Caterpillar’s Dual-Lock Tilt Coupler Available for Mini Hydraulic Excavators
Caterpillar’s mini hydraulic excavators can increase their versatility with the addition of a Dual-Lock Tilt coupler.
Operators at the controls of 5- and 8-ton Caterpillar mini hydraulic excavators have a new coupler available that makes the equipment more versatile.
The Caterpillar Dual-Lock Tilt (DLT) pin-grabber-type hydraulic coupler offers the ability to rotate work tools through a 180-degree arc. The design provides optimum flexibility and efficiency in applications such as finish grading, demolition, ditch cleaning, and landscaping—eliminating the need and expense of specialized equipment. The new coupler accommodates compatible pin-on work tools and allows buckets to be used in a front-shovel configuration.
The DLT coupler’s design allows changing work tools from the cab, and a visible locking mechanism assures operators that tools are securely attached. The coupler’s primary locking system uses a wedge plate that is positioned via a hydraulic cylinder with an integrated check valve. A secondary lock is spring-applied and hydraulically released by means of a separate hydraulic circuit.
The Caterpillar DLT coupler incorporates an enclosed design, with no external cylinder rods or moving parts, resulting in optimum reliability, longer component life, and low cost of ownership. All internal components subject to wear are heat-treated for maximum service life, thus extending the life of bearings, seal grooves, and gear surfaces.
A newly designed rotary actuator provides up to 35 percent more holding torque, reduces overall weight by 15 percent, and simplifies hydraulic-line routing, compared with after-market actuators. In addition, helically cut and hardened gears used in the actuator ensure positive action and long-term durability.
Coupler weights are 247 pounds (112 kg) for 5-ton-class excavators plus the Caterpillar 903C Compact Wheel Loader and 398 pounds (180 kg) for 8-ton-class excavators. The DLT coupler is available for 305C/D/E and E2 models, 305.5D/E and E2 models, and 308E and E2 models.
You can check out the DLT couplers at Caterpillar’s booth at the GIE+EXPO in Louisville, Kentucky through Oct. 24 at booth Nos. 5174 and 7650-D.
