Category Archives: Caterpillar

Caterpillar 613 Scraper

Heavy equipment is more in demand in both the construction and mining industries. Over the period of last few decades, it has shown the world that the overall construction industry has moved into a new dimension and the one that is responsible for this shift is the heavy equipment that is been used for construction work. With the help of internet, finding out which heavy equipment can be used for what kind of work is fairly simple these days but when it comes to choose your pick on the brand, things start becoming confusing from there. A number of brands associated with heavy equipment have made their presence in the gigantic industry. So now people have more options which means that they can pick up anything that they feel is the best for them. However, having more options also leads them to a sort of confusion where it becomes very difficult for them to identify the brand they should be making way with.

It has been witnessed that Caterpillar is a brand that has managed to penetrate deep inside the hearts of major construction companies. Many of them would prefer to go with Cat products as they believe that CAT is known for producing quality produces at quite a reasonable price. CAT is also brand that has been in the market for years with an untarnished image and it is quite a hard job to keep your image spotless especially after having stayed in a competitive environment for so long.

CAT is known for producing many heavy equipment but it has a reputation of designing some world class scrapers. Speaking a bit about the scrapers, we would be discussing briefly about the CAT 613 scraper. The net power of the machine is 150 hp with a displacement of 636 cu in and the power is measured at 2200 rpm. The total fuel capacity is around 65 gallons and the size of the tire is 18*25, 12 PR. It is also known for its solid grip in muddy ditches and rocky slopes. The maximum speed while going forward is 24 mph. The operating weight of the scraper while it is empty is 14305 kg. Talking about the bowl of the machine, the heaped capacity is 11 yd3 with a maximum depth of cut of 6.7 in and width of cut of around 8 ft in.

Moving to the dimension of the machine, the overall length of the scraper is 32.1 ft in and the width is around 8 ft in. The overall height of the machine is 9.4 ft in and the wheelbase is around 20.8 ft in. Many are of the opinion that CAT products are usually high priced ones and are not within the budget of many small to some mid-sized companies. However, the fact is completely opposite as far as the 613 scraper is concerned. Many small to medium sized construction companies can easily afford to buy a new 613 scraper without hurting the overall budget of their company and will find it a worthy purchase.

Caterpillar is strategizing to consolidate its future

It was a good year for most of the construction companies and so was for the heavy equipment companies but not all were doing well in the year 2015. Some heavy equipment companies were incurring losses for the last few years and they were thinking of downsizing their labor force. But they were not able to take the call as the overall industry was doing well. Perhaps they were looking at the global picture which seemed to be pleasant but with reference to the situation in the United States, it was a bit worrisome. Not all heavy equipment companies in the US were making profits and especially the giant ones were certainly not seeing any profits in their book of accounts. They made some profit in a couple of quarters but when it was time to check the fiscal growth, the situation looked dim.

One such giant company that is experiencing a hard time showing profits is Caterpillar. It seems that the primary reason for them incurring losses is having started lot of units in every part of the country. Now they have to employ people to run the unit and also port machines from one place to other which involve huge costs. Other than that, they have pledged to manufacture excellent quality machines for which they require to invest chunk of money on research and development work. As a result of this, the final product produced by them is a bit higher than the machines of other heavy equipment companies. Not every construction company can afford to buy CAT machines and they majorly sell them to big construction and mining houses. Therefore it is utterly futile to have so many units across the country and hence the first step that they will take to consolidate their position is to crack down the units that are not performing up to the mark.

Cat is planning to reduce its salaried workforce of around 4000 to 5000 employees till the end of 2016. This also includes the guys who are operating in the agency. It has also planned to shut down most of its units and manufacturing facilities by the end of this year and the process may even extend till 2018. It also planned to offer voluntary retirement scheme to most of its qualifying employees. “It will be sad to part ways with the employees but that is the want of the situation and in order to sustain in this market, strong steps are required to be taken” were the words of one of the CAT’s spokesperson.

Primarily, the major part of cost reduction is to be done from curbing Administrative costs. It seems the company spends a whopping amount on Administrative costs which will be cut down across states once the non-profitable units and the manufacturing facilities are closed down permanently. The company has to take the tough call in the year 2016 so that it can expect good returns in the following years to come.

