Doosan Bobcat has announced plans to invest in new technology, machinery and processes at its R&D Innovation Center in Dobříš, Czech Republic.
The company believes that its ability to design, test and manufacture Bobcat machines locally gives it competitive advantage in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.
The Innovation Center is a European Engineering Center of Excellence, focusing on product development, research and testing activities, and creating new solutions. Doosan Bobcat’s new investments will involve every part of operations in the Innovation Center, from rapid prototyping and prototype assembly to performance and durability testing.
With 50% of the cost covered by incentive grants provided by the Czech government, Doosan Bobcat has completed several other substantial investments and has installed three important technologies at the Innovation Center over the past 12 months: a CNC horizontal boring machine; a CNC 5-axis milling machine; and a dynamometer.
The CNC horizontal boring machine and CNC 5-axis milling machine were installed to support faster prototype builds, enabling full control of the processes without the involvement of third parties. Other important elements include fixtures production for the Dobříš manufacturing plant and the testing of machining processes that help with the introduction of new machining in the production plant.
The new 300kW dynamometer enables Doosan Bobcat to test and optimize cooling performance in the ‘hot’ climate-controlled chamber at temperatures up to 55°C (131°F). Advanced functions of the dynamometer allow replication and simulation of real duty cycles in a laboratory environment based on data from the field.
The Bobcat polygon for field testing is close to the Dobříš Innovation Center and the main plant. With more than 20 engineers, operators and technicians, plus six hectares of space with artificial lighting, machine shops and diagnostic laboratories, the polygon is a unique asset to the industry.
Field testing on the Bobcat polygon has been identified as one of the company’s key success drivers in terms of quality and rapid innovations. As a result, the facility is to be expanded. It will almost double in size to 10ha, with a road circuit and several specialized sites where different types of machines are to be built.
