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Development of a mining truck with an electrical drive system, the EH3500ACII
Large machines with large capacity are needed for high production efficiency in mining where digging and transferring large quantities of material usually continues for 24 hours a day. The mining industry also wants reductions in the costs of running machines over their life cycle, together with improvements in operating ratios, fuel efficiency, etc.
Most mining trucks used at mines have a mechanical drive system, powered by diesel engines through transmissions. As mining trucks increased in size, problems relating to restrictions in the manufacture of large machines, maintenance and power transmission efficiency began to occur.
To solve the problems stated above, we developed a mining truck with an electrical drive system, the EH3500ACII, driven by an electric motor powered by electricity generated by an engine in collaboration with Hitachi, Ltd., and began to market the mining truck in August 2008. We developed the mining truck with the technology of Hitachi Construction Truck Manufacturing, our group company, and our technology for mining excavators. It incorporates an AC drive*, which is a drive system that Hitachi, Ltd. developed for the Shinkansen bullet train. This AC drive is smaller and lighter than the current electric drive systems in use for mining trucks, is highly efficient and has the following features:
- Increased transportation capacity by having a faster driving speed that is made possible by fitting powerful electric brakes
- Higher fuel efficiency with improved power transmission efficiency
The EH3500ACII is an environmentally-friendly large mining truck that materializes both high production efficiency and low fuel consumption. As of March 2009, fourteen EH3500ACIIs are in operation in North America, Australia, South Africa and Finland. Our group will endeavor to increase sales of the EH3500ACII and launch sales of other models.
Mining truck, EH3500ACII
*AC drive : a drive system that incorporates an induction motor. In the case of mining trucks, the energy generated by a diesel engine is first converted into alternating current electricity using a generator. Then, a rectifier converts the alternating current into direct current electricity, which an inverter converts into a fixed frequency and voltage to supply electricity to an alternating current induction motor that drives the rear wheels.
