Parts guide
Do you have the glass? Where excavator front glass actually comes from
Published October 14, 2026
For a flat excavator pane, yes, it is on the truck: laminated and tempered stock gets cut to your frame’s pattern at the machine. For a curved one-piece front windshield, no glass company in Connecticut has it on a shelf. It is an OEM part ordered from your serial plate, two to four days out, and anyone who says otherwise is guessing from the model name.
“Do they have the glass?” is the first thing a site super asks when a pane lets go, and the honest answer depends entirely on which pane. This guide lays out the four places excavator front glass comes from, what each costs off our published table, how long each takes to land in the Bristol area, and the five things to have ready when you call so the first visit is the only visit. The full excavator glass replacement page covers the install itself.
Where does replacement excavator glass come from?
Four sources, and the shape of the broken pane picks between them. The table is sorted by how fast the machine is back in the dirt.
| Source | Which panes | Lead time | Cost | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flat stock on the truck | Lower front, upper front on most pre-2010 machines, doors, side and rear panes, mini excavator fronts | Same visit, often same day | $400 to $800 installed | Only flat panes. The pattern comes off your frame, so bent rails have to be fixed first |
| OEM part by serial number | Curved one-piece fronts on newer Cat, Komatsu, Volvo, Hitachi, Deere and Kubota cabs | Two to four days for freight, longer on older or imported models | $750 to $1,500 installed | Ordered from the serial plate, never the model name. Wrong serial, wrong glass |
| Aftermarket curved pane | Common models where a pattern maker has tooled the curve | Two to ten days depending on the supplier | Part retail runs about $115 to $964, install on top | Fit and optical quality vary; hardware and seals are usually not included |
| Dealer parts counter | Anything the manufacturer still lists | Days to weeks, plus the haul if the dealer installs | Dealer-installed jobs run $700 to $1,800 | Discontinued glass for a 2004 machine is a dead end here; flat stock is not |
Installed ranges are our published 2026 rates. Part retail and dealer ranges are market figures we use to check our own, and they are on the price page with the rest of the table.
Why can a flat pane be done today when a curved one takes days?
Because flat glass is a shape and curved glass is a part. A lower front on a Deere 85G or a door on a Kubota KX040 is a flat sheet with an outline, and the outline lives on your cab frame. The truck carries laminated and tempered stock in the common thicknesses, the technician lifts the pattern off the frame or the surviving pieces, scores and breaks the sheet, seams the edge, and sets it in fresh rubber or urethane. That is why a 1998 machine whose dealer dropped the part number decades ago is still a same-day fix.
A curved one-piece front on a late Cat 320, a Komatsu PC210LC-11 or a Volvo EC220 was bent on a mold at the factory. No local shop has that mold, so the pane only exists as an OEM part or, for popular models, an aftermarket copy. The cab glass on anything working a construction site also has to meet the federal rule in 29 CFR 1926.600(a)(5), which requires safety glass or equivalent with no visible distortion that affects safe operation. A cheap curved copy with a wave in it is exactly the kind of distortion a safety officer tags a machine over, which is one reason we quote the OEM part by default and name the aftermarket option as an option.
What should I have ready when I call about excavator front glass?
Five things, and the serial number is the one that matters. With these on the first call, flat glass gets a firm number and a visit time, and curved glass gets the right part ordered the same hour.
- Read the serial plate, not the decal. The plate is on the cab frame or near the swing bearing. Cat, Komatsu and Volvo changed cab glass mid-series, so a model name like 320 or PC210 narrows nothing.
- Name the pane the way the parts book does. Upper front (the slider), lower front (fixed), left door, right side, rear, roof hatch. A photo of the whole cab from the front settles which one broke.
- Say whether the broken pane was flat or curved. Hold a straightedge across a surviving piece if you are not sure. Flat means stock on the truck; curved means an order.
- Check the rails and channel. If the upper front slider jumped its track, or the felt is gone, say so. Glass set in a bent rail breaks again and the second call is on you.
- Ask for the firm number and the date. Flat glass should get both on the first call. Curved glass gets the price now and the install date when the carrier scans the part.
Which excavator brands run curved front glass?
Most full-size machines built after about 2010, and the list is growing. Cat’s next-generation 320 through 336 cabs, Komatsu’s dash 11 series, Volvo’s EC line, Hitachi’s ZX-6 and ZX-7, and the newer Deere G series all run a curved or one-piece front. Kubota, Bobcat and Takeuchi mini excavators mostly keep a flat upper slider over a flat lower, which is why a mini ex front in Southington is usually a same-day job and a Cat 336 front in Waterbury is a freight ticket. Older full-size cabs, the Cat 300 series B and C, Komatsu dash 6 and 7, Case CX B series, are almost all flat glass top and bottom.
None of this is a rule you should bet a machine on. The same model year can carry two cab versions, which is the whole reason the serial plate decides the order. Every machine is different, so the exact part, price and date for yours come from a call, and the number comes off the published table.
Can the machine keep working while the curved glass is on order?
Usually, with a temporary flat pane or a polycarbonate sheet set in the opening. If the broken pane is the upper front slider, the lower front is often still intact and the operator can run with the slider removed in mild weather. For a shattered lower front, a flat polycarbonate blank cut to the opening keeps rock and weather out for the days the OEM part is in transit, and comes back out the day the glass lands. Ask on the first call. A company that cannot bridge the gap is leaving a six-figure machine parked over a part in a box. The machine-down page covers what a same-day call looks like, and the seven questions to ask any equipment glass contractor include the cure time question that decides when the operator gets back in the seat.
Ask us if we have the glass
Call (860) 506-6682 with the serial number and which pane broke, or send the form. Flat panes get a firm number and a visit time. Curved fronts get the OEM part ordered today and a real date, not a guess.
Get a glass quote
Tell us where the machine sits. We price from the rates published on this site.
We can fit 5 more scheduled glass jobs this month. Machine-down calls always jump the line.