Liebherr produce 10,000th XPower wheel loader
Long-standing partnership with transmission manufacturers ZF Friedrichshafen AG one of the factors for success
LIEBHERR are celebrating a major milestone with the production of their 10,000th XPower wheel loader – an L 580 model – at their plant in Bischofshofen. At the heart of the machine is a power-split travel drive – standard on all XPower models – produced by Liebherr’s trusted partner ZF Friedrichshafen AG in Passau. Thus, the milestone XPower wheel loader is not only a cause for celebration for Liebherr, but also for ZF.
Liebherr-Werk Bischofshofen GmbH have been a long-standing development partner of driveline specialists ZF. Drawing on decades of experience in developing wheel loaders, Liebherr actively contributed to the development of the power-split transmission so that the manufacturer could optimize it for the requirements of the XPower travel drive.
‘The transmission from our partner ZF is a key component of the drivetrain in our XPower wheel loaders. With an impressive total of around 64,000,000 operating hours already clocked up by XPower models, this transmission has proven its exceptional robustness,’ explained Gerhard Pirnbacher, head of quality management at the Liebherr plant in Bischofshofen.
Daniel Härter, senior vice-president of industrial technology at ZF’s Passau site, added: ‘We would like to congratulate Liebherr on their 10,000th XPower wheel loader and are delighted that our transmission is playing a part in the XPower success story.’
The anniversary wheel loader will be put into service not far from the ZF transmission plant in a BERGER Rohstoffe GmbH quarry in the Bavarian Forest. The BERGER Group already has 20 XPower loaders in operation and is delighted with the anniversary machine.
‘We value the handling, reliability, and relatively low operating costs of our XPower machines, and are particularly pleased that a gearbox from our home region of Passau is installed in our new wheel loader,’ said Matthias Neidhardt, managing director of BERGER Rohstoffe GmbH.
For around a decade, Liebherr’s L 550 to L 586 XPower wheel loaders have established themselves as pioneers when it comes to fuel efficiency and robustness. Their power-split drive system combines both hydrostatic and mechanical drives. The hydrostatic travel drive is the most efficient drive type for short loading operations, while the mechanical drive is the most powerful and economical for long distances and uphill driving.
‘This means that the XPower offers the highest efficiency in material pick-up and transport, as well as optimum acceleration and maximum performance in all loading cycles – even over long distances,’ explained Dr Herbert Pfab, managing director of technology at the Liebherr plant in Bischofshofen.
The power-split ZF transmission is responsible for combining the two drive paths. It operates variably and adjusts the mixing ratio of the two drive paths continuously and automatically. This means that the wheel loader always operates at maximum power and efficiency, regardless of the application.
With the expertise of their development partner ZF, Liebherr can integrate the transmission perfectly into the entire drive system and match all components precisely to each other. The result, say Liebherr, is enormous fuel savings compared with conventionally powered wheel loaders.
Moreover, as the power is developed through the interaction of two drive paths, enormous robustness is achieved. The load is thus distributed across both drive paths and the components have a significantly longer service life. Operators can work without interruptions, increasing operational reliability.
The robust design and use of high-quality materials also ensure that the gearboxes operate reliably even under extreme conditions – a decisive advantage for customers who depend on high machine availability and low maintenance costs.
