On Tuesday 1 July at Cifa headquarters in Senago (MI) was held the Underground Concrete Machinery open house, dedicated to tunnelling machines; a field that has been present in Cifa for a long time and that now represents a real company flagship thanks to a complete range. A short intervention of the CEO Davide Cipolla led off the event and right after, under the curious eyes of many Italian and European underground clients, some machines demonstrated spay simulations on a Cifa test field set for the occasion.
In the last year and a half, some underground products were perfected while others are new additions. This is the case of Coguaro4, the new mixer leader of this day, whose main features were described to the clients by Massimo Galimberti, Cifa product manager for underground products.
Guidelines adopted by Cifa to develop this machine destined for special transportation of concrete in tunnels and mines had to take into account these two particularly demanding environments, which put to the test all the machines working on them. Small dimensions were necessary to move in small spaces and give its best, but also an efficient transportation capacity: indeed, Coguaro4 is 2.5m tall and the drum has a maximum capacity of 4m³. Looking closely at it, what most stands out is the unmistakable Italian style and an unusual design for this type of machine.
Galimberti said: "It’s the first project developed from scratch by our styling centre, blending aesthetics, quality, technology, functionality and ergonomics".
An innovative electrically operated hydraulic transmission, a hydraulic pump and two hydraulic motors mounted directly on the axles, without mechanical parts moving, ensure maximum drive, reliability and minimum fuel consumption. Four driving and steering wheels and a sturdy frame ensure high agility. Moreover, the mixer is safe as well.
"We transferred to this machine the checks that we currently use on the most advanced truck mixers," Galimberti added.
"Such as the drum rotation check during vehicle movement and safety systems to block the drum when carrying out maintenance inside it".
All the machine functions are always under control thanks to the control speed drive (CSD), driving safety is guaranteed by ROPS-FOPS closed cabin and visibility is high thanks to electronic sensors for obstacles detection and infrared rearview camera for manoeuvres in tunnels. Coguaro4 mounts a diesel Perkins STEP 3-A engine, and on request, a fire suppression system.
During the event three Spritz systems, the underground core products, were showed as well: CSS-3 (present on the test field) with Z 3 sections boom with third telescopic element, adaptable to any kind of tunnel, CSS-3 EVO, which is its latest version, and CST 8.20 (present on the test field as well), for mines and small tunnels.
Image: Cifa launched the Coguaro4 after a series of field tests. Photo: courtesy of Cifa.