Mecalac Construction Equipment has introduced the AS700 swing loader, a compact 7-ton machine that reimagines the traditional swing loader concept with a fully electric boom-swing architecture optimized for confined urban excavation, backfill, and utility work. Swing loaders combine the mobility of a skid steer with the boom-swing of an excavator, allowing the machine to load and unload materials at angles well beyond its chassis footprint. Traditional swing loaders use a single hydraulic pump shared between the boom-swing circuit and the travel circuit, forcing the operator to prioritize one function at a time-slowing the "excavate, swing, dump, swing back, dig" cycle that defines productive trench and backfill work.
The AS700's engineering breakthrough is its "Dual-Mode Electric Swing Drive." Instead of a shared hydraulic circuit, the boom-swing is powered by a dedicated 48-volt axial-flux electric motor coupled to the slew ring's gear rim, completely decoupling the swing motion from the hydraulically driven boom and travel circuits. The operator can swing the boom a full 90 degrees while simultaneously raising the boom, curling the bucket, and inching the machine forward-a four-function overlap that traditional swing loaders cannot perform.
The system features "Predictive Slew Control." A chassis-mounted IMU measures the machine's tilt angle on uneven ground. When the operator swings a loaded bucket on a side slope, the ECU calculates the counterbalance weight shift and automatically commands the "Counterweight Bias Cylinder" to shift 200 kilograms of ballast mass laterally, opposing the load's swing momentum. This active ballast management allows the AS700 to work on side slopes up to 18 degrees with a full bucket-a terrain envelope previously closed to swing loaders. The electric slew drive also enables "Slew Energy Recovery": as the boom decelerates at the end of each swing, the motor operates as a generator, returning the swing's kinetic energy to the onboard 48-volt battery bank. Combined with the machine's compact 1.5-meter-wide footprint, this architecture makes the AS700 the first swing loader suitable for continuous operation in pedestrian-dense urban sidewalks, pedestrian zones, and indoor demolition applications where diesel exhaust and machine width have historically been limiting factors.
