Gough Engineering builds a wide range for bucket for Caterpillar Wheel loaders including 980G, 972G, 966G, 962G,950G, 938G, 928G, 928G,924G, 924Gz, and 914G including Rock, Coal, Fertiliser, Wood Chip, Materials Handling and General Purpose Buckets.
As well as current models Gough Engineering can build buckets for 980B & 980C, 970F, 966C, D, E and F, 950A, B, E and F, 930, 920 and 910 machines.
Options
- Standard design buckets manufactured with heavier plate or higher grade plate than originally specified.
- Offset base edge where liner plates are required.
- Upgrade Adapter.
- Larger capacity bucket with modification to width, depth and height.
| Custom design Fieldchief products are often based on Caterpillar proven designs and include customer requirements.
Computer Aided Design (CAD) is used to produce 3D models of products providing excellent visualisation of the product. Existing and new products can be rotated, moved, stretched, weighed until the optimum requirements can be achieved. All work is carried out by qualified and experienced staff in a well equipped workshop. Gough Engineering recognises that its market for buckets and custom Fieldchief products is relativity small as applications are often unique to the customer or region. Products listed are representative of the type of products that are manufactured. Inquiries for items not listed are welcomed as we may have an existing design or we may be able to design to your specifications. |
Customer Specifications Modifications can be planned prior to manufacture and incorporated during manufacture resulting in a product that looks original rather than a modified product.
More in-depth information about Wheel Loader Buckets.
Gough Engineering has over fifty wheel loader buckets that it can make as standard, as well as variations that customers request. Add to this list a number of new products every month and you soon get the picture that it is necessary to ask what is available and what options Gough Engineering can provide. The original design work for Fieldchief Buckets is almost always Caterpillar based but by having our own drawings of products it is possible to make changes that can often make the difference in a sale of a machine. We are also able to record these customer options for the next order if requested. As well we are interested to hear from customers on details that would improve the product.
Bucket Descriptions
The most common Fieldchief Wheel loader bucket is the General Purpose Bucket with a angled floor that was released about the time of the 950B and other "Z" linkage machines of the same vintage. The angle of the floor was around 5 degrees and provided a wedge profile that would tend to break compacted materials. The rear of the Bucket profile was determined by the interference with the "Z" link, which was not a problem with parallel linkage machines such as the 950A. The shape similar to the 950A and 930 bucket has now returned with the release of the 924G and the Versa Link Loader Linkage. With the release of the 960s and 970's Materials Handling buckets were made which had a flat floor and a strong back gusset running the width of the bucket at the level of the lower bucket stops. The G series GP buckets we have seen a return to a flat floor and full radius bucket shell, which is ideal for larger buckets working from stock piles. This design is also ideal when it comes to making variations on capacity as parts are easily modified for increased capacities by changing the depth of the bucket.
Other bucket descriptions that are product or application based such as coal, fertilizer, wood chip, loose materials, rock and quarry are available in a number of configuration and capacities. Gough Engineering will design a special to suit if an existing bucket is outside the required specifications.
Bucket Features
The first consideration with any bucket is the hinge layout, as this will determine which machines the bucket can be fitted to. It is important when looking for a used bucket that the correct hinge is on the bucket as the cost of re-hinging is not practical in most cases. Bolt on edges are almost always supplied with a new bucket even with low abrasion applications such as coal. The bolt on edge should be rotated to protect the base edge, experience is usually the best guide but the main consideration is to rotate the edges before the head of the bolts are exposed or before nuts are worn out.
Paint should always be removed from the mating faces before bolting up edges. Side bars of the bucket are best at an angle of 10 to 20 Degrees to the ground with the bucket in the carry position. This means that the bucket spills it excess load while filling rather than when the machine is traveling. The spill plate should extend above the side plates and corners should be chamfered for visibility. The recent design of 966G and 972G Fieldchief has given Gough Engineering an opportunity to explore these idea with a notable out come with the large capacity buckets built for Ravensdown which one operator described as the best Caterpillar bucket he had used.
Part Numbers
Caterpillar based designs use the original Caterpillar drawing number i.e. 8R8209 which is a 966F 3.6m3 Loose materials bucket. Buckets whose part number starts with a "20" i.e. 20-1182 which is a 966G General Purpose-Flat floor bucket are Fieldchief drawn buckets. Constructing our own drawings has proven to be a great benefit as the fit up of parts has improved and the flexibility in the design process is helping customers specify the bucket closer to their requirements.
