There are many ways to reach the same goal – with the InterCombi Power Booster from SCHEUERLE, safe arrival is guaranteed even under difficult transport conditions!

SCHEUERLE´s new InterCombi PB (Power Booster) with switchable drive axles - the first of its kind in the global market - has already successfully carried out a number of transport operations. The InterCombi PB can be operated as a self-propelled unit as well as being coupled with other InterCombi platform vehicles.

Test drive of the InterCombi PB as a self-propelled unit on the SCHEUERLE site in Pfedelbach.

The Kübler haulage company carried out a test drives on public roads using its own equipment. At the wheel, Frieder Saam, Kübler's chief driver.

Frieder Saam manoeuvring the InterCombi PB by remote control into the Voith production hall.

Precision work – the axle compensation of +/- 325 mm allows a minimum vehicle height of 865 mm.

After numerous test runs at the company´s site in Pfedelbach, road trials were then performed by SCHEUERLE together with representatives of the German TÜV. On a 3 km route in the direction of Heuberg with gradients up to 9%, the main objective was to guarantee a safe transport process both as a pulled unit and auxiliary drive. Heinz Rößler, Managing Director of Kübler Haulage Company, and his driver, Frieder Saam, were present during the road trials. Kübler was the first transportation business to use the InterCombi PB for transport operations.

Kübler used its new InterCombi Power Booster for the first time during transport operations carried out in the town of Crailsheim. This involved on-site transportation of a 60 t processing machine at the Voith Turbo manufacturing facility. For the 13 m long time, 3 m wide and 3.40 m high piece of machinery, the 6-axle InterCombi PB as well as one PPU were used. Due to the restricted conditions in the production hall, it was not possible to use the pulled combination together with the prime mover with which the Voith processing machine had been delivered. As a result, the machine was reloaded from the tractor combination on to the self-propelled 6-axle unit and manoeuvred by remote control into the hall. The very narrow hall passageways as well as the size of the load, which projected high above the surface of the vehicle, made it very difficult to position the processing machine. However, the steering angle of 60°, as well as optimized steering geometry, guarantees a high level of manoeuvrability within very confined spaces.

"For the first operations, we carried out on-site transportation with axle loads up to 36 t. Conditions in the production halls were in part extremely tight which meant we literary had no available space left when doing the theoretical planning with CAD. However, our driver could manoeuvre very sensitively with the power booster so that he could easily position the vehicle with millimeter accuracy. Thus we succeeded in optimally using the available space and to bring the components to the designated area in the hall. The 60° steering angle of 60 ° is really worth its weight in gold for such operations." Heinz Rößler, Managing Director of Kübler Haulage Company

The next assignment for Kübler with the 2 x 4-axle InterCombi PB took place in the town of Pappenheim at the Riedl & Stöcker company. Here, a 235 t injection moulding machine had to be moved from one production hall into the next. With a 4.10 m high load and only a 5 m high hall, this was not such an easy task! However, with a minimum vehicle height of 865 mm this is certainly possible. The InterCombi PB was moved into its minimum driving position and then manoeuvred with millimeter precision through the production halls.

Numerous further in-plant transports with the InterCombi PB have already been booked by other companies with Kübler. The next one will take place again in Pappenheim and involves even tighter space conditions so that the overall length of the vehicle including the PPU (PowerPack Unit) is simply too long. Here, too, there is a practical solution: the PPU is mechanically uncoupled but still remains hydraulically connected and is carried by a fork-lift truck at the rear.

The 3-in-1 solution
For the delivery of the InterCombi PB axles, no additional transport is required. The InterCombi PB unit is simply coupled to conventional InterCombi axles and can be driven up to speeds of 80 km/h as a pulled unit on rough terrain as well as public roads and motorways. With this, the InterCombi PB is revolutionary in the challenging transportation industry. The vehicle can be pulled either as a self-propelled transport unit or also be used as an additional pusher machine, i.e. as soon as the vehicle speed falls under 14 km/h, the PPU drive starts automatically and thus provides sufficient power.

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