- Komatsu D575
The Komatsu D575A Superdozer is the largest
bulldozer currently in production. It is built by Komatsu Ltd. ofTokyo ,Japan at theirOsaka plant. The D-575A is used primarily as acoal mining dozer in strip mining pits inNorth America . Its size and power allow it to move more coal than other mining dozers and even the drag lines commonly used in strip mines. The dozer features a 69 cubic metre (90 yd³) blade capacity with a blade height of 3.64 m (11 ft 11 in) and width of 7.4 m (24 ft 3 in). The dozer itself is a total of 4.88 m (16 ft) tall and 11.72 m (38 ft 5 in) in length with a ground clearance of 745 mm (2 ft 5 in). [Earthmovers Magazine, October 2008, page 17 article by Keith Haddock]The power required to move the 152.6
tonne (336,420 lb) machine comes from the Komatsu SA12V170Ediesel engine producing 858 kW (1,150 hp). It has a ground contact area of 9.4342 m² (101.55 ft²) and exerts an averagepressure of 159kPa (23 lbf/in²) on the ground it sits on.These dozers operate primarily in strip mines in
West Virginia , mostly operating onMassey Energy sites in Appalachia and to date, 17 D575A's in service in the West Virginia Coal Fields. There is one super ripper that operates in Las Vegas, and another in the south island of New Zealand operating on the Stockton mine.References
External Links
[http://www.komatsuamerica.com/?p=mining&f1=read&pageid=192 Komatsu USA press release with photo of D575A]
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