Pit & Quarry, May 2014

CONEXPO CON AGG 2014 WRAP UP Caterpillar Caterpillars presence at ConExpo Con Agg couldnt be missed covering four exhibit areas over 60000 sq ft at the Las Vegas Convention Center More than 40 Cat machines were on display at the trade show and more than a dozen Cat machines made their North America show debut in Las Vegas the company says Considering the sheer number of machines Cat planned to unveil at the show Cat invited the press including Pit Quarry to learn more about its rollouts at a pre ConExpo event March 1 at its Tinaja Hills Demonstration Learning Center in Green Valley Ariz One rollout Caterpillar discussed at length in Arizona was its F Series excavators which include four models According to Brian Stellbrink a product application specialist for hydraulic excavators the F Series builds on Cats E Series technology that debuted in 2011 Cats 390F 336F 335F and 323F excavators are Tier 4 Final compliant Stellbrink says and they incorporate a technology called Cat Connect that helps users monitor equipment manage operations and gain more jobsite control Cat Connect includes grade payload and link technologies Cat Connect is found in hydraulics and engine technology to help operators be more efficient Stellbrink says The largest excavator in the F Series lineup the 390F is a 200000 lb machine designed for quarry use We want more production thats what customers say Stellbrink says But they also talk a lot more about operating costs and how margins are getting tight They want more production and lower fuel consumption According to Stellbrink some operators assume they must trade higher production for lower fuel consumption and vice versa But he says this simply is not the case with the 390F Yes its easy to get lower fuel consumption if you take some power down Stellbrink says But we increased productivity and we lowered fuel consumption with the F Series How did we do that Advanced technology We lowered the engine speed took a page out of the hybrid technology and incorporated an adaptive control system ACS That helps us lower fuel consumption but not sacrifice performance In fact we increase productivity In addition Stellbrink says 390F excavators have updated cabs that enhance safety and comfort Booms and sticks have been reinforced he adds to take the machines durability to a higher level The 336F meanwhile is roughly an 80000 lb machine that used the 336E the first of Cats excavators to achieve Tier 4 Interim compliance as a foundation A new option on this is a Cat production measurement system Stellbrink says Its a technology under Cat Connect that will allow customers to monitor performance and minimize overloading of trucks If operators can measure the payload of the bucket think of what they can do They can monitor their operators productivity or help eliminate fines from overloading trucks A third new Cat excavator the 335F is designed to do heavy duty work in confined areas Stellbrink says Also the new 323F has construction and demolition market applicability Also new from Cat for quarry use is the 772G haul truck According to the company this truck features advancement in emissions technology transmission and traction control systems and enhancements related to the frame drivetrain and cooling system The 772G has a payload capacity of 52 tons and a C18 engine with 550 hp Engines are available in Tier 2 Tier 3 and Tier 4 Final configurations www cat com 34 PIT QUARRY May 2014 www pitandquarry com