Every five years, the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture organises a fair for water maintenance technology, which is held in Hausstette, not far from Osnabrück. The focus is on practical demonstrations of technology for watercourse maintenance. This means maintenance measures on water bodies such as mowing and removing weed growth, desilting or removing sedimentation, etc. Only trade visitors come to this fair. Among others, ATLAS showed two excavators that are specially equipped for such operations. Among others, ATLAS showed two excavators that are specially equipped for such operations.
Bigfoot means high ground clearance – transport height no problem
One of these was the ATLAS 140 W Bigfoot wheeled excavator. Bigfoot, because it is equipped with extremely wide and currently the highest tyres on the market – 710/45-26.5 20 PR. The ground pressure is thus clearly minimised. A special undercarriage was designed for this purpose, which does not restrict the working movements and raises the tower. The Bigfoot has enormous ground clearance and a low ground load, but without exceeding the transport height of 4 metres. In order to drive over the ground as gently as possible, the axles are equipped with a 35% limited slip differential. This prevents the wheels from spinning and the wheeled excavator from getting stuck in muddy or boggy ground. This is combined with enormous power. With a reach of 11.30 m (with optional second articulated arm and working tool), it can still lift 1.3 t unsupported. It has road approval as well as factory TÜV and CE. It is available in two versions with a total width of 2.98 m or 2.75 m.
Versatile and economical
The power for this is provided by a 4-cylinder Deutz engine with 95 kW/129 hp and diesel particulate filter. This Bigfoot is equipped with a high-performance, load limit controlled piston pump, which simultaneously and independently controls several working movements. This is enhanced by a hydraulic attachment kit for up to ten different attachments such as hydraulic hammer, vibrating bear etc., all controllable from the cab. Matched hydraulics create a constant pressure and oil supply for powered implements such as mowers or mulchers and minimise wear on the implements. Even in mowing mode, with an oil flow of 26 litres and a permanent pressure of 180 bar, there is no loss of performance with any working movement of the tool. The Bigfoot is also top in terms of economy. The average engine speed is 1,480 revolutions, so fuel consumption per hour is a maximum of 6.3 litres.
Of course, the Bigfoot is used throughout the year for all kinds of work such as mowing, cleaning waterways, demolishing foundations, earthworks, lifting operations and much more.
ATLAS 190 LC with 90 cm 15° bog plates
Also on display was a crawler excavator ATLAS 190 LC with 20 t operating weight. The special feature was the equipment for use on heavy or boggy soils. The running gear was equipped with 90 cm 15° floor plates. This gives the best stability even when used in fields and along waterways. An important safety aspect is the excellent all-round visibility from the comfortable cab. In order to be able to work both bank sides of a stream or ditch in one operation, the 190 LC was equipped with two adjustable booms and extension and had 12 m reach. Work was carried out with a 4 m wide mowing basket. It was impressive to see how smoothly and smoothly the 360 bar working pressure of the hydraulics made the ATLAS excavator work. A heavyweight detail also distinguishes the ATLAS excavators. They are equipped with cast steel counterweights. This choice of material reduces the vibrations that an excavator builds up during work. This also caught the eye of the experts on site.
Character: 3.627
Photo 1: The ATLAS Bigfoot with its super-wide and -high tyres is easy on the ground and off-road.
Photo 2: The ATLAS Bigfoot with the wide and high tyres and the mowing basket in transport position.
Photo 3: The ATLAS 190 LC with special floor plates that make work on wet and soft ground possible.