FLEETS

Hitachi introduces new electric drive shovels

Hitachi Construction Machinery – Americas has introduced five mining electric drive shovels to the US and Latin American markets – the EX1900E-6, EX2600E-6, EX3600E-6,EX5600E-6 and EX8000E-6

Staff reporter
The Hitachi EX8000-6 electric drive shovel

The Hitachi EX8000-6 electric drive shovel

The five EX-6 electric drive mining shovels feature an advanced zero-emission electric drive motor designed to provide a cost-effective solution to mining operations where low-cost electric power is available.

Craig Lamarque, division manager at Hitachi, said: “The combination of features on the new EX- 6 electric drive shovels will deliver value to our customers by providing higher productivity and lower total cost of ownership through efficiency, reliability and durability.”

The Hitachi TFOA-KK electric motors are powerful, tough and require less overhauling, periodic inspection and service. The motor’s voltage ranges from AC 6600V-6900V/60HZ and results in a rated continuous output ranging from 610kW on the EX1900E-6 to 1200kW x 2 on the EX8000E-6.

The design of the new EX-6 series electric drive shovels results in simplified and improved daily maintenance. The machines do not need costly consumables such as engine oil, filters, coolant or fan belts. Components related to an engine are also eliminated, such as radiators, air filters and mufflers. In addition, an auto-lubrication system eliminates cumbersome daily lubrication and a fast-filling system enables ground-level refills reducing time during regular stops.

The five shovels are equipped with Hitachi’s level crowding and arc digging system that provides high productivity while ensuring efficiency.

The new shovels include Hitachi’s operator station that features increased visibility and comfort. Fluid-filled elastic mounts reduce cab shocks and vibration by 20-30% compared to rubber mounts, and the advanced multi-display monitor provides operators with key machine status information. This provides more accurate machine driving status information which will, in turn, improve machine performance and uptime.

The shovels come standard equipped with remote machine monitoring system that provides access to machines from a personal computer in customers' offices through Hitachi’s Global e-Service. Operating data are transmitted to a Hitachi server for processing, and then to customers and dealers. This system is available 24 hours a day, all year round.

All five electric shovels come with the optional SkyAngle system which is designed to increase peripheral vision around the excavator by providing synthesised multiple images captured by cameras specifically positioned at four locations around the excavator. The feature displays camera views on a single monitor to allow operators an auxiliary means of checking for ground level obstacles.

Just like the rest of Hitachi’s mining line, the EX-6 electric drive mining excavator front attachments are made from welded steel plates, not cast structures. The boom and arm are welded from low-stress and high-tensile strength steel for a full box section design. This rigid box design resists twisting and bending forces.

The undercarriage design for the five new models is the same as Hitachi’s popular Giant EX Series. The track shoes incorporate a triple grouser design and single roller; and roller guides are used to extend service life for track shoes.

All models feature a filtered and monitored hydraulic system that will monitor and warn operators about machine hydraulic health.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Magazine Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Magazine Intelligence team.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Future Fleets Report 2024

The report paints a picture of the equipment landscape and includes detailed profiles of mines that are employing these fleets

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Digitalisation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations that use digitalisation technology to drive improvements across all areas of mining production

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Automation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations using autonomous solutions in every region and sector, including analysis of the factors driving investment decisions

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Exploration Report 2023 (feat. Opaxe data)

A comprehensive review of current exploration rates, trending exploration technologies, a ranking of top drill intercepts and a catalog of 2022 Initial Resource Estimates and recent discovery successes.