All-Electric Skid Steer Out-Powers Diesel
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Doosan Bobcat’s new all-electric compact loaders bring more power to the job and are faster, with simpler components, 50 percent fewer components, and 96 percent less fluid. It all adds up to superior performance with drastically reduced maintenance, zero emissions, less noise and vibration, and simpler troubleshooting.
If that wasn’t enough, the operating costs of the track and wheel loaders are only a tenth that of diesel/hydraulic. The T7X track version was introduced in 2022, and the S7X was introduced in late 2023.
“The T7X and S7X with their ball screw actuators, electric drive motors, and other components are simply better,” says Joel Honeyman, Doosan Bobcat North America. “The all-electric platform allows us to do many different things you can’t do with a hydraulic machine. All-electric enhances performance and is sustainable.”
The company understands that if a product doesn’t perform as well or better with more power and performance than the alternative, customers won’t buy it. Products were tested out pre-introduction with select customers.
“The first thing customers notice is the instantaneous torque, up to three times greater than traditional skid-steer loaders,” says Honeyman. “Our peak mode lets an operator go from 75 hp. to 107 hp. when driving into a pile.”
He reports operators appreciate being able to simultaneously power drive, lift, and tilt functions without the power lag associated with diesel/hydraulic machines. At the same time, there’s none of the noise and vibration common to diesel hydraulics.
What isn’t limiting is the performance. The new machines, with their electric actuators, have a rated operating capacity of 2,900 lbs., tipping load of 8,429 lbs., breakout force-lift of 7,500 lbs., and breakout force-tilt of 8,108 lbs.
The lithium-ion batteries have a 72.6 kWh capacity and can be charged overnight with a 220/240 50-amp power service. The batteries deliver a consistent voltage for the duration of the charge with a run-time of up to 8 hrs. However, company data reveals that conventional skid steers are normally operating at idle for at least an hour out of every 8-hr. day.
“With our all-electric platform, energy isn’t being used if the machine is idle,” points out Honeyman. “Customers found they needed to recharge every 3 days or even once a week.”
Honeyman points to the rapid development of fast-charging systems as eliminating recharge time constraints. “We’re looking at different technologies that’ll charge faster,” he says. “When you can charge a vehicle as fast as you can fill the fuel tank, the world will change.”
Charging, batteries, and other technologies used in the new all-electric loaders are already significantly better than when Doosan Bobcat built it’s prototype. Even then, the company was able to largely use off-the-shelf components.
“We built our prototype in just 60 days at the end of 2019,” says Honeyman. “We proved it could be done and, since then, have been refining the concept.”
The challenge was finding components rugged enough and reliable enough for agricultural conditions. What they found were technologies and applications that met those conditions and surpassed diesel/hydraulic operations.
“The technology allows us to know the position of every actuator precisely and current levels of operation,” explains Honeyman. “If a component could damage the machine, the intelligent control system backs off. That’s not something you can do with hydraulics.”
How soon will the machines be available to the marketplace? “The first machines have already been delivered to Sunbelt Rentals,” says Honeyman.
“Today, the all-electric platform is more expensive than diesel/hydraulic,” he adds, “but we’re at a very low volume of production. As sales volume increases, we have a pathway to lower the cost. We’re targeting to offset ownership costs in 5 years with lower operating costs.”
Some all-electric platform components will certainly cross over to fueled machines. “We’re looking at the use of actuators instead of hydraulic cylinders on our fueled units,” says Honeyman. “The all-electric platform is a look at how the new technologies can be applied to the rest of our vehicle line-up.”
Advanced Display Technology (ADT) is likely to catch on quickly and will be applied to fueled compact loaders, excavators, and telehandlers. It offers augmented reality with OLED touch screens integrated into front and/or side windows. Initially, it’ll be attached, but eventually, it’ll be embedded in the window.
