February 12, 2008 One place we spend a lot of time in our research for Gizmag is Yanko Design – the site is a design resource par excellence. We regularly see ideas at Yanko for the first time and so it was when we saw designer Haishan Deng’s Super Tipper Truck. Though tip trucks have got bigger and stronger, they’re largely still based on a design we all first encountered in the sand pit as children. With electric motors in all wheels and a complete rethink of the fundamentals, Haishan’s design unloads four different ways, and does everything more efficiently.
Not surprisingly, we wanted to know more, so we spoke with the man who designed it. “I set out to find a ‘new way’ for this important equipment of construction,” said Haishan.
“The concept concentrates on enabling more possibilities for the loading and unloading process. Common trucks can only unload to backward or sidewards,” said the innovative designer who came to prominence when he took third place in the First China Automobile Design Competition with an equally innovative concept truck that also loads and unloads in non-traditional ways.
“The traditional design of a tipper requires a lot of time for the driver to position the truck for unloading."
“The Super Tipper Truck solves this problem as it can be unloaded to four directions, and is much easier to get into the right position, particularly for precise positioning of the load. The whole process is simpler and faster, offering greater efficiency to the construction area where tippers are most commonly used. In particular, the unload-to-the-front capability enables the driver to put the load in the right place easily in greater safety with higher quantity control.
Haishan has used the advantages of in-wheel electric motors to rethink the entire architecture of the machine – without the need for a central drivetrain to accommodate a large motor and gearbox, the structure of the truck has been completely rethought in a way reminiscent of Yamaha's radical Deinonychus adjustable electric motorcycle.
The Deinonychus takes full advantage of the greater chassis design freedom afforded by an in-wheel motor, and offers a completely new type of two-wheel-drive (2WD) EV (electric vehicle) with "Stretch & Shrink" functions in the vertical and horizontal directions.
Haishan’s Super Tipper Truck uses that same freedom and has created four independent suspension arms which enable the vehicle to drive on ground where a tipper would fear to tread. “With this strongpoint,” says Haishan, “it can unload cargo to the places which are not flat, yielding further efficiencies in the construction arena.”
“For example, it can be driven down into a pit and unload materials directly.”
Perhaps the most interesting of the Super Tipper’s capabilities,” says Haishan, “is it can load some materials such as sand, mud and concrete by itself. The drivers cockpit can be raised to allow the tipper to scoop materials up by being driven forward.”
The good news for industrial design companies is that 29 year old Haishan is actively seeking employment in either Europe or the US. His resume can be seen here, and any other bright young designers with a stand-out design worthy of Gizmag should write to us here.