Cavotec

Manufacturer of electrical power and control technologies for mobile equipment Cavotec has developed a new lightweight, ergonomic radio remote control (RRC) unit, the MC3100 system.

The new unit responds to three demands of Cavotec’s customers: safety, ergonomics and the capacity to perform under severe mechanical stress.

It also adds a construction dimension to Cavotec’s offerings, beyond oil, gas and mining. The new, compact unit, serves crane operators, allowing control of mobile cranes and tower cranes. Beyond cranes, the control has applications with crusher machines and other machinery.

Key design elements include the option for users to readily adjust the height and angle of the unit as it sits on the operator’s belt. Cavotec Micro-control managing director, Peter Grönholm, added that customer feedback has been invaluable in developing the MC3100, and in testing several housing enclosures to select the optimal design. The company has developed advanced RRC units for the oil and gas, mining and tunnelling and general industry sectors for many years. Cavotec’s explosion proof (Ex-) RRC systems are used at applications worldwide. However, the MC3100 is lighter and more compact than many of the other RRC systems developed by Cavotec, and thus broadens the scope of applications in which its RRC units can be used. The safety features and robustness of Cavotec’s units designed for the oil, gas and mining sectors have been incorporated into the MC3100. While Cavotec’s existing RRC units tend to be employed for short periods of time to control heavy machinery, the MC3100 is ideally suited to constant or frequent use in general industry applications and in sectors such as farming and forestry.

Hawe

Manufacturer Hawe Hydraulik SE, a hydraulic systems manufacturer based in Munich, is launching a compact, flexible CAN node for hydraulic applications. The new CAN node provides enhancement for CANbus-enabled controllers as a CANbus slave.

The node can enhance Hawe’s programmable logic valve control type PLVC. When it is used this way it functions as a peripheral input and output node, receiving commands from the controller via the CANbus and sending back input values, and decrease the costs of cabling for controlling distributed valve blocks of mobile cranes.

The unit’s four proportional and four PWM outputs enbable control of up to four twin solenoids.

The six analog inputs can be switched between 0…10 V and 4…20 mA. It’s possible to use this node as a dedicated input node since all outputs can also be used as inputs.

As an example the CAN node can be used for monitoring the supporting of construction machinery in conjunction with proportional directional spool valves of type PSL CAN.

The type CAN-IO 14 can also be used on its own as a control for valves and for processing data from joysticks and sensors enabling users to program their own individual requirements and load them to the device via the CANbus.

Hawe designed the CAN node for a temperature range from -40°C to 85°C, with a protection class IP 67, so crane users can mount it on machines outdoors and it will function even in harsh outdoor environments.

The company says that it designed the CAN node with small dimensions of 60x60x30 mm so the product takes up little space. The product is optimized for cost and quality with the parameterizing and diagnostic tool VT is included in the delivery scope.

HBC-radiomatic

HBC-radiomatic has launched a new version of its Linus 4 radio remote control with two robust joysticks. The control is aimed at bottom slewing tower cranes, such as self-erectors, a diverse range of mobile hydraulic equipment and industrial applications.

The Linus 4 includes Intelligent frequency management as standard and numerous options for individual configurations. The company continues to offer the original version of the Linus 4 with stepless levers, for those users who prefer them, but adds the option to choose two robust HBC joysticks with up to four steps.

HBC-radiomatic says that this enhances its product range of joystick controls by offering a compact model with slim dimensions of only 166 x 126 x 148mm (6.5 x 5 x 5.8in), weighing only 900 grams (31.7 oz) including battery. "This means comfortable working for the operator, even after long hours," says Alexander Hemming, head of product management at HBC-radiomatic.

In addition to the equipment with joysticks, the Linus 4 offers a whole set of useful features. For example, the new transmitter version comes with radiomatic iLOG as a standard, allowing operators to easily swap control configurations between remotes. "If the device is damaged, the operator can activate a spare transmitter within seconds," Hemming says, "all he has to do is to remove the radiomatic iLOG from the damaged transmitter and plug it into a spare transmitter. Expensive machine downtime in service cases can be efficiently prevented."

Also newly available as standard is intelligent frequency management. The customer can choose between DECT and 2.4GHz technology. "Both processes are completely automatic," Hemming says, "the operator can always work without frequency conflicts, even in areas with many radio-controlled machines." The transmitter version with linear levers for hydraulic applications remains available with radiomatic AFS (Automatic Frequency Selection) as an alternative.

The Linus 4 can also be offered with HBC-radiomatic’s personalized credit card-sized login-card, HBC Smart Card. It is used as a key to activate the radio system and protects the control from unauthorized use. The card enables the identification of the user as well as customized configurations. "For example, safety-relevant functions can be locked or unlocked for certain user groups," Hemming explains. To activate the control and for log-in, the operator simply holds his personal HBC Smart Card in the front of the transmitter.

This new feature also has advantages for the owners of the application. In connection with an HBC data logger, different types of usage data of the radio system can be stored, for example the overall usage time or the operating time of individual drive commands, which can be extremely helpful in service cases.

Moba

Moba Mobile Automation AG has won a Red Dot design award for developing a new generation of modular operating units that can be used on cranes such as tower cranes.

