New family of Cats
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• Caterpillar has developed a new family of small engines which will take it into the 52116kW (70-155hp) sector for the first time, and in direct competition with Cummins B Series and Perkins Phaser engines.
The new Cat engine range comprises four and six cylinder in-line engines, all with swept volumes of 1.1 litres per cylinder, hence its designation as the 1.1 litre family.
1987 production
It will go into production first at Cat's Gosselies plant in Belgium, starting in the second half of next year. The first production engines will be used in Caterpillar's own earthmoving and construction equipment, but the company is keen to find other customers in Europe for the 1.1 litre range, and expects its first truck applications to begin in 1988.
Naturally-aspirated, turbocharged, and turbocharged and air-to-air charge-cooled versions will be built, spanning power ratings from 52 to 172kW (70 to 230hp).
Caterpillar plans eventually to use the 1.1 litre family machine tools to build a new 10.3 litre engine (sharing the 1.1 litre bore centres).
High performance
Roger Stapf, Caterpillar's chief engineer for the 1.1 litre family, says its major charac teristics are "high performance, compact size, light weight and durability." A 3114 four cylinder engine's weight, not including starter and alternator, is 400kg, while a 3116, six cylinder unit weighs 492kg.
All the new engines use Caterpillar's own unit injectorbased fuel injection system, quiescent (non-swirl) inlet ports, two valves per cylinder, a high-mounted camshaft, and a linerless cylinder block.
Cat says the new engine family has been designed with full electronic injection control and alternative fuels in mind.