A few years after the war ended, the industry of the Soviet Union was gradually recovering. The pace of mining operations increased. The capacity of serial cars operating in quarries was sorely lacking. There was a need for a new, more powerful technique.
The birth of the first mining truck
In March 1948, the government of the USSR decided to develop the first Soviet mining dump truck. To solve this problem was entrusted to the design bureau of the Yaroslavl Automobile Plant.
However, things did not go beyond the development of the project of the machine, which received the marking YAZ-225. All technical documentation was transferred to Minsk, where significant changes and improvements were made to it.
So, from the initial plans to use the cabin from the MAZ-200 production model, which they simply wanted to shift to the right, the MAZ design bureau refused. A fundamentally new, spacious cabin was developed. In addition, a number of updates and improvements were made to the project, which made it possible to change the project index from 225 to 525. This is the marking received by the biaxial MAZ with the ability to transport goods weighing 25 tons - this was the first Soviet mining dump truck. But the appearance of such a machine did not solve the problem. Required equipment with even greater carrying capacity.
40 tons on three axles
The USSR Ministry of Automotive Industry ordered the Minsk Automobile Plant to create a car with a minimum carrying capacity of 40 tons. The project manager was appointed the chief designer of MAZ - LB Shaposhnik.
The prototype for the new dump truck was already tested in the quarries of MAZ-525. In fact, if you do not take into account minor external differences, it was the same 525, only elongated and received additional wheels (third axis).
In 1957, the first MAZ-530 prototype was presented for public viewing at the All-Union Exhibition (VSHV) of the USSR. He became the first three-axle mining dump truck in the USSR, with a carrying capacity of 40 tons.
And at the industrial exhibition held in Brussels in the fall of 1958, the MAZ-530 received worldwide recognition. He was awarded the highest award.
MAZ-530: technical specifications
The new MAZ, like its predecessor, the MAZ-525, was equipped with a diesel engine from the T-34 tank, with the difference that on the 525th it was deformed, and on the new 530th it was standard, 12-cylinder 450-horsepower unit, which had a working volume of 38 thousand cubic cm.
The gearbox was structurally a planetary type device equipped with a torque converter, with three steps for moving forward and one reverse gear. This was a novelty, this type of box was first installed on domestic equipment.
MAZ-530 was able to reach a speed of 43 km / h (at MAZ-525 it was only 25 km / h).
The rear axle was attached directly to the frame, rigidly and without springs. The shock loads to which the car body was subjected when loading in a quarry could not withstand any suspension design. Because of this, the bottom of the body was made of a double layer of steel with an oak gasket laid between the sheets. The load was transferred to the frame through six pillows made of high density rubber.
The body was lifted using a hydraulic mechanism, which included two powerful cylinders and a separate pump that controls the pressure in the system. This system could tip the body at an angle equal to 65 degrees.
Depending on the operating conditions, the MAZ-543 fuel consumption varied from 130 to 160 liters per 100 km.
The steering was equipped with power steering.
The outer diameter of the tires was 1.8 meters. The wheel formula was represented by a 6x4 ratio.
The dimensions of the machine were 10555x3400x3650 cm (length, width, height, respectively).
Short Century Car
The classic design (hood + cab + body), together with its enormous dimensions, made the MAZ dump truck clumsy (turning radius was 14 meters). For a career, such a flaw was simply unacceptable. Therefore, MAZ-530, it was decided to withdraw from production. In total, 30 cars left the gates of the car factory, including the very first model. It is worth noting that each of these machines was unique in its own way, as it was assembled almost by hand. In 1963, production ceased completely. The triaxial mining MAZ (dump truck) in this form turned out to be a dead end branch of development.