Komatsu America International Company’s Working Gear Group and attachment manufacturer JRB Co. have partnered to produce hydraulic quick couplers specific to Komatsu excavators.

“Quick couplers let the contractor use his machine to undertake a wider range of projects to make his operation more efficient and profitable,” said Mike Murphy, manager, Working Gear Group, Komatsu. “But if the coupler doesn’t match the machine’s hydraulics, productivity is sacrificed. Komatsu has taken the guesswork out of the equation by teaming with JRB.”

JRB supplies the Slide-Loc hydraulic quick coupler for Komatsu excavators from the 8.5-metric-ton (9.5 ton) PC95-1 to the 105-metric-ton (114 ton) PC1100-6.

Wedge Design

“A common concern among attachment users is machine performance,” said Adams. “Our coupler has one of the closest pin to locking pin dimensions in the industry, which helps maintain OEM performance characteristics such as breakout force.”

Slide-Loc utilizes a wedge design that helps ensure a tight fit between the attachment and coupler, and can couple to older buckets and attachments with as much as 1.27- to 1.9-centimeter (0.5 to 0.75 in.) variation in pin-to-pin spacing.

“In addition, the wedge design vastly reduces bucket pin wear and speeds up attachment changing,” Adams said. “Slide-Loc enables an operator to change from hammer to bucket to ripper to tooth, all from the comfort of his cab and within a one-to-two minute time frame.”

Additional Slide-Loc features include:

• Locking Cylinder with Check Valve. Accidental unlocking prevented even with hydraulic pressure loss.

• In-Cab Safety Controls. Coupler’s locking mechanism is easily visible from cab, locked/unlocked indicator light, audible unlock buzzer, and locking toggle switch.

• Supplemental External Coupler Lock.

“We partnered with a premier supplier in the industry,” Murphy said. “We’ve added value to the machine by reducing job-incurred costs for the end user, as well as adding versatility for an expanding market.”

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