Design Overhaul Transforms Gradall's 4100

摘要

In 1994, when CE tested a new Gradall XL-5200 against its 880E predecessor, we found the radically redesigned new model, on average, to be 85 percent more productive at basic earthmoving tasks. Reflecting on this spectacular increase in productivity, the resulting article's headline asked: "Is This Really a Gradall?" Introduced in 1993, XL-Series models were milestone products for Gradall, designed to retain the fine-grading ability that built the company's reputation, while also rivaling the productivity of conventional excavators. Fast-forward nine years to this April, when CE tested a next-generation XL machine against its predecessor. We found ourselves again asking: Is This Really a Gradall? The next-generation machine we tested, the carrier-mounted XL-4100 Series Ⅱ, is definitely a Gradall. But it's a far different excavator than the machine it replaces, the XL-4100. The new model, of course, embodies the company's hallmark design features―a tilting telescopic boom and a highway-worthy chassis. It also keeps its predecessor's high-pressure hydraulic system, which accounted for the impressive gains in productivity exhibited by the original XL-Series models. Beyond these basic elements, though, nearly every other design aspect is new for the XL-4100 Series Ⅱ.