begun remanufacturing components used in its hybrid excavators. The first components included will be capacitors and inverters, according to the company, and will initially be confined to Japan. The company says it plans to roll out reman outside of Japan at a later time.
Komatsu's first hybrid excavator was introduced in 2008, the HB215LC-11. Hybrid hydraulic excavators use a Komatsu-developed hybrid system that employs an inverter to convert the energy generated during swing braking into electrical energy, stored in a capacitor and used as supplementary energy to drive the swing and accelerate the engine.
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Remanufacturing allows fleet managers to repair repair energy storage-related components without the expense of replacing them with new ones. Komatsu’s Reman capacitors and inverters will be compatible with hybrid hydraulic excavators of the HB series currently sold and operating in Japan.
This is its first foray into remanufacturing electric components, according to the company, and it expects to be able to repair electric components at a lower cost, thereby contributing to the reduction of the total life cycle cost of hybrid hydraulic excavators.
Source: Komatsu Ltd.
