Case's N Series small dozers keep the same engines and rebuild the cab
Case Construction Equipment's 650N, 750N and 850N dozers keep the same engine, with updates focused on cab controls, display and customization.
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Key takeaways
With the engine unchanged, the M-to-N story is cab controls, operator profiles and improved sightlines.
With the 650N now on electric-over-hydraulic blade control, Case says its entire dozer lineup uses EH blade control.
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Case CE Product and Marketing Manager Jeremy Dulak said nearly every update applies across all three models.
For an equipment manager with an 850M coming up for replacement, the obvious question is what an N buys when the engine hasn't changed.
The power column stays put
N Series engines and the market they sell into
Equipment World; EDA
Case also offers three larger dozer models in the 138- to 232-horsepower range: the 1150M, 1650M and 2050M.
A cab that remembers who is driving
Blade control is the foundation. The 650 now has electric-over-hydraulic blade control, and Dulak said that puts Case's entire dozer lineup on EH blade control.
Inside, the main change is a new touchscreen display backed by an encoder knob under the operator's right hand. Either one can change a setting. Case also added new keypads, USB ports around the cab and more storage. The joystick controls have moved from the side console onto the armrests, so they travel with the seat instead of staying fixed while the operator shifts. A heated seat is standard. A premium seat adds ventilation and multiple lumbar supports.
The display is where customization lives. Dulak said Case separated each machine motion so travel response and blade response can each be adjusted in a couple of taps, depending on the task. Settings can be saved per operator. Speed presets get the same treatment: the M Series had 15 fixed speed settings, and the N Series lets an operator keep those or build custom ones.
The direction matches what other machine categories are going through. In an Oct. 19 market guide to backhoe loaders, Construction Equipment's Keith Gribbins reported that interviews with Case, Caterpillar and John Deere all pointed to pilot and electronic controls replacing mechanical levers. Those controls cut operator effort and open the door to automated functions and programmable operating modes.
Per-operator profiles matter most in fleets where one machine has several regular operators, or where a dozer goes from fine grading one week to bulk pushing the next. In a fleet where one veteran owns one machine for years, the profiles are less useful, though the armrest controls and the seat still are.
Changes outside the cab
Most of the outside work was about sightlines. The exhaust stack moved to the right, where it lines up behind the cab's B-post. The air intake dropped below the hood. Where a machine has sweeps, as the 650 does, Case redesigned them to be invisible in the A and B posts. At the back, Case put in new tanks and pulled the rear of the machine in by about 8 inches to open the view behind the operator.
When the familiar engine helps the decision
Case says it maintained the pushing power and productivity the M Series is known for. Dulak framed the redesign as giving the operator a comfortable office space to work in during the day.
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