Cummins Asia Pacific Magazine - Issue 1 2023

BEFORE
Rebuild
masterstroke
pays off for miners
A masterstroke by Cummins engineers in Australia
and the US has resulted in major cost reduction and
environmental benefits for mining companies electing
to rebuild their QSK60 engines under a special
upgrade program.
Early generation QSK60 HPI engine
at the Master Rebuild Centre for
conversion to MCRS technology.
AFTER
The engineers focused on rebuild possibilities for the early generation
QSK60, and how it could be upgraded to the latest diesel technology
at overhaul time with no major change to the base 60-litre V16
design – a feat that eluded other engine manufacturers.
The key technology upgrade is to fuel injection, with the early unit
injection system (HPI) replaced with the high-pressure modular
common rail system (MCRS) that now features on all of Cummins’
latest generation high horsepower engines.
The 300th upgraded engine, rated at 2700 hp, rolled off the
production line at the Cummins Master Rebuild Centre in Brisbane,
highlighting yet another successful step in the evolution of the
QSK60 and why it is the foremost high-horsepower diesel engine
globally in mobile mining equipment.
“Reduced fuel consumption and longer life-to-overhaul are keys to
lower total cost of ownership, and they were the initial aims behind
the engineering of the upgrade program for the QSK60,” says
Greg Field, mining business development manager for Cummins
Asia Pacific.
“Innovation is at the core of Cummins’ long history and it has
certainly played its part in the QSK60 rebuild options we can offer
our mining customers.”
The bottom line is impressive: Diesel particulate emissions are
slashed by up to 63% through in-cylinder combustion technology
with no aftertreatment. There’s also a plus for maintenance with less
soot loading in the oil.
Fuel savings up to 5% are consistently reported in the field for
significant greenhouse gas emissions reduction, while life-tooverhaul
is extended by 10%, translating to fuel consumption of
more than 4.0 million litres before rebuild is required.
Apart from the fuel system upgrade to MCRS, the QSK60 with
single-stage turbocharging also features other Cummins innovations
in combustion technology that were engineered for Tier 4 Final
and Stage V emissions compliance, the most stringent off-highway
emission standards in the world.
The rebuild upgrade package can be applied to the two variants
of the QSK60 – one with single-stage turbocharging (known as
‘Advantage’) which can be rated from 1785 to 2700 hp, the other
with two-stage turbocharging which can be rated at 2700, 2850
or 3000 hp.
The 300th upgraded QSK60 went to Boggabri Coal in the NSW
Gunnedah Basin for installation in a Komatsu 930E haul truck.
The engine has proved its worth in both coal and iron ore mining
in Australia.
The finished product…QSK60 with
MCRS fuel system technology.
MCRS upgrade
at Master Rebuild
Centre in Brisbane.
▲ Scan here
or click here
for more info.
Belt buckle marking the 300th QSK60 MCRS conversion and its
delivery to Boggabri Coal in the NSW Gunnedah Basin.
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