Like all of Bobcat''s skid-steer loaders, the A220 can accommodate myriad-powered and nonpowered attachments everything from angle brooms and augers to wheel saws and whisker brooms. And it''s that versatility, gasenginehydraulicpump along with the all-wheel steer capability, that has the company licking its chops in anticipation of a range of new markets. "We have several test machines in the field right now at a wide variety of customers," Fitzgerald said. "We''ve got one at a recycling plant where they''re running in all-wheel steer 100 percent of the time because of tire wear. They''ve taped the switch so the guys can''t run in skid-steer mode. They''ve got three other machines there and they go through approximately $12,000 worth of tires a year. If the plant can reduce its tire cost significantly, the price difference between an 863 and A220 can easily be justified. The other area of concern is a landing area by a conveyor. Current operating methods wear out the concrete surface. Grooves get worn deep enough into the concrete that they need to mill it out and repour the concrete. The A220 is a lot easier on the surface.

In essence, the U-joint and hub assembly acts as a steerable axle, which is switched between skid-steer and all-wheel drive modes hydraulically through a Hydraforce pressure compensated steer valve controlled by the Phoenix International electronic controller. "One of the big challenges with a four-wheel steer vehicle or even a two-wheel steer vehicle is that typically you have one hydraulic function activating one of the wheels and then a tie rod going between to lock the wheels together so they''re mechanically linked together," said Krause. "With this vehicle, there just is no room to run a tie rod across, so we had to develop a gasenginehydraulicpump hydraulic steer valve that would electronically hydraulically link the wheels and perform the tie rod function."

A series of accidents gasenginehydraulicpump involving air-powered nail guns last summer brought home the fact that the productive and powerful tools are also highly dangerous and need to be handled with respect. In the most tragic case, a framing nail punctured the heart of carpenter Camillo Juandelos on a home construction site in Ocean View, Md., in July, ending the man''s life at the age of 25. Police said Camillo''s brother Jesus was holding the gun that fired the deadly nail.According to reports in gasenginehydraulicpump the Delaware News-Journal, the accident took place as the two men were framing new homes in a development in Ocean View. Jesus had been bending over a stud wall using the air nailer, and then straightened up and turned to call his brother. But Camillo was not on the other side of the room as Jesus thought; he was already standing right behind his brother. Camillo made contact with the nose of the nail gun, triggering the bump-nail mechanism and taking the gasenginehydraulicpump nail in his chest.