Biggest Construction Equipment for 2023
And Where To Find Them
Building big things requires big equipment. And no sector does it bigger than construction or its related industries (looking at you mining & drilling) sharing common equipment requirements.
The numbers are often staggering and almost impossible to get your head around until you see these monsters in the flesh. For example, the biggest crane in the world — nicknamed “The Giant” — measures 142 metres tall (that’s about 489 feet). Here’s a time-lapse to put it into perspective:
Weighing in at over 1,000 tonnes it is powered by diesel or hydrogen fuel cells, can lift loads of up to 600 tonnes with its hydraulically powered arm — in itself longer than an Olympic swimming pool — and the operator needs to take an eighty metre elevator ride to reach the cab.
The crane is so big it takes five hours to get the hydraulics ready for operation and it needs its own cooling system and bespoke hydraulic jacks to ensure there is no damage to the ground below it.
SO, YOU LIKE BIG PLANT?
The eDumper
What about Electric Vehicles (EVs)? Standing at a height of 18 metres — that’s almost two stories — the eDumper is a diesel-to-electric converted Komatsu and weighs 45 tonnes. Not including the 700kWh battery pack, that’s another 4.5 tonnes. It can be used to move anything & everything. Also, it makes boulders look like pebbles.
Carrying a full load, the battery-converted vehicle can transport up to 65 tons and — according to the Swiss researchers who helped develop it — if you loaded the eDumper at the top of a hill and unloaded it at the bottom, the vehicle would gain (and store) more energy through braking downhill, than it would use on the subsequent run back up the hill.
Liebherr LR 11350
Next up is the Liebherr LR 11350 crawler crane. This absolute powerhouse has a maximum load capacity of 1,350 tonnes and recently moved the generator for a nuclear power plant project which weighed in at 400 tonnes at a radius of almost 50 metres.
“We are a loyal Liebherr customer when it comes to large cranes. Quite simply, Liebherr builds the right cranes” — Morten Kammer, MD, BMS Heavy Cranes.
Full disclosure: this Herculean effort was made possible by also fitting it with an S main boom, luffing jib, derrick system and a pretty massive ballast trailer. But still, the LR 11350 is a marvel of engineering, keeping its weight down but its power going up. Incredible versatility and configurational options mean it can be used for most large infrastructure projects, in multiple industries, including construction and mining.
Komatsu PC8000–11
The Komatsu PC8000–11 is the most powerful hydraulic excavator the company offer and is designed, perhaps unsurprisingly, for infrastructure and mining projects. It’s so huge most normal people can’t even get in it, although you can buy a special powered ladder (POA, of course). Powered by 2 x 1500 kW motors PLUS 2 x 2010 HP@1800 rpm engines, the PC8000–11 has an operating weight of up to 773 tonnes, with both shovel and backhoe capable of moving 42m³ of whatever you like. It’s so big it isn’t even designed to work with trucks capable of holding less than 250 tonnes but really it’s designed for 440-tonne loads for maximum efficiency.
Caterpillar 745
How about articulated trucks? The CAT 745 three-axle articulated truck, powered by the C18 engine, can carry a 41-tonne payload. As well as the usual features and fuel efficiency improvements — The 745 emits up to 8% less CO2 than the 745C and all Cat engines equipped with (optional) Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) reduce the NOx emissions by injecting Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) into the exhaust. The result is according to CAT ‘an emission consisting of 32.5 percent high purity chemical grade urea and 67.5 percent de-ionized water’.
CAT is heavily focused on the operator experience — and the 745 is no exception. This includes developments of the hoist and transmission levers into a single control resulting in only half the necessary operator input, reducing RSI and fatigue. In addition, internal cab development has seen huge improvements in internal noise levels and operator comfort, with the knock-on effect of improving safety and operator confidence and by extension organic productivity.
Komatsu D475A-8
You can’t talk about construction equipment without including a dozer. Enter the Komatsu D475A-8, which is a crawler dozer. This vehicle has an operating weight of 115 tonnes, a pushing force of 1,700 kiloNewtons(kN) or 1.7 megawatts and is capable of lifting 25.5m3. It’s perfect for destroying stone and rock, cleaning up draglines and moving large amounts of materials from one place to another in the fewest possible attempts. Which is good, because the maximum speed you’re going to get out of its four gears is… just over 7 miles per hour (11.6km/h). Of course it does travel slightly faster in reverse — achieving almost 9mph (14.3km/h).
The D475A runs on diesel, but Komatsu’s proprietary technology — the Komatsu Diesel Particulate Filter (KDPF) — captures over 90% of Particulate Matter (PM). It also comes with different modes — “Power” for maximum power or “Economy” for energy saving — as well as auto idle shutdown, which automatically turns off the engine after idling for a variable, operator-defined, period. This helps to reduce unnecessary fuel consumption, exhaust emissions and lowers operating costs.
Liebherr 355.1 Piling & Drilling Rig
When it comes to piling and drilling Construction projects things don’t come much better than this. Standing 27 meters tall and weighing in at an operating weight of 101 tonnes the powerful V12 diesel engine is capable of generating a phenomenal amount of power with a maximum pull force of 900kN (crowd winch & Kelly winch). Despite this, fuel efficiency remains high and Diesel Particulate filtration keeps emissions low.
The LRB 355.1 is a multifunctional machine designed for reliable continuous operation, with the large vibrators and drilling equipment operated by the dedicated onboard hydraulic system and parallel kinematics for a larger operating area.
The LRB 355.1 is also more easily transported than other rigs and can be moved without needing to remove and reattach the leader, multi-sledge or rope during transit. This makes the rig viable for use in a wide range of locations and applications — from rural to metropolitan — whilst saving time & money, and making the whole process much safer for the tiny soft humans operating it.
What Next?
Everyone loves really big feats of human engineering, but how much bigger will plant get? It will probably come down to the availability and supply of materials vital to technology and engineering but limited by a global over-reliance on combined but not shared resources or technology skills. That said, politics aside, the trend is leaning more towards getting better at making them lighter and smaller whilst simultaneously being more powerful and fuel efficient.
Global energy market volatility is currently seeing the most sympathy for electric vehicles, but as is evident from the eDumper’s significant battery weight and power delivery, they currently aren’t viable for most projects. Additionally, concerns regarding rare earth metal availability and developments in alternative fuel technology — including hydrogen — will also likely influence how engineers design the future monsters of the industry.
Whatever happens though, it will be impressive.
Tom@TradeGraft
What is TradeGraft? TradeGraft is the only place where construction professionals can solve their labour, plant and training dilemmas - all at once — leaving you free to focus elsewhere.
