Power under e³ control – intelligent rescue tools from LUKAS make fire brigade operation safer

LUKAS Hydraulik GmbH has launched a world market innovation: the new e³ generation of rescue equipment will be intelligent, safer and more powerful thanks to a dashboard with performance diagnostic displays.

The Erlangen-based company for hydraulic products has achieved a world sensation: With the launch of their new generation of e³ rescue tools firefighters get the most accurate feedback from the rescue tool through performance diagnostic displays on a dashboard. The direct exchange between rescuer and the rescue tool makes operations safer, intelligent, and more efficient.

But how does it work? LUKAS Hydraulik GmbH has combined the accustomed quality and performance of its products paired with an intelligent dashboard that gives feedback to the user directly during the rescue operation and documents their work steps. This is comparable to the displays you know from your car. Nobody wants to do without the speedometer, a rev counter, or the coolant indicator light. So why shouldn’t rescue workers also benefit from such important control displays?

The developers at the Erlangen-based company have had a lot to do over the last few years and designed a dashboard with performance-diagnostic indicators that provide precisely the speed at which the tool is currently working, the remaining capacity of the battery and whether the rescue tool is in an opening or closing movement. But that is not all. An intelligent turbo function was not to be missing from the new e³ generation. When this is activated and as soon as the blades, spreader arms or claws of the rescue rams hit very hard material, the tool reduces the working speed to a level optimized for the user and continues to work at normal speed. The automated speed adjustment provides a significantly higher level of safety and control exactly when it is needed, preventing dangerous situations.

Another exceptional new feature is the saltwater battery. With the introduction of the e³ series, LUKAS has the only battery tool on the market that can be operated in fresh water as well as in salt water. Up to 60 minutes in 3m water depth and without having to be serviced afterwards. The application possibilities of battery-operated rescue equipment thus reach a new level.

The roll warning is a feature that provides additional safety, especially when using the cutter. Twisting the cutter sideways in use beyond a borderline point can cause the material to be cut to squeeze between the blades. Incorrect positioning or the unfavourable shape of the material to be cut can also lead to the same result. This can result in an increased lateral overlap or, in rare cases, even breakage of the blades. If the cutter is twisted during the cutting process, there is a risk of blade breakage, the LED ring on the dashboard flashes red and warns the user not to continue cutting.

The user is warned of any incorrect positioning and imminent danger and can take corrective action. The user receives this and a variety of other feedback when using the e³ Generation from LUKAS. ‘It was important to us to provide the customer with extensive feedback, to provide him with a better understanding of the rescue tool and thus to significantly improve the handling and working with the tool,’ explains Daniel Engelhardt, Product Manager LUKAS Rescue. ‘The user thus can be developed from one operation to the next, to improve all processes and to increase safety for themselves and all persons within the rescue process.’

With the e³ generation of rescue equipment, LUKAS gains more control with unchanged performance of the equipment.

Find more information at: www.lukas.com/rescue/en