Bucket Capacity
Bucket capacity is an important factor in the operation of any machine and care needs to be taken when selection is made to keep the machine within the recommended working tipping loads. For Wheel Loader Buckets Gough Engineering uses SAE J742 standard to determine capacity with the heap at a 2:1 angle of repose. Details of this can be found in Caterpillar Performance Handbook. If capacity is a major issue Gough Engineering can calculate the heap to determine a design capacity for a bucket. This is done by creating a computer 3D model. Variations with capacities are due to compacting, angle the material will heap at and moisture, all areas that need to be taken into account by the operator. For this reason operators should not to enter into any agreements or contracts that uses the rated capacity of a bucket to measure volume or used to calculate weight that has been supplied.
Disputes often occur when capacity is converted into weight when both the material density and bucket capacity have not be verified. It is legal to supply a scoop or bucket as a measure but not to imply that it is a certain capacity or weight, in other words the method that is used to measure should remain the same as that sold. If material is sold by weight it requires to be weighted by certified scales. Even with scales the problem doesn't get any clearer as moisture content increased weight but not volume. If material is sold by capacity the bucket capacity needs to be verified for each material taking into account the shape of the heap.
What to look for to avoid problems.
Gough Engineer Buckets are fitted with a nameplate and the serial number is also stamped on the bucket to assist in identification of the bucket, as well records are kept on each bucket. Providing the bucket has not been modified we are able to provide the nominal rating for the bucket. A large number of buckets we supply are specified by the customer " same as this one”, generally when an operator has a number of machines they prefer to specify them the same. If a different bucket is specified we are often able to provide a comparison between the two buckets. When discussing bucket Capacity with a operator point out that capacity is given as "nominal heaped" and not "exact heaped". Assume the worst case if the material retains moisture. Avoid liner plates especially on large capacity buckets, on a 966G bucket it is easy to add 1000kg to the weight of the bucket by fitting liners and protectors. If a bucket has been repaired weighting systems need to be calibrated and capacity verified.
Most Fieldchief Buckets are based on the original Caterpillar design buckets with only a few exception which have been included based on customer preferences and feed back. As even small changes can affect the capacity of the bucket when buckets are listed as the same part number or rated capacity care should still be taken to verify actual capacities.
What the law says.
The Weights and Measures Act 1987 requires that, where goods are bought and sold by quantity, that quantity must be correct. The Act also provides that any weighing or measuring instrument used to make that determination must be approved and verified as required under the Act.
The criteria for approving weighing equipment for trade use involves testing the equipment to ensure in meets a variety of technical performance requirements. The equipment may also have conditions imposed to ensure that when it is in use it does not facilitate fraud.
Once a type of weighing equipment has been approved each piece of equipment of that type must still undergo verification testing to ensure it meets the requirements of the approval certificate and is accurate and suitable for its intended purpose
Qualified statements of weight or measure.
The statement must be in a form which can allow the weight or measure to be accurately verified.
eg, it is not acceptable to imply a measurement as part of a sale by description by saying, '1 scoop = approximately 0.3 cubic metres'.
Disclaimer
This information is not a substitute for legal advice and should be used as guidance only. The Ministry of Comsumer Affairs recommends that you access the Weights and Measures Act 1987 and associated regulations online at the government legislation website, or purchase a copy of legislation from a bookstore
Bucket stops
Due to the manufacturing tolerances required for the process of making a buckets and machine, bucket stops can only be set up once the bucket has been fitted to the machine. Buckets fitted in Auckland and Christchurch usually have the stops fitted and set by Gough Engineering. The purpose of the stop is not generally understood and its function is often interpreted as the cause of a problem. As the top stops should only come close to contacting the lift arm at a very limited position with the bucket fully tilted back and the lift arm bucket hinge at about 450mm above the ground it is possible that the stops never come into contact. This accounts for buckets that have not had stops fitted never causing any problems. The clearance between the stops and the lift arm on "Z" Linkage machines that is recommended by Caterpillar on most buckets is 9mm to 13mm when the bucket is at its closest point. During the digging cycle faces could only come into contact if the bucket twists or clearances are taken up in the linkage tolerances. With a 13mm clearance the contact of bucket stop faces is minimal.
The exception on clearance between the stops is on 960 and 970 Materials Handling Buckets as interference is called for to prevent the bucket from rocking. For machines such as 966G and 972G, which are used to carry materials over some distance Ride Control acts as a shock absorber providing the stops are not in contact and provide more benefit than relying on bucket stops as was the case with 960/972 MHB. Without studying the geometry of all linkages it is not possible to determine all the factors that relate to bucket stops except that in extreme circumstances they would prevent the linkage mechanism from inverting. For this reason Gough Engineering recommends that stops are fitted in accordance with Caterpillar specifications.
Linkage stops such as on 950A ,930 and 924G are contact stops and are designed into the linkage. Wear on contact faces is common and rework should result in the linkages stopping evenly on both sides.