The heads-up display allows operators to look at both the job site around them and operation information. The operators can access camera views and site maps on the window screens. The display can also be used for grading, elevation, and operator training.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Doosan Bobcat (www.doosanbobcat.com).
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All-Electric Skid Steer Out-Powers Diesel ENERGY Alternative Fuels Doosan Bobcat’s new all-electric compact loaders bring more power to the job and are faster with simpler components 50 percent fewer components and 96 percent less fluid It all adds up to superior performance with drastically reduced maintenance zero emissions less noise and vibration and simpler troubleshooting If that wasn’t enough the operating costs of the track and wheel loaders are only a tenth that of diesel/hydraulic The T7X track version was introduced in 2022 and the S7X was introduced in late 2023 “The T7X and S7X with their ball screw actuators electric drive motors and other components are simply better ” says Joel Honeyman Doosan Bobcat North America “The all-electric platform allows us to do many different things you can’t do with a hydraulic machine All-electric enhances performance and is sustainable ” The company understands that if a product doesn’t perform as well or better with more power and performance than the alternative customers won’t buy it Products were tested out pre-introduction with select customers “The first thing customers notice is the instantaneous torque up to three times greater than traditional skid-steer loaders ” says Honeyman “Our peak mode lets an operator go from 75 hp to 107 hp when driving into a pile ” He reports operators appreciate being able to simultaneously power drive lift and tilt functions without the power lag associated with diesel/hydraulic machines At the same time there’s none of the noise and vibration common to diesel hydraulics What isn’t limiting is the performance The new machines with their electric actuators have a rated operating capacity of 2 900 lbs tipping load of 8 429 lbs breakout force-lift of 7 500 lbs and breakout force-tilt of 8 108 lbs The lithium-ion batteries have a 72 6 kWh capacity and can be charged overnight with a 220/240 50-amp power service The batteries deliver a consistent voltage for the duration of the charge with a run-time of up to 8 hrs However company data reveals that conventional skid steers are normally operating at idle for at least an hour out of every 8-hr day “With our all-electric platform energy isn’t being used if the machine is idle ” points out Honeyman “Customers found they needed to recharge every 3 days or even once a week ” Honeyman points to the rapid development of fast-charging systems as eliminating recharge time constraints “We’re looking at different technologies that’ll charge faster ” he says “When you can charge a vehicle as fast as you can fill the fuel tank the world will change ” Charging batteries and other technologies used in the new all-electric loaders are already significantly better than when Doosan Bobcat built it’s prototype Even then the company was able to largely use off-the-shelf components “We built our prototype in just 60 days at the end of 2019 ” says Honeyman “We proved it could be done and since then have been refining the concept ” The challenge was finding components rugged enough and reliable enough for agricultural conditions What they found were technologies and applications that met those conditions and surpassed diesel/hydraulic operations “The technology allows us to know the position of every actuator precisely and current levels of operation ” explains Honeyman “If a component could damage the machine the intelligent control system backs off That’s not something you can do with hydraulics ” How soon will the machines be available to the marketplace? “The first machines have already been delivered to Sunbelt Rentals ” says Honeyman “Today the all-electric platform is more expensive than diesel/hydraulic ” he adds “but we’re at a very low volume of production As sales volume increases we have a pathway to lower the cost We’re targeting to offset ownership costs in 5 years with lower operating costs ” Some all-electric platform components will certainly cross over to fueled machines “We’re looking at the use of actuators instead of hydraulic cylinders on our fueled units ” says Honeyman “The all-electric platform is a look at how the new technologies can be applied to the rest of our vehicle line-up ” Advanced Display Technology ADT is likely to catch on quickly and will be applied to fueled compact loaders excavators and telehandlers It offers augmented reality with OLED touch screens integrated into front and/or side windows Initially it’ll be attached but eventually it’ll be embedded in the window The heads-up display allows operators to look at both the job site around them and operation information The operators can access camera views and site maps on the window screens The display can also be used for grading elevation and operator training Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Doosan Bobcat www doosanbobcat com
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