Caterpillar’s 966 XE and 972 XE wheeled loaders offer quarrying customers further notable productivity and efficiency gains compared to its popular Cat 966 and Cat 972 machine peers. Aggregates Business was among a limited group of off-highway equipment trade media invited by Finning to a deep-dive showcase of the two machines at the manufacturer’s impressive facility in Desford, Leicestershire, England.
Andrew Bradbury, product manager at Finning UK & Ireland, Caterpillar’s UK and Ireland dealer, and John Blackett, Finning UK & Ireland’s senior machine demonstrator, have a lot to say and demonstrate about the Cat 966 XE and Cat 972 XE wheeled loaders.
“These machines are our flagship machines in the Caterpillar medium wheeled loader world,” says Bradbury. “Cat medium wheeled loaders start with the 950 and include the 962, 966, 972, 980 and 982. The Cat 966 XE and Cat 972 XE have been around for some time, but they’re only starting to come to the forefront of people’s minds in the UK now, because of fuel going up in price, coupled with the need to lower the total cost of ownership and be greener.”
As Bradbury highlights, the Cat 966 XE and Cat 972 XE wheeled loaders deliver excellent fuel efficiency, premium performance, and user-friendly standard technologies that enhance operator efficiency while maintaining low maintenance costs. Both machines are equipped with Cat C9.3B 239kW engines, designed to meet emission standards without interrupting operation, delivering excellent performance, reliability, durability, and versatility. This results in a machine built to meet customer needs.
“Through Cat VisionLink, you can see your cost per tonne per litre of fuel, as well as track your machine and see any fault alerts,” notes Bradbury.
Bradbury stresses that the Caterpillar Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) on the Cat 966 XE and Cat 972 XE delivers advanced rimpull control and improved speed and range selection. Both machines achieve lower fuel consumption for increased efficiency, compared to the 23-tonne Cat 966 and 24.9-tonne Cat 972, respectively. Bradbury explains how the comprehensive system integration of the transmission, engine, hydraulic, and cooling systems results in significantly improved performance and fuel efficiency.”
“It’s not another manufacturer’s transmission designed for another manufacturer’s machine. It’s a Cat CVT designed for Cat machines. As a result, we are seeing up to 35 per cent more efficiency with the XE versions of the Cat 966 and Cat 972, achieving up to 25 per cent in fuel savings and up to 35 per cent when considering the material moved.”
Wheeled loaders typically have an operating life of 16,000 hours, with an average annual work rate of 2,000 hours, resulting in an estimated lifespan of eight years. Asked how long it will take a quarrying customer to see a return on investment in a Cat 966 XE or Cat 972 XE, Bradbury says: “If a customer is using them for 2,000 hours a year, and with the current [high] cost of fuel, you will start seeing a return on investment in just two to two-and-a-half years.”
Bradbury states that the Cat 966 XE and Cat 972 XE also come with auto-idle shutdown. “We have tech days here in Desford and speak to some customers that have machines running at 45 per cent [idle rate], wasting three to four litres of fuel per hour. Some operators say they prefer to leave the engine running during a 15-minute break, so that the cab remains warm when they return. But with the residual heat in these machines, you don’t need to do that. It’s the same with the air conditioning.”
Focusing on the Cat 966 XE’s Cat Performance Series Bucket, Bradbury continues: “It has a long floor, curved sides and what is called the ‘wide mouth’. When it first came out, they said it would save fuel and give you great fill capacity. It would normally have a 4.2 cubic metre bucket on it, and the [Cat] 972 [XE] would have a 4.8 cubic metre bucket. They are our standard offering, based on the standard [material] densities we see in the UK. This [Cat 966 XE] bucket today has a 4.8 cubic metre bucket on it, as it was recently demonstrated up at a Scottish customer site, using a low-density material. It’s going to go back to [Finning UK] Cannock and have a 4.2 cubic metre bucket put on it.
“What we see with most materials is a 110% fill factor, making a 4.2 cubic metre a 4.6 cubic metre bucket, and the 4.8 cubic metre bucket a 5.2 cubic metre bucket. Competitors mark their machines differently, but on the back of these buckets, you will see the 100% and 110% fill factors recorded. This is crucial as the way the material rolls into the bucket, the quicker you can load it, the less time you’re burning fuel.”
“The operator has full visibility of the cutting edge to help material retention,” notes Blackett. “With this bucket, you also have full rack back and full dump clearance visibility.”
Bradbury continues: “We do an industry-renowned ISO quick coupler for picking up various buckets and a Cat fusion coupler. Ninety per cent of our sales are pin-on [quick couplers], offering a lower centre of gravity that keeps your payload to a maximum.”
