Design of Cat’s new GSH425/525 grapples boosts cycle times
Caterpillar has introduced a pair of new orange peel grapples the company says are designed for a variety of material handling and construction applications.
Replacing the GSH20B-Series grapples, the new GSH425 and GSH525 feature a design with horizontal cylinders, which Cat says creates a profile allowing for greater material penetration and more efficient bulk-material handling.
For added durability, the grapples boast a high-grade, impact-resistant steel construction that protects vulnerable areas such as the hydraulic cylinders. They also feature high quality bushings with lubrication grooves and hardened pins in all the pivot points. The tines have replaceable cast tips made from a wear-resistant material.
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Case CE unveils G-Series loaders: 7-model lineup a complete design overhaul with new cab, electronics, hydraulics
At a recent press event at its Tomahawk Customer Center in the woods of northern Wisconsin, Case Construction Equipment unveiled its new G-Series wheel loader lineup.
The lineup consists of seven new models ranging from 141-347 horsepower and 2.1-6.26 cubic yard bucket capacity. The G-Series includes the 521G, 621G, 721G, 821G, 921G, 1021G and 1121G.
The new loaders replace Case’s F-Series lineup which is about five years old.
Apart from bringing its entire lineup up to Tier 4 Final engine compliance, Case says the engineering focus with these new loaders was to lower total cost of ownership through more fuel efficient operation and smart hydraulics, and to make operators more comfortable with a new cab the company says was “built from scratch.”
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John Deere upgrades 470G LC excavator with new engine
John Deere has introduced an upgraded model of its production-class 470G LC excavator featuring a new Tier 4 Final engine.
The new 13.5-liter engine provides 367-horsepower to the 470G LC, which Deere says is aimed at pipeline, mass earthmoving and road building projects.
The excavator also features an automatically cleaning diesel particulate filter that can go up to 15,000 hours before ash removal.
Deere also notes that in addition to engine and hydraulic oil sample ports, the new excavator offers other simplified maintenance options such as a battery disconnect switch, spin-on fuel filters and two additional water separators to maintain long fuel filter life.
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JohnnyBall is a no-tech operator’s tool for at-a-glance slope, level checks on any machine
John Miller has been operating heavy equipment for excavation work for more than 30 years. In that time the Allendale, Michigan-based excavation contractor has grown quite familiar with a sensation unique to the job.
“When you’re on the excavator and you level yourself up…it’s a feeling. You know you’re level,” he explains. “When you’re level, you’re level. When you’re digging, say, a basement and all of a sudden that machine starts responding to level. There’s no denying it.”
This description no doubt strikes a chord with any number of experienced operators. But Miller—the inventor of the JohnnyBall, a portable 3D on-board measuring system with no electronics—says that when he was first starting out as a rookie operator at a gold mine in Alaska, it struck him as odd that so much faith could be placed in a feeling when so much time and money was on the line.
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Cat expands MineStar Detect object detection system to more machines, brands
Through retrofit kits, Caterpillar is expanding availability of its MineStar Detect object detection systems not only to more Cat machines but to “virtually all brands of mobile surface mining equipment,” the company announced.
The system can be outfitted with 1 to 4 cameras and as many as 8 radars on small auxiliary equipment to ultra class mining trucks. Cat says these kits provide the same functionality as MineStar Detect which is available on Cat mining trucks from the factory and as a factory option on several Cat wheel loaders and wheel dozers.
Cat Detect works during machine startup and when a machine is traveling at low speeds, using radar to detect equipment, vehicles and other hazards within critical zones around the machine: front, rear and side. Using the onboard cameras, the system gives operators a view of the specific zones where hazards are detected while proximity bar on the in-cab display flashes yellow or red depending on the distance of the detected object.
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