Caterpillar (Cat) has unveiled its new solution to support battery electric truck charging.
The Cat automated energy transfer system, or Cat AETS, was successfully demonstrated at the company’s Tucson Proving Ground in Green Valley, Arizona earlier this month.
Cat AETS uses robotics, vision systems and controls to fully automate the connection between a battery electric machine and a two- to six-megawatt stationary charger.
This system has been created to replace the manual process of mine site personnel connecting and disconnecting a charger from a battery electric machine, enhancing safety by removing personnel directly from the machine charging process.
The automation of the charging process also reduces downtime and improves consistency and reliability of the machine charging process.
“When it comes to meeting production goals, every second matters on our customers’ mine sites,” Caterpillar senior vice president Greg Hepler said.
“Through our advancements in mining technology and automation, our repeatable processes enhance machine reliability and ultimately reduce downtime. Caterpillar is proud to offer the solutions that create benefits for the battery electric machine charging process.”
Just last week, Thiess and Caterpillar celebrated their 90-year partnership when Thiess took delivery of the 6000th Cat D11 dozer at its Lake Vermont mining operations in Queensland.
The D11 dozer rolled off the production line at the Caterpillar factory in Peoria, Illinois last year and was then shipped 15,000km to Queensland where Cat dealer Hastings Deering delivered the machine to Thiess.
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