25 Bobcat T7X electric compact track loader | Dossier says Pfaff. “The electrical components are shaped a little differently to the ones in the T76, so we had to select parts we could package as easily as possible, while the lithium-ion battery we chose was a power-dense solution that allowed us to squeeze more capacity into the machine. “When we normally design our fuel and hydraulic tanks, our engineers model the voids and crevices, and create a strangely shaped tank. The battery we chose is in a box, different to what you find in automotive, so for this first iteration we kept it simple, kept the box, and worked out what size would fit nicely into the machine in a square package. “During development we did have to change the lift arm and mainframe. We had to make the cooling area an electronics bay, and we put battery mounts in the area where the engine, hydrostat and hydraulics mounts were. Other than that, the cab is the same, the track carriages are the same and the joysticks are the same.” Improving performance Much of the machine has remained the same as the diesel-fuelled alternative – and to an unwitting bystander there is very little to compare between them – but what is not the same is the performance. In the same way that many EVs exceed the acceleration performance of petrol equivalents, that instant torque availability has created superior performance here too. This performance comes in more ways than one, however, as the machine can not only comfortably power through all types of rough terrain found on building sites, but it also has improved tool actuation, because electrification has enabled it to apply the available torque in different ways to optimise the performance of whatever job it is carrying out. “In a diesel hydraulic machine, you have to idle up the engine, and to get full torque you have to be at optimal rpm engine speed, so you have a very limited window,” says Honeyman. “On this machine, as soon as you depress the operate button you have full torque, no matter what speed you’re driving or what condition you are in.” The really clever part, however, is that all this immediately available torque can be directed to where the operator needs it most, and Pfaff explains: “As you drive into a pile and you want to be able to move that bucket up in the air, on a diesel hydraulic machine you’re going to starve the system. “We have never sized an engine in the past to be able to get all of the hydraulic components to operate at 100% of what they’re capable of, so an experienced operator will know to back off on the joystick for their drive so they get the power they need into their lift and tilt, so they can perform what we call a ‘bobcatting’ function. “On the electric machine, you have all the power available to both functions simultaneously. We can put full current to the drives, and provide more tractive effort at a time when a customer is E-Mobility Engineering | March/April 2025 The power-balancing software enables the T7X to attack large piles far more effectively than its diesel equivalents
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