Cummins is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of engines for a wide range of industries. Future Airport talks to Naomi Buckland, one of the firm’s senior off-highway specialists, about how its wide range of products for airports is helping to set new standards in power generation and environmental sustainability.
Please could you tell us about the range of engines that Cummins supplies for airports?
Naomi Buckland: Headquartered in Indiana, US, Cummins is a global power leader and the world’s largest independent diesel engine manufacturer. Founded in 1919, its expertise is demonstrated across its engine product line and in critical engine components such as turbochargers, filters, fuel systems, electronics and after-treatment systems.
Cummins designs and manufactures this technology, thereby enabling it to provide industry-leading technologies and systems that meet ever-higher demands for efficiency, durability and optimised performance.
Airports around the world choose Cummins to power a multitude of applications operating airside. The firm offers an extensive range of advanced power options suitable for the diversity of ground support applications, from 49hp (37kW) to 1,200hp (895kW).
Moreover, its engines are more adaptable than ever for different machine-load demands, available either with high power at high-engine rpm, or high torque at low-engine-speed rpm. As a full systems supplier, Cummins can optimise and tailor products to each application.
Why should airports choose Cummins to supply their power needs over its competitors?
The main challenges to Cummins’ airport customers continue to be reducing the total cost of ownership, increasing uptime and ensuring that operations meet strict global emissions regulations.
Cummins is already the supplier of choice for many customers in Europe, including Goldhofer, TLD and Kalmar, and its engines power a range of applications from aircraft tractors to cargo lifts. Its new generation of ultra-low emissions engines spanning 100-430hp (75-321kW) are designed to meet 2019 EU Stage V emissions regulations with simpler, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR)-free architecture and Cummins’ Single Module after-treatment technology. The engines bring together a number of complementary technologies that work in harmony to make them the cleanest that Cummins has developed to date. This next generation of products will appeal to every OEM looking for significantly improved performance with lower installed costs. They will be able to benefit from higher performance, lower running costs, lower weight and easier installation.
Each of these new engines is intended to set a new benchmark in its class by providing unprecedented levels of performance while reducing the total cost of ownership. The Stage V suite of advanced technologies ultimately empowers users, giving them more for less. Encompassing 3.8-9.0L, the Stage V 2019 models are a step ahead of their Stage IV equivalents, achieving 10% more power and 20% more torque on average across the range.
Greater power for a smaller size ultimately enables OEMs to reduce the size of engine installations and reduce costs while preserving the productivity of existing machines, thereby increasing overall efficiency.
OEMs also stand to benefit from the Cummins Stage V engines’ EGR-free architecture. This market-leading technology offers a reduced system cost and simpler machine architecture, providing inherently lower maintenance costs for users.
To what extent is Cummins committed to engineering environmental sustainability into its products?
The integration of Cummins’ latest after-treatment system – the Single Module – with leading combustion and air-handling technology allows the 2019 F3.8, B4.5, B6.7 and L9 engines to be EGR-free.
The Single Module system combines a diesel particulate filter (DPF), selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and urea-dosing technologies in one unit, providing up to a 50% reduction in envelope size and a 30% reduction in weight compared with earlier products.
The ‘fit-and-forget’ system is capable of removing emissions almost entirely by passive regeneration, with no impact on equipment operation, and requiring no operator interface or intervention.
How have these values been realised in Cummins’ new range of 2019 Stage V-compliant engines?
The Stage V 2019 engines have substantial performance gains and deliver more from a smaller, lighter package. Customers will see 10% more power and almost 20% more torque than the engines’ predecessors, all while using less fuel.
Efficiency improvements will result in the overall fuel and DEF costs reducing by up to 3% compared with those of current Tier 4 Final compliant models, depending on engine and application. Engine operating costs will be further reduced with an achievable 1,000-hour oil-change interval – twice as long as the current 500 hours.
Smarter electronics will bring Start-Stop technology embedded in the engine management system, offering the potential for fuel savings of 5-15%. On the whole, the overall fluid cost of the new Stage V engines has been reduced by 3% compared with that of its predecessor.
Cummins Single Module after-treatment achieves higher NOx conversion efficiency than previous models, removing 99.9% of particulate material by weight and count. Cummins is dedicated to providing emissions solutions to users around the world so, while these engines were originally developed to meet stringent European 2019 emissions legislation, the new engines will be co-certified to meet a range of global emissions standards in the US, Japan and South Korea. Cummins’ sleek and thoughtful design provides a global engine platform.
What technology will you be particularly excited to incorporate into future airport products?
Cummins Guidanz was launched for the North American market in March 2017; the company is looking to roll this out across other markets in the future. Guidanz is a free mobile app operating through a Wi-Fi or cellular connection that allows customers to quickly read engine fault codes on Tier 3 and later engines when paired with the new Bluetooth-enabled INLINE mini vehicle data link adapter, or INLINE 7.
Guidanz allows operators to provide critical information to their off-site operations manager in order to initiate the service process, rather than having a service technician come on site to diagnose the fault code. That can be done by email directly from the app. A service locator tool then enables the operator to quickly locate a nearby certified repair centre, and can also choose to connect directly with Cummins Care to initiate the service process.