Top Selling Caterpillar machines

Almost every heavy equipment manufacturing company produces some kind of heavy equipment that turn out to be their best-selling machine. It is not that they have always anticipated it to be their best-selling machine but at times it just happens. However, there have been occasions where they plan the making and the advertisement of a machine in such a way where they want that stuff to be the most sold over machine for that year. Other than that, the name of a brand also matters a lot when it comes to selling heavy equipment to top construction companies. As a matter of fact, most of the biggest construction companies in US prefer heavy equipment of companies that has the name of a big brand attached with it. They will not go for machines of brand that they have not much heard about. They can be called brand loyal or brand choosy or whatever one might want to name them but they would prefer to stick to brands that are famous and are also ready to pay a high price for it.

Out of the heavy equipment producing companies Caterpillar has remained the most trusted company ever and continue to win many hearts with its continuing endeavor to provide better facility to its users.

If we check deep as to which machines of CAT has been the most sold ones in the last few years it would be their excavators and loaders. Cat is renowned for producing top notch excavators and is sold not only in the US but all over the globe and when we check the details; it speaks for all over the world. It has been seen that machines manufactured by CAT more expensive than equipment produced by other renowned companies but still prefer like to go for CAT. The reasons could be plenty but few very strong ones are that the operators have found CAT manufactured machines to be very easy to use, they are gently and user-friendly and also have a long life which means that the machine will not give problems after having been used for a couple of years. Other than that, the after sales service of this company is astounding.

You do not have to keep on following up with their officials. Once your complaint is registered, the engineers will then take charge and ensure that the problem is fixed and you are not left complaining for any kind of louse service. All these reasons have attributed for the increase in the sale of CAT excavators and loaders.

Other than this, these 2 types of machine also play an important role in the construction segment. It is simply not possible to carry on with the project for long without bringing in these machines. An excavator is perhaps the one that is needed the first followed by other machines. Many mid-east countries also vouch for products manufactured by CAT which has led to the dramatic increase in its sale.

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Caterpillar 312 Excavator

Over the last few decades we have seen the construction industry has developed manifolds and is continuing to grow at a very steady pace. This certainly means that people who are linked with the construction as well as with the heavy equipment manufacturing industries have a lot to gain in the next many years to come. Since we are just in the beginning phase, we have a lot to make and for which we need more sophisticated heavy equipment that has the capacity to endure more, deliver more and cost less when it comes to maintenance. This is probably what many expect from their machines. The most common thing that one ever witnesses when he approaches a construction site is an excavator. You need to dig the ground to put up any kind of foundation and for that you need the best of excavators which can dig deep inside the ground and carry all the mud out.

When it comes to buying an excavator, no name other than CAT comes into the minds of people who have been using CAT products. The reason is pretty simple. CAT is renowned for producing machines that are not only reliable and cost effective but also consumes less fuel and are low on maintenance. So machines that cost you low on maintenance and does not pinch you hard when it comes to fuel does invariably become the number one choice of users.

Speaking a little briefly about the CAT 312 excavator, the gross and net power of this machine is 94 hp and 90 hp respectively with a displacement of 259.4 cu in and the power is measured at 1950 rpm. Moving towards the operational side of the excavator, the total operating weight of the machine is 12778 kg. The total fuel capacity is 66 gallons. The cooling system, hydraulic system, engine oil and swing drive fluid capacity is 4.6 gallons, 42.8 gallons, 4.6 gallons and 0.79 gallons respectively. The alternator supplied amperage is 55 amps and the hydraulic system pump flow capacity is 33.5 gallon per minute. The swing speed of the machine is 12.9 rpm and the swing torque is 22496 lb ft.

Talking briefly about the undercarriage, the shoe size of the machine is 24 in with a ground pressure of 4.8 psi. The maximum travel speed is 3.4 mph. speaking about the bucket, the minimum and maximum bucket capacity is 0.31 yd3 and 0.98 yd3 respectively. Talking about the stick, The maximum digging depth of the stick is around 18.2 ft in and the maximum cutting and loading height is 27.8 ft in and 20 ft in respectively. The maximum vertical wall digging depth is 16.3 ft in.

Looking into the dimension of the machine, the width to outside of tracks is 8.5 ft in, the height to the top of the cab is 9.1 ft in and the ground clearance is 1.4 ft in. CAT 312 excavator can be purchased directly from the manufacturer and also on the internet.

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Cat 140H transmission problems

Heavy equipment are prone to some or the other problems. The problems that occur in the heavy equipment can be attributed to more than one factor. You have to make sure that you keep a check at regular intervals on all the factors that ultimately leads to issues in the machine. Other than that, heavy equipment of any popular brand can develop problems over the time. Regular maintenance is very critical and one just can’t skip this important aspect. Though heavy equipment manufacturing companies work hard to produce machines that require less maintenance but it does not make any sense if one demands a machine that should work forever without the need of any maintenance work. It just does not work that way. It has been witnessed that a lot of heavy equipment have issues with their transmission which is considered to be one of the most critical organ in the heavy equipment anatomy.

