An attachment is not chosen by its brand.
It is chosen by its interface,
its carrier and its hydraulics.
This page explains all three, in that order.
No coupler type is an obstacle.
No machine make is excluded.
An attachment does not belong to a coupler standard.
It carries a
mounting plate, welded or bolted, in the format of the customer's
coupler.
The same bucket can be supplied with a type S plate, a type CW plate, Klac,
Morin, or drilled to the dimensions of a direct pin mounting.
That is what makes it unnecessary to change coupler in order to change tool, and it is the reason why the question “which make of excavator do you have?” is never a blocking one.
Two standards are not interchangeable with one another.
A tool already fitted with a type S mounting plate does not fit a type CW
coupler:
the geometries differ.
The plate then has to be changed, or
an adapter used — which adds weight, height, and moves
the tool away from the machine.
This point is checked before ordering, never after.
They differ in the time taken to change tools and in what the
operator has to do to achieve it.
None is better in absolute terms:
the right choice depends on the number of changes per day.
The tool is mounted on the dipper arm pins, with nothing in between.
The most
rigid and least expensive arrangement, but changing tools means
removing the pins.
Manual locking by the operator, machine stopped.
The simplest
and most economical solution as soon as there is more than one tool.
Locking controlled from the cab.
The operator no longer climbs down to
change a non-hydraulic tool.
The clearance that appears with wear between the coupler and the tool tires the pins
and the dipper arm.
These systems take it up continuously and maintain a
firm connection over time.
Inserted between the coupler and the tool.
Tilts and rotates the attachment
through 360°, independently of the position of the machine.
Work in confined
spaces and finishing without repositioning the carrier.
Hydraulic tool changed without the operator climbing down:
the hoses are
connected together with the locking.
Justified by the number of
daily changes.
Quick couplers fall into a few families, each offered in
sizes according to the machine class.
The designation is usually engraved or
painted on the coupler itself.
| Carrier class | Type S | Type CW | Klac | Morin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.8 to 2 t | S30 | CW05 | C | M0 |
| 2 to 3.5 t | S40 | CW05 | D | M1 |
| 3.5 to 5.5 t | S40 | CW10 | E | M2 |
| 5.5 to 8 t | S45 / S50 | CW10 | F | M3 |
| 8 to 12 t | S45 / S50 | — value not confirmed | — value not confirmed | M4 |
| 12 to 20 t | S60 | CW30 | — value not confirmed | — value not confirmed |
| 18 to 32 t | S70 | CW40 | — value not confirmed | — value not confirmed |
| 25 to 43 t | S80 | — value not confirmed | — value not confirmed | — value not confirmed |
| 40 to 70 t | S90 | CW55 | — value not confirmed | — value not confirmed |
This table reads down the column, never across the row. It shows
which size matches your machine in your standard.
It does not say
that an S60 and a CW30 are equivalent:
they cover the same carrier
class, but they do not fit one another.
The dashes are values we have not confirmed with the
manufacturers.
They are not incompatibilities, and we prefer an empty
cell to an approximate figure.
The ranges overlap deliberately, including within the same manufacturer.
Tonnage locates a machine; it does not validate a fitting.
The check
is made on the exact model.
These are the data we ask for, and the reason for each.
None is
there out of habit.
It is the most frequent situation, particularly with a hired machine.
It blocks nothing:
this data can be found from the model.
You
have neither to measure a pin, nor to read a hydraulic diagram.
On the chassis or in the cab.
It gives the make, the exact model and the
operating weight.
It is the most useful item of all.
It shows the coupler, its designation where it is engraved, and above all whether or not there are auxiliary hoses.
The work, the material, the volume and the deadline.
Failing machine data,
that is where the study begins.
Hired machine:
two precautions. The hire company remains
responsible for its machine — fitting an attachment and connecting
an auxiliary line require its agreement.
And the model may change
from one delivery to another:
it is the model actually delivered that
determines compatibility, not the one reserved.
Flow is the criterion most often overlooked, and the one that explains the most
disappointment in use.
One recorded example shows it better than a general
rule.
Similar flows, pressure from single to double.
The tonnage and the coupler are
nevertheless identical.
The model chosen must cover the machine's class
without being at the top of its range.
For a 2.5 t mini-excavator, a
hammer rated for 1.5 to 3.5 t suits better than a hammer rated for 1.2 to
2.5 t, where the machine would be at the end of the range.
Contrary to intuition, it is not the weight of the hammer that makes its
performance:
it is the speed of the piston on the tool.
A heavier hammer
badly fed strikes less hard than a lighter hammer correctly
fed.
The values on this page are indicative. They are
taken from public documentation and serve to locate a need,
not to validate a fitting.
The values that commit us — flow, pressure, weight,
hitching dimensions — are those of the exact model, checked at the study stage and
written in the reply addressed to you.
A wrong dimension or flow makes you buy a tool that will not fit, or that will not
work.
We prefer a range announced as such to a figure that is
clean and wrong.
Machine, coupler, flow, use:
the fields offer “I don't know”.
Answer with what you have.
Written study within 3 working days, complete file.
Tell us about your worksite Written study within 3 working days, complete file · no obligation
Take the problem from the other end.
Every machine class has its own
constraints — and it is not the same one that governs at every tonnage.
These seven criteria, applied all the way through on four real configurations: a pruning disc on a mini-excavator, a drum cutter on 8 t, a 360° rotation, heavy drilling. What people think decides, and what really decides. Read the four studies →
Every trade has one dominant constraint, and it is never the same one.
Knowing
which one concerns you rules out half the catalogue before any comparison.