by Kyle Molyneux | Tue 11 Oct 2022
SVAB Open Connect control system for tilt-rotators
SVAB’s new Open Connect control system is designed for machine manufacturers and dealers who want to be able to offer a standardised control system, and at the same time allow end customers to choose a prefered tilt-rotator brand.
Open Connect is a complete solution based on SVAB’s control system platform for tilt-rotators consisting of joystick grips, display, electronics and software that controls the hydraulics of the tilt-rotator from the machine. The system has a new open interface that communicates with the tilt-rotator's own module, which in turn controls the hydraulics in the tilt-rotator.
The new open interface will be compatible with the MiC 4.0 Bus, which is being developed within the German industry organization VDMA and the working group MiC 4.0 – Machines in Construction, Cluster 7 – Attachment, where SVAB together with the machine manufacturers Volvo, Liebherr and Wacker Neuson and the tilt-rotator manufacturers Steelwrist , SMP, Engcon and Rototilt agree on a common protocol, which for the first time will be displayed and demonstrated by MiC 4.0 during bauma 2022.
In the agricultural sector, there has since long been a similar interface for attachments, ISO11783 or better known under the name ISOBus, also developed by the German VDMA. So it feels natural that we are now creating a similar standard in the excavator industry as excavators are used more and more as a tool carrier even outside the Nordics, says SVAB's head of development Lennart Hedlund.
In addition to this, SVAB is also launching a new electronics module called QIO – CAN I/O Converter, which is a module that can be connected between the CAN-bus joystick grips and the control system. The new module makes it possible to use the same joystick grips for other functions in the machine that are not controlled via the tiltrotator control system.
This is made possible by the fact that the module can be easily configured to convert desired CAN-bus signals into several different commonly occurring signal types and functions. It could be, for example, that you want to use a button to navigate your GPS machine control system or a thumb roller to control some original function of the machine.
In addition to control of the tilt-rotator, the system can also be equipped with functions such as wireless tool recognition, sharing of the tilt-rotator's sensor data to machine control systems, automatic tilt control and wheel or track control. For fine-tuning of hydraulic settings, troubleshooting and for software updates, there is a user-friendly service tool developed for tablets.
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