Bradbury explains how the Cat 966 XE and Cat 972 XE save customers time and money with long service intervals, in-cab maintenance reminders, a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System, and expanded Remote Services capability. He also demonstrates on the Cat 966 XE’s ground-level control panel how a power isolator, also fitted on the Cat 972 XE, is a significant safety enhancement, as is a master key that can be used to switch off operating power.
Blackett invites the assembled off-highway equipment trade media representatives up on the Cat 966 XE to see how its spacious cab layout features a floor-to-ceiling windshield, a left footrest for added stability, and a four-point seat belt kit with retractors, all of which help you work more safely. Walking to the back of the wheeled loader, Bradbury explains how the model’s Optional Collision Warning System with Motion Inhibit and People Detection helps to improve worker safety on the ground. These features utilise radar and vision sensors to detect hazard potentials, alert operators and inhibit motion in the instant a machine transitions from an inactive to an active state. Audible and visual alerts can deliver the power to see, mitigate and manage hazards that may otherwise go undetected to operators. Bradbury notes how People Detection utilises both a smart camera and radar to alert the operator when a person is detected behind the machine. When the machine is stationary for at least 15 seconds and the rear detection system detects an object in the alarm zone, Motion Inhibit will prevent the machine from engaging reverse gear, helping to keep those around the machine safe.
Furthermore, Cat Command remote control enables Cat 966 XE and Cat 972 XE operators to work safely outside the machine when working in hazardous environments. Command offers the choice of handheld Consoles (line-of-sight) or long-distance virtual Stations (non-line-of-sight). Deep integration with machine systems enables efficiency and productivity by leveraging in-cab technology features (such as Payload and Assist).
The Cat 966 XE and Cat 972 XE’s automatic front differential lock supports the operator by automatically engaging the differential lock to enhance overall traction.
Inside the cabin of the Cat 972 XE demonstration machine, Blackett explains how Job Aids help operators improve and optimise their operating skills. He showcases how Autodig allows the machine to take over the digging process, resulting in consistently full bucket loads, increased digging efficiency, and faster cycle times. He also demonstrates how the Kickout feature on Cat medium wheeled loaders, such as the Cat 966 XE and Cat 972 XE, is another programmable setting that allows operators to save and recall specific implement positions for attachments, like buckets. This reduces operator fatigue and improves efficiency by automating repetitive movements. “It brings the process of getting the material into the bucket and into the hopper to a soft stop,” says Blackett, demonstrating the feature with the Cat 972 XE. “This reduces bucket and GET [Ground Engaging Tools] wear.”
Remaining in the Cat 972 XE’s cabin, Blackett demonstrates how the operator’s left footrest allows for added operator comfort, safety, and wheeled loader stability when working in uneven or bumpy terrain. He also shows how Advanced Payload with e-Ticket enables an operator to generate a weighing ticket and easily send it over the air to any email address. With a few touches of one of the Cat 972 XE’s in-cab control screens, Blackett explains how Application Profile settings allow each operator to set customised forward/reverse default speed ranges and rimpull limits that are easily visible on the front dash.
Talking about the rimpull control that comes as standard on Cat large as well as medium wheeled loaders, such as the Cat 972 XE and Cat 966 XE, Blackett says: “You can alter the rimpull from 100 per cent down to 50 per cent. If you’ve got slippery conditions, I would reduce the rimpull to about 90 per cent to give you a bit more cushioning between gear changes.”
Blackett continues: “If you’ve got a loaded bucket and are travelling downhill, there’s a retarder function. The transmission will make a different noise when you press the pedal. Instead of your pedal press activating the braking system and heating the axles, it retards the transmission by reversing the oil flow. You can control the machine to move forward and backwards at a nice, steady pace.
“With a normal powershift machine, you would downshift to first gear every time you load the bucket. With this machine [and the Cat 966 XE], you don’t have to. You can stay in third gear, or third speed, as it’s a virtual gear. You have the same rimpull as you would have in the first gear.”
Commenting on the Cat 972 XE and Cat 966 XE’s joystick ‘stick’ steering, Blackett says: “What this does for you is that when the articulation is straight, your hand is straight. You can start your machine, and your stick will automatically return to the centre. Your hand-eye coordination is just right. You also have force feedback, so the faster you go, the more feedback you get through the lever and the tighter it goes, so you don’t veer all over the place.”
Bradbury adds: “We’ve had people a bit unsure about the joystick control, but after an hour of using it to operate one of these machines, and then we’ve asked if they want a steering wheel back, they say, ‘Not a chance!
“We have so much of a backlog now in the UK of people wanting to try these machines. I’ve added another Cat 972 XE to the [Finning UK] fleet. One quarrying customer in Scotland had it, and I received a phone call from our sales manager up there who wants to get one for three other quarrying customers to try. For next year, we’re doing our order forecast with Caterpillar, and we think we’re going to go from a 50/50 fleet split between the Cat 966 and Cat 972 and their XE versions, to a 60/40 split in favour of the XEs.”
