The operating engineers grader instructor brought a new Cat 140 to slope my flat track. I watched him make a couple passes and then found a chunk of steel laying on the ground. It was the end bit and showed rust which means it had been cracked for awhile. When looking at the machine, they figured the moldboard and cutting edge design might be what caused it. I think the other side had broke too. The cutting edge isn't flat where it mates to the moldboard so there is no direct support behind the end bit. I think it's enough for the end bit to flex enough to break. Anybody else seen this happen? The end bit was brand new with less than 20 hours on the machine and broke below the bolt holes.
Photos..? Lots of possibilities for grader GET. Also get a photo of the moldboard to cutting edge interface you talk about. Is the GET (cutting edges AND end bits) Cat or aftermarket..?
The blade mold board is bent. There are likely a bunch of cracks in the gussets and re-inforcements. I've seen lots of that when appraising graders.
On a new grader . Doesn’t say a lot about cat.
I know the post says new Cat grader but gives the model as a 140 without a letter designation. If it was a "new" 140M2, then it would most likely have been an installation error. Nice catch
New as in 2020 with 20 hours and just Cat 140 without a letter designation. It cost over 500K! Both end bits broke. I looked at it today and the cutting edge actually sticks out maybe 1/8"-3/16" further than the moldboard. The end bit was Cat and showed no wear other than the paint was mostly worn off. There was rust in the fracture so it didn't just happen. https://www.cat.com/en_US/products/new/equipment/motor-graders/motor-graders/2661581332365765.html
No suffix letters on pretty much all the new models as of 2020 John. Without photos it's hard to tell but I wonder if the edges on it were thicker than standard which would set the front face of the edge out beyond the moldboard. No way would the end bits pull down square to the moldboard if that was the case. Photos are the key to see what's going on here.
I think everything is standard. One of the guys heard it can be caused by dropping the blade hard on concrete. They're just using the machine in clay and dirt though. I found below that shows the overlay end bit using the bottom 2 bolts for the cutting edge. On the the new grader all the bolts were on the moldboard and the fracture was below the bolt holes. Made the slight protrusion was just enough to cause deflection? https://www.toromontcat.com/get/motor-graders.html#end-bit-systems
Depends if it had just end bits installed or end bits + overlays. Again only a photo will tell the full story.
You can't drop a grader blade hard enough to break an edge. Graders can only drop a blade if the machine has blade float and even then there isn't enough weight in the structure to physically break an edge. Only way to generate that kind of force is to hook onto something like a man hole or something else solid. That would assume of course that the machine did not have a slip clutch or accumulators.
We crack end bits from time to time, usually when rocks are involved. Overlays put a stop to the problem but add a significant extra cost.
Agreed, but with overlays installed end bits should last forever.
Our Cat dealer offers a 30% discount on cutting edges if we buy in lots of 10, which makes them the same price or cheaper than most aftermarket offerings. Unfortunately, they don't extend the same discount to overlays so we would double our wear material expenses if we were to maintain them. Leaving the worn ones on still provides a lot of protection to the end bits … just looks bodgy .
I never looked that close but with the end bits broken the cutting edge was in a couple inches. Would no back support on the outside 2 inches have enough of a twisting force to cause a fracture cutting clay with the odd buried rock?
Its not uncommon to have a bent mouldboard even a new one now a day's maybe out of spec with the lower grade steel Cat is using, Cat replaced a complete circle and a frame on our new M140 that was bent, end bits should lay flush so there is no pressure or stress when bolted up, possibly the end bits are out of spec to.
For sure something isn't right. You can feel a bump when you run your hand from the cutting edge to the moldboard. Maybe a poor design or someone made a slight mistake building the moldboard.
Generally just wear thin never break , We do lots of rail work ,ballast is not friendly to edges