Allison Transmission says that several Chinese mining equipment manufacturers have expanded their global presence with the export of trucks equipped with Allison WBD (Wide Body Dump) Series™ transmissions to the Americas, Asia and the Middle East. The WBD Series™ it says provides increased productivity, enhanced manoeuvrability and decreased costs for off-highway mining trucks.
Designed for wide body mining dump (WBMD) trucks operating in more severe duty-cycles and harsher conditions, Allison 4800 WBD transmissions it says provide an extended torque range and a higher gross vehicle weight (GVW) capacity. “They are highly regarded in the mining industry worldwide for their unrivalled performance, quality, durability and reliability.”
Major Chinese mining equipment manufacturers, including SANY, LiuGong, XCMG, PengXiang and Tonly, outfitted their WBMD trucks with Allison 4800 WBD transmissions in the first half of 2023. These trucks were exported in large quantities to Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Colombia, Brazil, South Africa, the Philippines, Ghana and Eritrea for strip mining and ore transportation.
The Allison 4800 WBD transmission “can perform full-throttle high-torque starts and easy ramp starts, eliminating manual transmission issues such as difficult starts, easy-to-burn clutches, and failures to shift gears on a slope, which could cause the vehicle to skid. In addition, the transmission can automatically and intelligently shift gears in response to changes in road conditions and slope gradient, keeping the engine running efficiently without power interruptions and enhancing the vehicle’s uphill dynamics and safety.” The integral hydraulic retarder in the transmission assists braking without thermal decay, and when used in conjunction with the constant speed downhill function, prevents over-speeding downhill.
WBMD trucks operating in harsh environments need to carry heavy loads, and those equipped with the Allison 4800 WBD transmission are powerful enough to handle frequent starts and stops and to avoid potential failures from working around the clock. Allison’s patented torque converter avoids clutch wear common in manual transmissions and requires only periodic filter and fluid changes to maintain peak performance. Meanwhile, the hydraulic drive of the torque converter reduces mechanical shocks and improves engine and axle life. The Allison 4800 WBD transmission is also equipped with prognostics that provide feedback on the transmission’s health and maintenance needs in advance, and error codes are displayed on shift selectors for easy identification.
For the day-to-day operation of a vehicle, the Allison 4800 WBD transmission “offers the advantages of easy operation, high reliability and low maintenance costs. These benefits allow drivers to better focus on vehicle control in harsh working environments, effectively reducing operational errors and easing the driver’s workload.”
“Allison Transmission is pleased to have maintained a long-term relationship with major mining equipment manufacturers in China. Allison is capable of fulfilling specific requirements from our customers,” said David Wu, Managing Director, China Sales at Allison Transmission. “In line with Allison’s brand promise, we will continue to provide reliable and valuable propulsion solutions that deliver industry-leading productivity and total cost of ownership.”
