In 2020, Liebherr Mining released its cable reel system. This system provides up to 300 metres of autonomous cable reeling for Liebherr’s electric excavators, increasing the manoeuvrability of these machines and the safety of the onsite personnel that work with them.
Liebherr used its extensive expertise in developing, manufacturing, and maintaining electric excavators – honed over more than 40 years – to develop the cable reel. For electric excavators to provide optimal onsite productivity, they much be as mobile and as easy to use as possible while also staying connected to their power source.
How it works
The Liebherr cable reel system is a fully autonomous solution that consists of a drum, cable, winder, hydraulic motor, and several safety sensors.
Drum
The size of the drum – and therefore the length of cable within the system – depends on the size of the excavator. Specifically, it depends on the space available between the bottom of the uppercarriage and the top of the undercarriage, as the cable reel is installed onto the centre girder. There has to be adequate room between the drum and the ground to prevent any damage to the cable reel system. Because of this, a smaller drum is used on smaller excavators. However, this does not mean a reduction in reeling capability. The reel system is hydraulically driven, allowing for smaller component integration than an electrically driven system. Liebherr’s R&D team chose to power the cable reel with a hydraulic motor rather than an electric one as electric motors are highly sensitive to dust and to humid environments. As mine sites are often situated in dusty areas with extreme temperatures, this sensitivity would have been likely to cause performance issues on site. Furthermore, hydraulically driven systems are more reliable and more compact than their electric equivalents, while also being simpler and easier to maintain.
