For Release in Europe, Africa, Middle East, CIS: March 2015
Release Number: 68PR15
The new Cat® Pin Grabber Coupler for hydraulic excavators is designed for safety and performance. Featuring a powerful, two-stage locking system that ensures positive work-tool engagement and provides audio/visual verification of proper attachment for the operator, the new coupler’s internal mechanism then combines with continual hydraulic force from the machine and actual digging forces to keep the work tool secure. The coupler’s efficient design not only reduces weight, allowing big bucket payloads without compromising strength or durability, but also maintains optimum breakout forces and digging power. The new coupler complies with applicable global safety standards and is available in a narrow configuration that remains within the width of narrow trenching buckets to reduce backfilling.
The new coupler is available for excavator models 311 through 349 (D, E, and F Series) and is compatible with Cat work tools and most competitive buckets. In addition, most F Series models have factory-installed auxiliary hydraulic systems ready to operate the coupler.
When employing the Cat range of buckets and specialized work tools, Cat equipment owners not only expand machine versatility, but also have the advantage of using a machine, coupler, and work tool all designed by the same manufacturer and all designed to function seamlessly as an efficient, highly productive system. This integrated approach capitalizes on Caterpillar's long experience in metallurgy, application knowledge, manufacturing expertise, and machine balance—and also results in a single source for support, the local Cat dealer.
Design details
The new Cat Pin Grabber Coupler features a wedge-lock system for primary pin retention, as well as a positive secondary latch. The system maintains constant hydraulic pressure on the wedge; the coupler frame, rather than the activating cylinder, absorbs most of the forces involved to help ensure long-term durability. In compliance with new safety regulations, the coupler maintains tool position in the event of hydraulic pressure loss.
Designed for an optimum weight-to-strength ratio, the new coupler ensures durable performance in the most severe applications. Weight reductions, as much as 10 percent for some models compared with conventional couplers, is a significant design achievement and serves to enhance machine performance. In addition, the coupler incorporates a short-profile configuration that reduces tip radius (distance from the stick mounting pin to the bucket cutting edge) for added digging power, greater fill ratios, and fuel conservation—all with enhanced machine stability.
In any application, coupler operation can be hampered by dirt, rock, and debris packing into and around the coupler. To substantially reduce this risk, the new Cat Pin Grabber Coupler incorporates a debris shield that completely covers the top of the coupler, helping to ensure proper operation and reducing maintenance by eliminating the need for the operator to periodically stop the machine and clear obstructing material.
A lifting eye centered on the back of the coupler (matching the stick centerline) assists operators in keeping loads aligned and in maintaining more precise control when placing items, such as trench boxes. In addition, the shape of the eye, similar in design and size to those used on buckets, accepts larger shackles and enhances shackle stability.
Routine maintenance of the new coupler is simplified with a central greasing block located on the side of the unit and allowing lubrication of all but two grease points. This feature saves time and encourages proper maintenance.
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