InfraStructures - December 2013/January 2014 - Ergonic® 2.0 – Intelligent Control System for Sustainability, Safety and User-Friendliness

Ergonic® 2.0 – Intelligent Control System for Sustainability, Safety and User-Friendliness

Putzmeister has focused its research and development work on a future-oriented concept for controlling truck-mounted concrete pumps. The German construction machinery manufacturer has integrated functions and technical details in hardware and software, which were developed from an ecological, economical and ergonomic perspective. For the first time, Putzmeister has started to consistently implement the Ergonic 2.0 in type 38-5 truck-mounted concrete pumps.

Putzmeister paid special attention to sustainability during the development of the Ergonic® 2.0. The so-called Ergonic® blue concept contains a package of measures designed to conserve resources, reduce emissions harmful to the environment and save materials. Significant changes that can be largely attributed to the new European standard EN 12001:2012 have also been made to improve safety. Putzmeister implemented a sophisticated sensor system and fully electronic ESC control (Ergonic® Setup Control) to guarantee permanent monitoring of the interaction between support, boom movements and pump function. Last but not least, the new system makes life easier for the machine operators. The developers from Putzmeister coordinated and tested numerous hardware and software functions together with machine operators and integrated an optimized menu navigation system. The main functions are operated in the same way, which means that the operator does not need to adapt to a new system.

Concept for greater sustainability – Ergonic® blue
Putzmeister has developed and implemented a series of measures under the name Ergonic® blue. The modern lightweight design of the 38-5 clearly demonstrates the quality of the new concept. The Aichtal company predominantly uses standard materials and a large number of multifunctional components for manufacture. As a consequence, large quantities of materials can be saved and the weight also reduced, possibly by several tonnes, depending on the machine model. At the same time, Putzmeister has fitted components that have a longer useful life, which significantly reduces material consumption throughout the entire life cycle of the machine.

A new hydraulic oil management system integrated in the control not only allows the operator to reduce the required quantity of hydraulic fluid by as much as 50 % but also use environmentally-friendly biopetroleum.

Concept for better safety – Ergonic® Setup Control (ESC)
When EN 12001:2012 came into force on February 28, 2013, the operators of truck-mounted concrete pumps in the European Economic Area had to take on board a series of changes.

The Directive stipulated that the interaction between the support, boom movements and pump function must be monitored permanently. The ESC (Ergonic® Setup Control) is a fully electronic integrated secured safety system developed by Putzmeister that allows simple, flexible operation according to existing guidelines and standards. In addition to the possibility of full support, Putzmeister offers a safe system for One Side Support on selected machines.

The most important innovations:

Special features such as the K-position, Y-position and cleaning position that extend the range of machine functions;
The correct horizontal position of the support legs is checked upon activation of the boom function;
The control system guarantees that the arm assembly can only be moved in the permitted working area.

The Ergonic 2.0 radio remote control
Ergonomics were the main focus during the development phase. A reduced weight and ingenious design mean that the new remote control is easier to handle and all displays on the larger, high-resolution color screen are easy to read. The buttons of the status display have symbols and LED backlighting. With new functions and improved menu navigation, the display has been consistently adapted to meet the needs of machine operators.

The new remote control is extremely durable and completely sealed. The electronics were encapsulated to withstand all kinds of adverse weather conditions. A longlife battery reliably powers the remote control, while minimizing self-discharge. As an alternative, the remote control can be operated using a cable.

With Ergonic® 2.0, specific machine settings are transferred via a chip card. The radio remote control can be used for other Putzmeister truck-mounted concrete pumps simply by exchanging the chip.

Source: Putzmeister Group

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