Operators experience different kinds of problems with the transmission. Issues like the gears are not working properly or even if you change the gears to increase the speed of the machine, it just does not move fast. Well, when someone is experiencing this sort of problem then they should first check if the oil is good and if it is not then it is time to change the oil and then check if things are back in place. People using CAT 140H usually experiences this issue. The change in the gear does not help the machine to move faster. The solution to this problem is to get the side covers removed and clean all the trans-electrical connectors for the solenoids. At times, people are not able to move the gear beyond a certain point. Probably they are not getting the voltage in the coil which leads to this problem. The solution could be changing the coil and check if that works. Most of the time the coil goes bad due to excessive heat and it cause transmission problem.

The other ideal solution when you experience issues with the transmission of CAT 140H is to call up the service center of the company and check if they send their engineers who can fix the issue. However, if you are working in a place where CAT can’t send their engineers then you can try things on your own by going through the user manual. It does speak about various kinds of transmission problems that the machine can encounter and what one needs to do to get it resolved. It is also advisable that you take help of a mechanic who knows how to deal with the issue. User manual does throw light on it but if you are a newbie who does not know how to fix it, you may end up in a bigger mess.

CAT 140H are class machines and they very rarely encounter issues and if the issue is related with the transmission, it may take no time to deal with it but if you are on your own trying few things from the user manual will be a big help.

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Find Desired Caterpillar Heavy Equipment from Its Serial Number Guide

From heavy equipment purchasers finding for a motor model to dealers looking for casting numbers, serial number guide is the best time saving gizmo for them. This guide is provided by the well-renowned heavy equipment manufacturing companies to help their customers to procure their suitable product without wasting their time in going through the lengthy catalogue.

Showing weights, apparatus serial number, engine models, dimensions and many more for all bulky construction equipment under the heavy equipment serial number guide is available to the procurers online and in free of cost. If you are a heavy equipment user and want to buy models of Caterpillar, you need not to worry because the Caterpillar serial number guide helps you to find out the weighty paraphernalia suitable for the construction site or mining area. If you want to know what kind of brakes and other parts are equipped in Caterpillar models, you will also get detailed information on it.

Overview of Caterpillar Heavy Equipment Serial Number Guide

A serial number guide is an information catalogue that is available in both print and digital form. Most of the heavy equipment manufacturing firms present their own personal serial number guide so as to help the punters to find out their desired model easily from the long product list. Just like other organizations, the reputed bulky apparatus manufacturer, Caterpillar also provides this guide to its customers. The Caterpillar serial numbers consist of eight alphanumeric codes in which the beginning three characters are letters and the rest of the five are numbers. Earlier, Caterpillar used seventeen characters serial numbers or Product Identification Number (PIN) that helps in standardising the industry of the construction paraphernalia industry. This pin number also contains the serial number of the heavy equipment.

Information Included in Caterpillar Serial Number Guide

The serial number guide of Caterpillar is intended to support the customers in verifying the accurate equipment model year and locating the serial number plates for heavy paraphernalia. In the document of the Caterpillar serial number guide, the shoppers not only get to see the model number of any particular apparatus but also gain information about its license approval, maintenance and overhauling records, assessment report of equipment parts, evaluation sales and so on. Moreover, this serial number guide is also become a beneficial tool in protecting the costly equipment from the thieves. It is not only used by the owners of the heavy equipment but also applied by the auctioneers and distributors because it is approved under the law enforcement of weighty apparatus industry.

The Caterpillar serial number guide portrays the skill of the heavy equipment manufacturers as it includes all the essential features of particular heavy equipment. The sources of information in this guide are Caterpillar equipment makers and distributors. In this Caterpillar PIN guide, the punters can see the highest or the last serial number of a unit assigned by the company every year. On the other hand, it also depicts the lowest or the first PIN numbers allocated by Cat each year.

As you strongly consider ordering the Caterpillar heavy equipment with the help of its serial number guide, first determine the most suitable apparatus for your business. The manufacturer’s note in this guide helps the users to choose the branded heavy equipment.

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Caterpillar D11T Bulldozer

It is a must for a construction company to possess a bulldozer because it is considered to be the basic heavy equipment one should have if they are in this business. Not having a bulldozer will only suggest that the company is not sound or is probably not so keen in conducting its business implausibly which will only deter the projects giver to give any businesses to the company and may move to some other construction company. It has been noted that people are ideally brand oriented when it comes to buying heavy equipment. It is quite seldom to find a person who is not so brand conscious and is ready to buy heavy equipment of any brand or else most of the guys prefer to buy machines of a particular brand and will stick to it.

