CAT MINI EXCAVATORS
ABOVE: Load-sensing
hydraulics help to
enable easier operation
across Caterpillar’s
Next Generation mini
excavator range
iVTInternational.com September 2019 57
drive control switches from the
pedals on the oor to the le
joystick,” Mottram explains. “You
can drive it like a Cat skid steer,
switch the boom, stick and bucket
functions over to the right joystick
and operate the whole machine
without pedals and levers.”
Standard models retain
conventional pedals, but there is the
option of removing these in the factory
and Mottram believes stick steer may
prove transformative. “It’s intuitive
and makes sense. People get used to
it quickly then, when they don’t have
it, remember how good it was.”
Cruise control provides another
innovation. “Pull a trigger and the
machine continues tracking
automatically across site at the same
heading and speed,” says Mottram.
is proved popular in eld-tests,
for instance with a French customer
using a 302CR prototype for
vineyard work. “Anyone who’s
moved a mini-excavator any
distance knows how wearing it is to
be hunched over the controls and it’s
just easier to do it from the joystick.
We also provide three speed modes,
so the operator can have fast,
medium or slow on the implement,”
he continues. “In Germany, they love
to grade using wide or tilt buckets
with a mini-excavator and want to
go slow and steady for a ne nish.
e next operator might need to go
at out digging a trench and can
change modes using the monitor.”
Electro-hydraulic controls have
provided new possibilities for
innovation. “Electro-hydraulic
technology allows us to play with
the joysticks and experiment with
new features,” Mottram explains.
Besides control features, electrohydraulics
provide the freedom of
design to take serviceability to the
next level. “Since we don’t need pilot
hydraulics but just wires coming in,
we can li the cab to allow service
access. It actually tilts backwards, so
you can access the back side of the
engine and hydraulic components.”
Changing an alternator, a three-hour
operation on Cat’s previous miniexcavator
range, takes just one hour
on 1-2-ton Next Generation
machines thanks to the tilting cab,
reducing repair times to support a
15% reduction in cost of ownership.
Bigger ideas
e six-machine 7-10-ton Next
Generation range includes two xedboom,
standard-tailswing models,
the 307.5 and 310. ere are four
compact-radius models, the 308CR
and 309CR with standard swing
booms and the 308CR VAB and
309CR VAB with variable-angle,
two-piece swing booms. Operating
weights range from 8233kg to
10,182kg and dig depths from
4107mm to 5174mm, extendable by
a further 560mm with long-stick
option on some models. A 52.4kWrated
Cat C3.3 Stage V diesel engine
“PULL A TRIGGER AND
THE MACHINE
CONTINUES TRACKING
AUTOMATICALLY
ACROSS SITE AT THE
SAME HEADING AND
SPEED”
Sam Mottram, commercial manager
for mini excavators, Caterpillar
1hr
The time it takes to
change an alternator in
a Next Generation mini
excavator thanks to
its tilting cab
2570
The maximum
possible dig
depth (in mm)
achievable with
Caterpillar’s
1-2 ton Next
Generation
excavators,
using the
optional
long stick
/iVTInternational.com
