Komatsu D155 W bulldozer working under water.

   / Komatsu D155 W bulldozer working under water. #2  
Those have been around for awhile, but I can't help thinking why they just didn't use a dredge or a dragline bucket. Oh well.
I'd sure hate to be around when one of them throws a track. I think the "W" stands for water.
 
   / Komatsu D155 W bulldozer working under water. #3  
Bob Rooks said:
Those have been around for awhile, but I can't help thinking why they just didn't use a dredge or a dragline bucket. Oh well.
I'd sure hate to be around when one of them throws a track. I think the "W" stands for water.
Click to expand...

A complicated solution & a case of "because we can" when the more logical/practical options were a dredge, dragline or a long reach excavator.......
Afterall how are you going to navigated around obstacles under the water ? A camera sure isn't going to work too well once you stir up sentiment/material with the blade & tracks......
And the recovery job is going to interesting too if gets bogged, rolls over, or slips into a hole underwater (from experience I can tell you it's hard enough on dry land with a D8 sized machine!!!)...... let alone the expensive boat anchor this unit will become when the exhaust/air breather "snorkel" takes in water...& fitting a bulk material clamshell bucket on the blade & a ripper combination? Seems like diametrically opposed applications...

My bet is Komagutsa built at most a hand full maybe for some specific obscure task/government contract & none ever found their way into commercial applications ....seems to me these Tokyo engineering boys got on the sake late or wanted something for an April 1st joke...
 
   / Komatsu D155 W bulldozer working under water. #4  
Interesting video, I have never seen those before. But don't believe I would want to operate blind like that.
 
   / Komatsu D155 W bulldozer working under water.
  • Thread Starter
#5  
One of the videos is in fact a recovery of another D155W dozer. A diver goes down and makes the connection to the dead unit. I guess they can disengage the drive line remotely but you will see the dead unit is in tow when operating dozer comes on to shore. I will see if I can learn more as the WHY they built a submarine model.

It seems like the operator watches the stack depth markings and angle and reverses direction when is getting too deep or the slope is steep. i am sure they have detail maps of where they are working.

End of dozer recovery by a mate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bCqEnTRQ8s
 
   / Komatsu D155 W bulldozer working under water.
  • Thread Starter
#7  
   / Komatsu D155 W bulldozer working under water. #8  
Gale Hawkins said:
http://www.marketbook.ca/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=8745525&LP=MAT

Here is a land version of the D155.

File:Komatsu575a.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Full size Komatsu dozer.

Komatsu 575 remote control super dozer - YouTube

Maybe Komatsu pioneered radio controlled heavy equipment. It could increase the operator level of safety on dangerous type of pushing.
Click to expand...

I believe you're right about Komagutsa leading the radio/remote control - there's quite a few K's operating via remote on land in Australia & I understand globally in hazardous conditions
Globally in a few mines they also have driverless autonomous control mining trucks ( operating on computer/learned gps guiidance geofencing that are monitored/controlled from hundreds of miles away) that auto guide back up to the (human controlled) shovel for loading & then trundle away for miles to to dump in the crushers 24/7 - pretty cool , a c.300Tonne remote "toy"...
 
   / Komatsu D155 W bulldozer working under water.
  • Thread Starter
#9  
http://www.komatsu.com/CompanyInfo/profile/report/pdf/150-03_E.pdf

While it is 10 years old this is a good detail report on Kumatsu's efforts and results on both radio and GPS remote control systems complete with graphs and screen shots. They have now been doing it for over 30 years. I did not realize they are only second to CAT world wide. Impressive maker.
 
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