Knowing this fact, the respective brands also need to work hard to keep up to the demands of their customers compelling them to think out of the box and keeping into consideration the wants of the customers they keep bringing in various innovative models with varied features. One brand that has set itself different from the rest is Caterpillar and being the pioneer in manufacturing bulldozers, they take pride in introducing dozers of high quality and reliability.

Caterpillar’s D11T bulldozer is quite an innovative machine manufactured by the esteemed brand with its specs mentioned below.

When we talk about bulldozers, we invariably mean power. The gross power of this machine is 935 hp. and the net power is 850 hp. with the power measured at 1800 rpm. It has a displacement of 32.1 liters and its aspiration is turbocharged. The total number of cylinders it has is 12. The operating weight of the machine is 104590 kg with a fuel capacity of 425.1 gallons. The cooling system fluid capacity and engine oil capacity is 63.1 gallons. The hydraulic fluid capacity and power train fluid capacity is 64.2 gallons and 91 gallons respectively. The operating voltage of the machine is 24 V and the alternator supplied amperage is 100 amps.

The total number of forward and reverse gears is 3. The maximum forward and reverse speed is 7.3 miles per hour and 8.7 miles per hour respectively. The ground pressure of D11T dozer is 20 psi with the contact area of 9781 in2. The standard show size of the machine is 28 in and the total number of shoe each side is 41 and the total number of rollers on each side is 8. The track pitch is 12.5 in and the track gauge is 9.5 ft in. The total pump flow capacity is 66 gallons per minute and the relief valve pressure is 3500 psi.

If we check the dimension of the machine, the length of the machine with and without blade is 34.9 ft. in and 19.8 ft. in respectively. The height of the machine to the top of the cab is 13.4 ft. in and the length of the track on the ground is 12.7 ft. in. It is overall an ideal dozer for anybody to have.

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Caterpillar D10T Bulldozer

Many construction companies get good projects after the giver sees the kind of bulldozers they possess. This only suggests the importance of bulldozers in the construction sector and the kind of impact it can have for getting projects. It has also been seen that big construction companies often outsource their work to small contractors and may lend them their heavy equipment. However, the big companies often prefer the contractors to have their own equipment so that they can use their heavy equipment for other projects. The sole reason of outsourcing their work to small contractors is that they can use their machines to complete the job.

So before they select the contractor to whom they can render the work, they prefer to check the kind of heavy equipment they possess and if they are quite an outdated piece of metal they would like to look for someone else. These big construction companies give a lot of importance to possessing quality bulldozers as they believe it to be one of the most important equipment required in a construction project. The bulldozers produced by Caterpillar are the most favored ones and there are few specific models that have left its imprint in the overall construction domain.

We would be talking in length about Caterpillar D10T bulldozers and its specifications.

The D10T dozer has a gross power of 646 hp. and a net power of 580 hp. which is quite phenomenal in its class. The power measured is at 1800 rpm and the displacement is 27 liters. The total number of cylinders it has is 12 and the aspiration is turbocharged. The operating weight of the machine is 66451 kg with a fuel capacity of 1204 liters. The cooling system fluid capacity, engine oil capacity, hydraulic fluid capacity and power train fluid capacity is 132 liters, 68 liters, 144 liters and 193 liters respectively. The operating voltage of the D10T dozer is 24 V with an alternator supplied amperage of 95 amps.

The number of forward and reverse gears available with this dozer is 3 and the maximum forward and reverse speed is 7.9 miles per hour and 9.8 miles per hour respectively. If we check the undercarriage of this machine, the ground contact area is 7326 in2 with a standard show size of 24 in and the total number of shoes per side is 44. The total number of track rollers per side is 8 and has a track pitch of 10.2 in. It has a hydraulic system pump type which is gear driven. The relief valve pressure is 2725 psi and the pump flow capacity is 107 gallon per minute.

Taking into consideration the standard blade, the width and height of the blade is 15.9 ft. in and 81 in respectively. The capacity of the blade is 24.2 yd3 and the cutting depth is 26.5 in. The length of the machine with and without blade is 30.4 ft. in and 17.5 ft. in respectively and the height of the machine till the top of the cab is 13.4 ft. in.

It is overall an ideal machine for small construction companies as well as for contractors as it is not a very expensive machine and moreover if you are lucky enough you can get further discounts resulting in paying less for it.

