Continuing The Legacy

Large mining customers required a more powerful dozer than the D9 (the largest Cat dozer at the time), one that could rip harder rock and move more material. The D10 answered the call with a resilient undercarriage and an industry-first elevated sprocket, plus high weight and horsepower.

The D10’s elevated sprocket design provided several benefits for customers. As it still does today, the sprocket enabled a fully suspended high-drive undercarriage that reduces the shock load feedback to the operator, improving comfort. The suspension provided more track on the ground, since it conformed to the underfoot, offering more traction. With its introduction, the dozer’s ripping and pushing capabilities made a significant impact in the mining industry, as studies showed the cost per yard to move material with the D10 was comparable to that of larger draglines.

Unlike low-drive tractors, the new undercarriage design also kept the sprocket out of the dirt, reducing wear and tear on driveline components. The more modular tractor reduced service time, as technicians had improved access to the transmission, final drives, axles, and other driveline components. By comparison, low-drive tractors required multiple components to be removed prior to a technician gaining access to a power module or other component.

Several D10 model series changes throughout the last 46 years featured design upgrades, increases in horsepower and engine updates to meet changing emissions standards. The new D10’s most recent predecessor, the D10T2, started production in 2014 and offered a machine for two different emissions categories – one designed to meet US EPA Tier 4 standards, and another for US EPA Tier 2 equivalent standards.

The D10T2 featured updates to the cab plus upgrades to the electrical architecture, which allowed for more technology integration into machine design. Newly introduced load-sensing hydraulics delivered more power to the ground for increased responsiveness and fuel efficiency. Driven by customer demand, the D10T2 was the first dozer in the industry to offer high-horsepower reverse, which was carried into the new D10 design as well.

The powerful D10T2 had 447 kW (600 hp) in forward direction, but power output jumped to 538 kW (722 hp) when traveling in reverse. The feature helped customers to reduce overall cycle times in downhill dozing applications; as uphill forces worked against the machine, the dozer automatically increased horsepower in reverse to maintain speed on grade. This allowed the operator to get the blade back in the dirt faster and move material quicker to increase productivity.

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Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/26122023/continuing-the-legacy/