Caterpillar D6XE: The World’s First Diesel-Electric Dozer

The D6XE diesel-electric dozer is one of the innovations that Caterpillar is presenting at bauma 2019. The dozer is powered by electricity generated by a diesel generator. It is also equipped with a delta drive.

Diesel-electric bulldozer with Delta drive

At first glance, this is a normal dozer from Caterpillar - in a class that is very popular. It weighs over 25 tons. This is a diesel-electric powered bulldozer. Caterpillar has already achieved success with this type of drive, namely with the Caterpillar D7E. This was also diesel-electric powered, but did not have a Delta drive and was also in a weight class that did not sell so well because it was not in such high demand in Germany.

Caterpillar D6 a popular class dozer

With the D6, Caterpillar presents a dozer in a popular class. The machine is equipped with a diesel engine that drives the tracks not via a gearbox, but via a generator that produces electricity. This electricity is used to drive an electric motor, which drives the two tracks on the right and left.

Diesel-electric drive: full power from a standing start

The advantage of this drive technology is that full power is available from a standstill. Whereas with a diesel engine, you first have to get up to speed to be able to work at full power. This high starting power, which must also be finely adjustable at high power, is exactly what is expected of a dozer. You want to set off with a large pile of soil in front of the blade, but at the same time control it finely so that the material flows nicely and spreads an even surface. This is exactly what the machine is equipped to do.