Caterpillar D9T Bulldozer

The role of a bulldozer is quite eminent in the construction and mining industry. It is needed more at sites where there is an existing structure that needs to be demolished. You need a big dozer to maul that down and a company that has been producing dozers for years can make a big difference when it comes to manufacturing big heavy dozers. Caterpillar is one such company that has pioneered in making bulldozers and is known for making real tough machines. It is not just known for high quality dozers but is also renowned for manufacturing other forms of heavy equipment that is required in day to day construction activities. Having said this, they simply specialize in manufacturing dozers. They try to know the changing needs of the customers and give their shot in producing as per the customer’s expectations.

CAT has introduced D9T dozers which has achieved accolades from millions of people from all over the world. Talking about its specifications, it is a C18 ACERT model having a gross power of 464 hp and a net power of 410 hp. The power is measured at 1800 rpm and has a displacement of 1106 cu in. The operational weight of the machine is 47900 kg and the fuel capacity is 889 litres. The cooling system fuel capacity, engine oil capacity, hydraulic fluid capacity and power train fluid capacity are 104 litres, 38 litres, 89 litres and 164 litres respectively. The operating voltage of this piece of metal is 24 V with alternator supplied amperage of 95 amps.

If we check the transmission we see the type as Power Shift with 3 forward and reverse gears. The maximum forward speed is 7.3 mph and maximum reverse speed is 8.9 mph. The ground pressure of the machine is 16.1 psi and the ground contact area is around 6569 in2 with a standard show size of 24 in. The number of shoes it has on each side is 43 and the total number of track rollers it has on each side is 8. The track pitch is 9.4 in and the track gauge is 7.4 ft in. It has been fitted with hydraulic pump system that has a relief valve pressure of 5875 psi and the pump flow capacity is 101 gallon per minute.

The total width of the standard blade is 14.3 ft in, height is 6.4 in. It has a capacity of 17.7 yd3 and a cutting depth of 23.9 in. Moving to the dimension of the machine, the total length with and without the blade is 21.8 ft in and 16.1 ft in respectively. The total height of the cab is around 12.5 ft in and the length of the track on ground is 11.4 ft in with a ground clearance of 2 ft in.

Caterpillar has made sure that the price of the dozer should be within the reach of most of the customers and that they should not find it unaffordable to buy. Therefore, if one is looking for a bulldozer, they should definitely check the specification of this machine and check if that suits their requirements. Most it will fit in their budget and should not be hard for them to buy it.

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Dozer Engine Specifications – How can one know more of them?

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A construction site is installed with various heavy equipment. They need almost all sorts of heavy equipment to complete a project. Out of all the heavy equipment that they have on their site, a bulldozer is a must. Many big construction companies say that dozers are the most integral part of their business and they can’t dream of completing a project without the presence of highly efficient and easy to use dozers. Dozers are not only needed in big construction projects but also in projects which are not huge in nature. One can do away with any other heavy equipment which they feel can be ignored but never with a dozer. They will always feel the need of that equipment for the completion of their project.

Now we have something which is of such an importance. Have you wondered what would be the specifications of its engine which carries most of the load of the machine? An engine is said to be the heart of the machine and if that is in good shape, any external damage to the machine can be easily dealt with. However, if something goes wrong with the engine, it takes a heavy toll on the project as you may expect the machine to not to work for few days. Unless you have an alternative for the equipment, things will be harsh.

Let us now talk about the specification of the engine of a dozer. Before we go any further with the topic, please note that different companies have different makes and every make has variation in its engine. So the specification of the CAT dozer engine will be spoken in length.

The model of the CAT dozer engine is 3406 with around 315 horse power with a displacement of 590.9 cu in. The horse power that the engine gives is quite immense in comparison to models made by its competitors. Nevertheless, there are few makes manufactured by companies like John Deere, Hitachi etc that marvels many times that the CAT model.

In order to know in depth about the specifications of the dozer engine, the most reasonable way is to explore the internet. You may find unlimited search results that will help you understand the design or the pattern of the engine. Though exploring the internet is one of the best options but there are some flaws as well. Getting too much of options can sometime make things very confusing. You may not understand what to see and what to skip and especially when you are running short of time, it becomes a pain to browse the entire site just to know a simple specification of the engine.

In such a situation, it is often advised to meet a dealer or visit the dozer manufacturing company’s office and ask for a brochure which will contain all the minute information of everything. You can focus your attention to the design of the engine or can have a look at the entire brochure. You never know what might catch your attention the next minute.

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