In October, Ring Power’s training department conducted a training class in Ocala, Florida on the new Cat® D6 XE Track-Type Tractor. This was a chance for Heavy Equipment (HE) Service Technicians to learn all about the world’s first world’s first high drive electric drive dozer. 
The electric drive system starts with a Cat C9.3B engine. Instead of powering a torque converter, the engine drives a generator that turns the mechanical engine power into electricity. Instead of a transmission, an electric motor powers the final drives. A power inverter is connected to both the generator and the motor by heavy-duty power cables and connectors, and this inverter controls the flow of electricity between the two components.
The electric motor can operate at all ground speeds, ensuring the dozer is always operating at the most efficient point possible. The electric drive components are fully sealed against the environment and liquid cooled, so the whole system performs efficiently and reliably in the most demanding dozer applications. Like a traditional powershift transmission in a high drive dozer, the D6 XE Electric Drive power train is completely modular, so internal components can be accessed quickly and efficiently.
The new D6 XE with Electric Drive offers up to 35 percent better fuel efficiency; class-leading maneuverability and power; almost 90 percent fewer rotating parts than a traditional power train — which generates less heat and aids serviceability and component life.