A HIGH-POWERED EVOLUTION - Cummins unveils EPA Tier 2 engines for mining; upgrades include 'uncommon' common rail fuel systems

摘要

When Cummins Inc. unveiled its EPA Tier 2 high horsepower mining engines at MinExpo in Las Vegas in September, company officials made it a point to note that most of the changes between the new engines and their predecessors are "evolutionary, not revolutionary," It's an understandable strategy when dealing with an industry like mining, where a high premium is put on dependability and uptime, something revolutionary products seldom offer. Yet when you look closer at some of the features and technologies incorporated into the new engines, "evolutionary" doesn't seem to do them justice, particularly since these are some of the fundamental technologies that will likely carry Cummins through the EPA's heavy-duty emissions regulations of Tier 2 and into Tier 4 in 2011.