Truck & Off-Highway Engineering – June 2019

22 June 2019 TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING

BOTH IMAGES: RYAN GEHM

EXECUTIVE VIEWPOINTS

W

orthington Industries made its first-ever appearance at

bauma in April, showcasing the new Global Cab modu-

lar design along with its European manufacturing part-

ner Fritzmeier. The cab’s length and width can be var-

ied by using different modular parts and the ROPS (rollover protec-

tion structure) incorporated to meet varying requirements while opti-

mizing the cab structure to increase visibility.

Aluminum extruded structures can be applied in weight-sensitive

applications such as in crane construction, providing a ROPS loading

capacity of up to 20 t. For heavier-duty applications, the cab can be

reinforced with an integrated steel INNO-ROPS structure that increas-

es the loading capacity to 50 t.

But the big news at bauma was a concept Global Cab made en-

tirely of advanced high-strength steels (AHSS)—the first such struc-

ture produced in the industry, according to Matt Trippel, director of

product development at Worthington Industries Engineered Cabs.

These AHSS materials can offer a 50-100% strength increase vs. typi-

cal ROPS cab materials, and the company is exploring advanced ma-

terials that can provide an up-to-300% increase in strength compared

to traditional materials.

“We’re one of the largest purchasers of steel in North America. We

have unique relationships with steel producers,” Trippel said, noting that

Worthington worked closely with U.S. Steel on this development project.

The typical ROPS material is 60 ksi (414 MPa). The Gen3 (third gen-

eration) AHSS materials supplied by U.S. Steel for the concept cab

are 120 ksi (827 MPa) up to 240 ksi

(1,655 MPa).

“The value proposition in the off-

highway heavy-duty industry today

is really about things like lines of

sight, decreasing the structural sec-

tions, decreasing the part count in

some cases, and solving those

unique problems where you don’t

have the space or geometry avail-

able to use traditional materials,”

Trippel explained.

Lightweighting is not the motivat-

ing factor in most off-highway seg-

ments, he added. The concept cab

structure weighs about 300 lb (136

kg), while the equivalent in tradi-

tional steel would be in the 500- to

600-lb (227- to 272-kg) range.

“So does 200 or 300 pounds

[lighter] move the needle for the

off-highway equipment industry

when there’s 20-, 30-, 40-,

50-thousand-pound gross vehicle

weight vehicles? Probably not.

That’s the math we’re doing right now,” he said. “The

goal here is to use less material to achieve equivalent

strengths, or in some cases reduce the section of

structural tubes to increase visibility. The strength-

weight tradeoff is really what we’re trying to go after.”

Trippel acknowledges there’s not really a need for

an all-AHSS cab right now. But implementing the tech-

nology in focused areas makes sense today, with fur-

ther opportunities down the road.

“As more AHSS materials become available and vol-

umes increase, the ability to expand from a cost perspec-

tive across other parts of the cab will become more prev-

alent,” he said. “That’s also going to spur steel manufac-

turers to develop stronger materials that are a little bit

more applicable to the heavy-duty off-highway industry.”

Quiet, please

Worthington worked with Hamburg, Germany-based

Recalm to integrate the start-up’s active noise cancel-

Worthington expert sees AHSS and active noise cancellation making off-highway

cabs safer and less-stressful places to work.

by Ryan Gehm, based on exclusive interview with Worthington’s Matt Trippel

“We have to be smart

in how we apply

these materials and

understand where

that value proposition

is, whether it’s

lightweighting,

visibility, or overall

strength.”

Matt Trippel

Stronger, quieter cabs

The concept Global Cab made entirely of advanced high-strength

steels (AHSS) offers a 50-100% strength increase vs. typical

ROPS cab materials.