New digital solutions from PALFINGER

We are in an age of digital transformation. Our lives, our ways of working and our habits are changing. As a driver of innovation, PALFINGER has always played a role in shaping these changes, developing solutions that pool digital competencies and respond to new challenges swiftly – for the benefit of its customers.

LIFETIME EXCELLENCE stands for PALFINGER’s aspiration to develop excellent solutions together with its customers that make everyday work easier and safer in the long term. In this regard, the connectivity of products and strategies is the key to developing new, even more intelligent services such as preventive maintenance and real-time analysis of the machine fleet. For Andreas Klauser, CEO of PALFINGER AG, “creating added value for our customers is always the central focus of all our developments”, since digital assistance systems and tools are intended to provide customers and users with more comfort, more support, more efficiency and more safety.

Comfort, support, efficiency and safety

Digital solutions from PALFINGER make work processes easier and working with its products even more comfortable and safer. In this context, the focus is as much on physical driver comfort as on integrated and user-oriented systems that increase user-friendliness and safety. New assistance systems make handling easier and reduce initial training time on the device. The new visualisation and control systems enable users to remain outside of the danger area during utilisation. PALFINGER fleet management solutions provide an improved overview of device use, while integrated communication systems optimise data exchange between fleet managers and crane operators. This improves the reliability of device use planning and reduces time-consuming, manual coordination and administration activities. A key topic when it comes to support solutions is predictive maintenance, which helps to prevent expensive repairs and maximises device uptime.

Smart Boom Control

Smart Boom Control (SBC) is the new digital boom tip controller for loader cranes, which enables crane operators to control any horizontal or vertical movement of the crane boom tip with a single movement of the lever. All the operator has to do is move a lever on the control panel, while PALFINGER’s PALTRONIC electronic control system calculates the necessary movement combination using its position and pressure sensors. As a result, a crane equipped with SBC is much easier to operate and virtually unrivalled when it comes to precision.

Crane models featuring TEC 7 technology are already equipped for this application of the future.

E-joystick control

L-cranes with a top seat can now also be controlled using an electronic joystick. This even enables integrated load detection via HPSC-Plus LOAD without the operator having to use radio remote control. E-joysticks can be used to control the stabilisers and additional stabilisers in as well as the other crane functions. This also means that, for the first time ever, the lifting capacity (HPLS) of L-cranes can be increased without the use of radio remote control.

HPSC-Plus LOAD

PALFINGER has continued development of the tried-and-tested HPSC stability control system and now offers HPSC-Plus LOAD, a load detection system that uses inclination as an additional parameter for stability, thereby optimising the performance and reach of the crane. HPSC-Plus LOAD reacts to the truck’s load situation and takes the inclination as a basis for calculating the maximum load limit suitable for the situation in question. HPSC and LOAD complement each other perfectly and perform stability monitoring tasks automatically – no matter whether the vehicle is unladen, partially laden or fully laden. The operator does not have to do any extra work to activate or deactivate the LOAD module.

PAD-Touch

The new PAD-Touch cabin controller for hookloaders combines the easy handling of a joystick controller with the additional functions and innovations of a touchscreen. Here, the load-moving functions are controlled via a new and highly compact joystick terminal, while all additional functions are operated via the touchscreen.

Intelligent Loading Assist

PALFINGER will also be unveiling a prototype of the newly developed Intelligent Loading Assist system (patent pending) for PALFINGER hookloaders at bauma 2019. Using a digital 3D camera attached to the rear, the system actively detects the roller container and semi-automatically steers the articulated arm to the correct take-up position. The screen in the PAD-Touch controller also helps the operator to control the container. The integrated object detector identifies potential obstacles and people in the danger zone in good time. The connection between the Intelligent Loading Assist system and PAD-Touch controller makes it easier to control the vehicle and plays an important role in enhancing operational safety during the handling of returnable containers.