CAT electric D6

Notice Cat has on market new D6 electric drive. Seems similar to L G Leruoreanu on post ww 11 earth movers. Constant speed diesel to electric drive. Railroad been using it for many years. I have to wonder how far behind is Deere and likely Case IH? May eliminate transmission problems. One advantage is constant torque. Did not see if each side has its own motor.

The D7E has been on the market since 2009 so other models were sure to follow.

I just caught the end of an ad for those the other day can?t remember where though

Here you go. Take a little look.
electrical drive

Some Snow-cats are running diesel/electrics now. Cuts down on hydraulic leaks, since most have previously been hydrostatic.

Kinda interesting. Cat really wasn't in the mining truck business for a number of yeas due to problems they were having in the 60's with Diesel Electric drive. They finally got into that market with an all gear drive truck in the 90's IIRC. Now they have electric drive figured out good enough to run a dozer?

Rick

Deere is working on it, at least from the ads they are running locally for power system engineers. I think the first place you will see electric drive in Ag equipment is self propelled sprayers.

Back in mid Feb of 1977 i took on a job working for and old friend running one side of his business in the oil patch and that was the building of drilling locations , entrance ways , tank batterys, pipe lines , and water hauling and filling of Frac tanks . It was a small company as he had two dozers a Ford back hoe and a Junk Massey track hoe a Brockway semi tractor a 25 ton Rodgers low boy a small tri axle low boy two 9500 GMC water trucks and a brand new first out John Deere 750 dozer and a 450 John Deere Dozer . The 750 was the first Hydrostat driven dozer out there and people laughed about it . I was not sure about it either . I have run every dozer made going back to the early sixty's when i worked for a vary large construction co. that had everything of all colors , ran Cat, I H, A C, Eculids ,from D 4's on up to the biggest at the time and that was the I H TD30's and normally ran a D 9 G . The sentiment was about the same as when the first power shift hit the company when the D 9 G arrived that warm spring morning on the rail car as we had our own siding at the main yard . We were setting having lunch break when the train came past with the usual box cars and coal cars and at the end was this flat car with the 9 setting on it and the lead shovel operator said now what fool would order in something that big , now we had a fleet of old D 9's that were hand clutch but this 9 was way bigger and it had a CAB and a Hdy. tilt blade and a three shank ripper . all on the flat car , cab was off the blade was in pieces and the ripper was also layen on the deck . My boss said it must be going to a strip mine down south of us . We heard the train stop up over the hill as it has done just about everyday and break cars off them move them into a couple plants . the shock came when it backed down into our siding and about the same time the owner of the company came flyen in and started barking orders to us and vary shortly after he arrived here came the Cat people to get this new Cat fired up and put together once it was off the rail car. That was my new dozer and a first for me learning how to run a Power Shift, Now i have to learn how to run a hydrostat . Loved the Power Shifts , But will this fluid drive be able to do anything . Sure did not take long to find out what this Juice drive would do , she was FAST she had loads of power and it could run circles around a D 6 D , i could work in deeper MUD and not get hug up i could do what no cat could do and that is track and winch all at the same time i could spin it around like a skid steer i could turn while under load and not loose traction with 100% power to both tracks while turning and did i say FAST , split second from forward to rev and back forward . The sign on the dash that read FASTEN SEAT BELT BEFORE OPERATING THIS MACHINE meant every word . On soft ground it was not so bad as the tracks would spin and soften the fast response of direction change if you were a bit fast on the joy stick . A lot of drillers made fun of it because it was not a CAT But soon leaned that hey that stupid Deere can do more faster they started wanting it for rig moves and well fracing teams to get in and get out fast . Oh you need a drilling pad done fast then call the guys with the Deere he will build the road the pad and dig the pits before you can get the rig down and ready to move. I have seen some U tube vid's of the 7 e's working the oil patch up in Canada , they look a little weird with the signal blade cylinder but they move dirt..

(quoted from post at 22:50:59 12/10/18) Here you go. Take a little look.
electrical drive

Click to expand...

So it is a conventional differential and mechanical brakes? I thought it would have been a independent electrical motor per side . This would eliminate the differential and allow forward on one side and reverse on the other side turns like a skid steer or swather.
Steering would be via electric motor rpms instead of applying friction brakes.

What I was thinking . Similar to L G Le tourneu electric wheels of 1950 days. All who I have talked with said L G had a good thing , however one had to really understand the system to maintain the electric wheel.

Why re-invent the wheel? The railroads have been using DC and AC electrical traction motors mounted to diesel engines for eons. Plenty of what works and what doesn't there for a design idea.