Capital Equipment News June 2017

Caterpillar is the only manufacturer that offers large (182 t and above) mechanical drives.

performance,” says Ingle. “Caterpillar is the only large mining truck OEM that designs, produces and integrates its own engines, powertrains, drive controls and software. This is true for both Cat mechanical and AC drive trucks and allows us to optimise overall machine performance and to provide product support for the entire truck,” adds Ingle. “While there are pros and cons to either drive system, the bottom line is that Caterpillar mining trucks, either mechanical or electric drive, are designed to bring the most value to our customers,” says Ingle, adding that the choice depends on the size of truck required and specific customer preference. BELAZ’s standpoint According to Lavrenov, BELAZ is a true proponent of the electric drive system for the larger end of the payload scale. All its models from 90 t and above are powered by electric drivelines. “More specifically, these are the trucks of 90, 110-130, 180, 200-220, 240, 360 and 450 t payload capacity. The machines with 30, 45 and 55- 60 t are powered by mechanical drive,” says Lavrenov. “BELAZ believes that for 90 t and higher, electric drive, and AC drive in particular, provides better performance for customers than mechanical drive,” says Alexander Egorov, General Design Engineer at BELAZ. Already the company has made modifications to allow all its existing DC drive models to use AC drive, while all its new truck offerings have been designed with AC drive. However, the company says some of its long-term customers have expressed their desire to stick to DC drive. This is partly due to the cost, and on the other hand, Egorov says it’s because DC drive technology has

Transmission and rear brake retardation systems come as standard on Terex Trucks’ TR100 RDT to guarantee the optimum retardation for various applications and conditions for safer control and shorter cycle times.

manufacturers to develop DC electric drive trucks with the launch of its 75 t 779 model in the late 1960’s. “After operating trucks at mines, we concluded, at the time, that a mechanical drive offered our customers the best haulage solution and Caterpillar has since steadily advanced mechanical drive technology,” comments John Ingle, Large Mining Trucks Marketing and Performance Manager at Caterpillar. Today, Caterpillar is the only manufacturer that offers large (182 t) mechanical drives. “Over the years, mechanical drive has continued to move up in size as the preferred drive solution over electric drive as OEMs have been able to offer larger capable mechanical drive systems.” Cat’s viewpoint According to Ingle, Cat mechanical drive trucks have proven their value to miners and are favoured in most applications. In contrast to the notion that the electric drive option is the better choice on the larger end

of the payload scale, Caterpillar offers the widest range of mechanical drive trucks from the 182 t payload and above class size. The 136 t 785D starts what Caterpillar terms its Large Mining Trucks and is a mechanical drive truck. The 789D (186 t) and the 793D/F (227 t) are also mechanical drive trucks and are regarded the workhorses of the industry, according to Ingle. Cat’s mechanical drive goes as far as the 365 t 797F and Ingle argues that the mechanical drive option remains the most productive and lowest cost per ton drive system choice for mining customers. However Ingle notes that the OEM also recognises that some customers prefer electric drive in some size classes, such as the 290 t and 330 t, which are established around AC electric drive fleets. Consequently, Caterpillar has invested into the development of AC drive trucks since the early 2000’s. “We have engaged key customers with electric drive experience throughout the development process to gain their input on machine design and

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