On Tuesday, July 5, 2011, the Förderverein MOBIMA e.V. and the Endowed Chair of Mobile Machinery Mobima at KIT invited editors and trade journalists to Karlsruhe for the official presentation of the new acoustic all-wheel drive roller test bench. Under the moderation of Mr. Peter-Michael Synek, VDMA e.V. and Managing Director of the MOBIMA e.V. association, the new acoustic all-wheel roller test bench was presented for the first time to the members of the scientific advisory board of the association and the trade press.
Prof. Marcus Geimer, Head of the Chair of Mobile Machinery, presented the research and testing possibilities of the complete vehicle test bench for mobile machinery and commercial vehicles.
The speech by Dr. Heribert Reiter, Head of Development and Managing Director at AGCO Fendt and Chairman of the MOBIMA e.V. support association, focused on the history and current significance of the endowed chair for industry and research. Dr. Reiter emphasized that the prospect of this chassis dynamometer was an important criterion in the decision of the founding companies to choose Karlsruhe as the location for the endowed chair.
When it became apparent during the project planning of the test bench that some design criteria would have to be extended for the testing and inspection of mobile machinery, the sponsoring association decided to provide additional funding for the extension. This included increasing the maximum wheel load from 9t to 14t, increasing the axle spacing from 5.20m to 8.00m, increasing the track width from 3.25m to 3.55m, procuring a driver control terminal and integrating a tire cooling system.
Finally, Mr. Christian H. Kienzle, Managing Director of ARGO-HYTOS GmbH and Chairman of the Board of the VDMA Fluid Technology Association, underlined the leading position of mobile machines "Made in Germany". On behalf of the Executive Board of the VDMA Fluid Technology Association, Mr. Kienzle congratulated the endowed chair on this test bench, which will make a lasting contribution to strengthening Germany's leading technological position.
After a presentation of the performance features by Mr. Frank Daiber from the test bench manufacturer MAHA-AIP, Mr. Synek gave the "starting signal" for the first test drive with the largest Liebherr wheel loader currently available on the roller test bench. Mr. Thorsten Dreher, academic assistant at the chair and project manager for the installation of the all-wheel acoustic roller test bench, demonstrated the operational readiness and performance capabilities of the new acoustic all-wheel roller test bench to the guests with a short but impressive test cycle as the driver of the Liebherr L586 wheel loader.
The official presentation of the acoustic all-wheel drive chassis dynamometer ended with a final group photo with all the members of the Scientific Advisory Board of the MOBIMA e.V. support association present in front of the wheel loader on the chassis dynamometer.

...to the test facilities

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This year, the construction machinery practical course was organized for the fifth time jointly by the Institute of Technology and Management in Construction (TMB) and the Chair of Mobile Machinery (Mobima) on the TMB open-air site near Hochstetten. On July 4 and 11, 2011, 20 students of civil engineering and mechanical engineering were able to drive and test various construction machines under the guidance of the institute's staff in bright sunshine. Two wheel loaders, a skid steer loader (Bobcat), a hydraulic excavator, a mobile crane and two Unimogs were available for this purpose. The beaming faces of the participants left no doubt about the success of the event, so that there will be a continuation of the popular joint event between TMB and Mobima next year. We would like to thank the TMB staff for the organization and the excellent catering!

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On July 2, 2011, the open day took place at the KIT East Campus. The current projects and research areas relating to the topic of mobility were presented to interested parties. The Institute of Vehicle Systems Engineering with its four chairs also took the opportunity to present current projects, the new test hall and the new acoustic roller test bench.
Numerous project stands, demonstrators and various vehicles were presented to the public. In addition to spectacular prototypes, interesting vehicles from the agricultural and construction industries, the commercial vehicle and passenger car sectors were also presented. Alternative drive concepts such as natural gas, hybrid and fuel cell drives were presented as well as spectacular work equipment for Unimog and Co. Visitors had the opportunity to operate demonstrators themselves and thus experience the functionality of the equipment on display for themselves. A special highlight was the acoustic roller test stand, where a large wheel loader could be admired in action during demonstrations.
A total of around 25,000 visitors came to Campus East in sunny weather.

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As part of this year's excursion week, a total of 30 students and staff from the Chair of Mobile Machinery spent four days in Munich and Passau. The program included visits to the companies Bauer Tiefbau (Schrobenhausen), Hawe Hydraulik (Munich), ZF (Passau) and, on the way back, Hohenloher Spezial-Maschinenbau GmbH (Neu-Kupfer). We received an extremely friendly welcome from the companies and, in addition to varied factory tours, were able to find out all about the company structures, opportunities for internships, dissertations and career entry. We would like to thank Prof. Dr. Sebastian Bauer (Bauer), Mr. Michael Knobloch (Hawe), Dr. Karl Grad (ZF) and Mr. Felix Prinz zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg (HSM) as well as the WVMA for their financial support of the excursion. The physical well-being was also well taken care of. Whether in the plant's own canteen, in the beer garden of the Reutberg monastery brewery, a Bavarian snack in the hotel "Am Jesuitenschlößl, Passau" or a lunch in the open air, there was something for everyone.

In addition to the interesting insights into the companies we visited, we will certainly remember the live demonstration of various tractors and a harvester, as well as an unusual guided tour of Passau.

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When the symposium "Hybrid drives for mobile machinery" was launched in 2007, the main focus was on concepts and possible variants of hybrid drives. Even back then, both hydraulic and electric concepts were the focus of the presentations.

At the 2nd symposium in 2009, the focus was on the prototypical implementation of the concepts and the benefits for the user. Forecasts on fuel savings were given and various performance balances were drawn up. The latter also included the consideration of cooling concepts for electrical storage systems.

The rapid development from initial concepts to prototypes to machines in practical use clearly shows how committed the topic is being pursued in industry and research. For this reason, the 3rd symposium, which took place on February 17, 2011, focused on practical experience with hybrid drives.

Due to the large number of high-level technical papers submitted, the advisory board decided to organize the conference in two sessions for the first time. For this reason, the conference could no longer take place at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT and moved to the Karlsruhe Congress Center. However, with over 300 participants, the conference has retained its character as a discussion forum and exchange platform.

Once again, a get-together was held on the evening before the conference in the new test halls of the Institute of Automotive Systems Technology (FAST), which are currently under construction.

The main topics of the conference included practical experience with hybrid-powered machines, their modeling and simulation as well as advances in hybrid components and storage technologies.

Overall, the contributions presented demonstrated the importance of the topic of hybrid drives for mobile machinery in industry and science. This is expected to provide new impetus for development, with benefits for the environment in the form of reduced CO2 emissions, as well as added value for industry in the form of increased productivity and improved cost-effectiveness. We can look forward to the announced continuation of the conference series in 2013.

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