Excavator Travel Assemblies: Technological Upgrades Boost Adaptability in Complex Work Scenarios
2025-10-30
Amid the wave of green and intelligent transformation in construction machinery in 2025, excavator travel assemblies—known as the "mobile core" of equipment—have ushered in a technological boom, becoming a key breakthrough to enhance excavators' adaptability to complex working scenarios. Industry data shows that equipment equipped with upgraded travel assemblies has increased operating efficiency by an average of 15% and reduced energy consumption by over 10%, with penetration in harsh environments such as mines and wetlands reaching 22%.
Electrification and hybrid technology have become the mainstream upgrade directions. The high-speed electric drive travel system developed by Zhuzhou Gear Co., Ltd. (Zhuchi) has innovatively adopted a "vertical reducer + energy recovery" design, increasing transmission efficiency from less than 50% of traditional hydraulic systems to 90%. When adapted to new energy excavators of enterprises like XCMG and Lovol, it has achieved a 15% energy saving breakthrough for the entire machine. The ES series reducer launched by Hengchi Transmission adopts a combined structure of helical gears and worm gears. Its high-strength alloy components have improved impact resistance by 30%, and the extended maintenance cycle can reduce downtime by 40%, covering the needs of mainstream tonnage excavators.
In response to all-terrain operation needs, the travel assembly of walking excavators has achieved a revolutionary breakthrough. Its multi-degree-of-freedom hydraulic outriggers can flexibly adjust height and angle, and when combined with integrated drive motors, it can operate stably in scenarios where traditional equipment is restricted, such as 30-degree slopes and marshy wetlands. Currently, it has been widely used in municipal dredging, mountain construction and other fields. More notably, the hydraulic-electric hybrid drive technology, which recovers braking kinetic energy through a combination of hydraulic pumps/motors and accumulators, reduces energy consumption by 56.5% compared with traditional systems, becoming a core configuration for electric excavators.
Leading enterprises such as LiuGong have integrated upgraded travel assemblies into their global layout. The intelligent travel system equipped on its 924FE electric excavator can adjust power output in real time through AI algorithms, achieving a 98% pass rate in field tests in European mining scenarios. Industry experts point out that with the maturity of solid-state battery technology, travel assemblies will realize the full-chain upgrade of "high-efficiency drive - intelligent regulation - energy circulation", providing core support for the globalization of construction machinery.
Excavator Travel Assemblies: Technological Upgrades Boost Adaptability in Complex Work Scenarios
2025-10-30
Amid the wave of green and intelligent transformation in construction machinery in 2025, excavator travel assemblies—known as the "mobile core" of equipment—have ushered in a technological boom, becoming a key breakthrough to enhance excavators' adaptability to complex working scenarios. Industry data shows that equipment equipped with upgraded travel assemblies has increased operating efficiency by an average of 15% and reduced energy consumption by over 10%, with penetration in harsh environments such as mines and wetlands reaching 22%.
Electrification and hybrid technology have become the mainstream upgrade directions. The high-speed electric drive travel system developed by Zhuzhou Gear Co., Ltd. (Zhuchi) has innovatively adopted a "vertical reducer + energy recovery" design, increasing transmission efficiency from less than 50% of traditional hydraulic systems to 90%. When adapted to new energy excavators of enterprises like XCMG and Lovol, it has achieved a 15% energy saving breakthrough for the entire machine. The ES series reducer launched by Hengchi Transmission adopts a combined structure of helical gears and worm gears. Its high-strength alloy components have improved impact resistance by 30%, and the extended maintenance cycle can reduce downtime by 40%, covering the needs of mainstream tonnage excavators.
In response to all-terrain operation needs, the travel assembly of walking excavators has achieved a revolutionary breakthrough. Its multi-degree-of-freedom hydraulic outriggers can flexibly adjust height and angle, and when combined with integrated drive motors, it can operate stably in scenarios where traditional equipment is restricted, such as 30-degree slopes and marshy wetlands. Currently, it has been widely used in municipal dredging, mountain construction and other fields. More notably, the hydraulic-electric hybrid drive technology, which recovers braking kinetic energy through a combination of hydraulic pumps/motors and accumulators, reduces energy consumption by 56.5% compared with traditional systems, becoming a core configuration for electric excavators.
Leading enterprises such as LiuGong have integrated upgraded travel assemblies into their global layout. The intelligent travel system equipped on its 924FE electric excavator can adjust power output in real time through AI algorithms, achieving a 98% pass rate in field tests in European mining scenarios. Industry experts point out that with the maturity of solid-state battery technology, travel assemblies will realize the full-chain upgrade of "high-efficiency drive - intelligent regulation - energy circulation", providing core support for the globalization of construction machinery.