The units may be ordered in small numbers, useful for smaller orders, for example in different languages. Moba calls the module concept for mobile applications a completely new way of individually creating operating units quickly even with small production quantities and without high development costs. The variable operating unit enables customers to have a flexible layout, integrating up to six square modules that are linked together and to the machine via plug connections.

Especially for the crane market, the modules can be outfitted with emergency stop in one of the keypad models. Joysticks can be used for outrigger control. Other applications include lifting ramps.

Users can configure graphics, buttons and joystick modules on CAN bus-based modules. The display module is available in black and white or as a programmable CoDeSys color display.

In addition, the module is equipped with three freely programmable soft key buttons and the encoder, which users can optionally attach to the side of the module for easy menu navigation.

The joystick module is available in two versions: one lockable, the other nonlockable and equipped with a railing.

Moba says the joystick mechanics and evaluation electronics are contact-free and assembled separately.

This allows the joystick to be quickly changed and prevents moisture from getting in. The button module offers flexible application in different construction machines with up to nine buttons which can be assigned to any function.

Additional options include the ability to integrate up to four of their own operating and display elements, such as a key switch. An emergency stop switch with a special protective housing can be attached to the module.

Thanks to the square form of the modules, the HMI can be assembled flexibly and applied both vertically and horizontally.

Future extensions will be possible as the modular concept is designed for subsequent extensions. Moba is working to develop these modules.

Penny & Giles

Penny and Giles has launched a new heavy-duty electronic joystick tor mobile cranes/tower cranes that can be used in hard-wearing applications that traditionally use hydraulic joysticks. Described by the firm as a joystick with high-strength features, the JC8000 is suited to physically demanding jobs on construction machinery.

The body material around the area that supports the operating lever has been strengthened to increase the lever’s diamater and alter its pivot geometry. As a result the joystick can cope with increased torque, conveying higher bending and applied load limits on the joystick.

This design means that the joystick can handle 380Nm of overload on its X and Y axes, as well as 2000N on the vertical.

Despite this, Penny and Giles says that the JC8000’s under-panel depth of 70mm makes it a very compact joystick compared to many of its rivals’ equivalent heavy-duty joystick products.

Available with single or dual axis control, for accurate motion detection on the JC8000 12bit Hall effect sensors are used. A range of eight handle options are also available to suit each application.

The electronics are protected against harsh working environments by IP69K sealing, and as a result the joystick can operate in temperatures from -40°C to +70°C.

Commenting on the product, Kevin Rayment, vice president of Penny and Giles parent company Curtiss-Wright avionics and industrial group, said: "The JC8000 is designed to survive in environments that are more physically demanding than the performance limitations of competitors’ heavy-duty joystick controllers, and even our own JC1500 and JC6000 controllers."

Part of the company’s confidence in the product comes from the fact that it has been tested, under laboratory conditions, to over 15 million cycles.

The JC8000 features dual-channel analogue outputs on each axis, with optional ramp directions, using CANbus J1939 protocols.

Customers have the option of using the joystick with a 5Vdc regulated power supply or a 54Vdc unregulated supply, with digital pulse-width modulation to control the power supply.

REMdevice

Italian manufacturer REMdevice’s latest remote control products, the Brick DL and the DL Pail transmitters, share many of the same basic features but with differences that allow them to suit a range of applications, such as hydraulic concrete pumps, tower and port cranes.

REMdevice’s DL Pail is a joystick remote with three switches and two joysticks for operator control along with a digital readout for feedback and an EN ISO 13849-1 PLd-compliant emergency STOP button. Each DL Pail handset includes an automatic inter-blocking feature for the joysticks to prevent conflicting commands resulting in the crane performing manoeuvres unsuitable for the application, such as simultaneous ‘left’ and ‘right’ commands.

Although the Brick DL is a double-step pushbutton transmitter, it shares the same underlying electronics as the DL Pail, and as such operates with the same 100m range across 11 channels on the 869MHz frequency, or 59 channels on 433/434MHz.

It features ten pushbuttons as well as the STOP button and digital display found on the DL Pail. This screen can be used to display feedback data from a strain gauge on the hook giving the weight’s load.

Another feature of the two transmitters is that they can be set up for twin crane operation and master/slave control of the same crane with different transmitter units. REMdevice has designed the Twin System to comply with EN 60204-32 when using two transmitters and one receiver.

Both DL Pail and Brick DL controllers are fitted with a power-saving automatic switch off function that activates after four minutes of inactivity, and use a sealed charger base unit via a patented induction charging system with no battery contacts to receive and maintain enough power for 35 hours of continuous use.

Environmentally protected to IP55 ratings, the DL Pail and Brick DL transmitters can work in temperatures ranging from -20°C to 70°C, with the sealed base charger allowing its use outdoors.

Having a small number of core components contributes to low weights of 470kg and 500g respectively. The manufacturer says replacement parts for the Brick DL and DL Pail handsets can easily be made available when needed. Having recently appointed UK supplier GB Remotes with an exclusive contract for sales of REMdevice products in the region, the handsets are now also available in the UK and Ireland.

Different fuctions are available for different cranes, but the mast model is the same, with different joystick options depending on complexity of the crane.