ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
iVTInternational.com February 2020 41
Some electrical engineers still
meticulously draw circuit
diagrams for mobile machinery, by
connecting the selected components
– like controllers, sensors and
actuators – checking the results then
handing over a package of CAD les
to their colleagues in the purchase
and production departments.
A major driver for this
change is the continuing
trend towards customised
machines and longer options
lists. is does not a ect the
large-scale manufacturers of
´commodity´ machines like forkli s,
excavators or tractors with a limited
set of options. But medium or small
manufacturers of highly specialised
machines like grape harvesters or
harbour cranes have to take greater
e orts to design their ‘one-o ’ orders
or to adapt the general circuit layout,
wiring diagram etc to the speci c
options that a customer has ordered.
Among these forward-looking
manufacturers is Sennebogen in
Germany, manufacturer of a broad
range of material handling machines.
More than 50 basic machine types
are part of the programme, and for
each machine the user can choose a
variety of options. Some of them –
like a vertically adjustable cab or the
choice between wheeled or crawler
chassis – have considerable impact
on the design and the electrical
equipment, while others require only
minor changes. In every case
Sennebogen follows the rule: ‘We
build the machine the customer
wants’. Hence, exibility and
versatility are required, and each
machine is an engineering project.
Refi ning circuit diagrams
With the growing product range and
the almost ever-increasing number
of options, the creation of circuit
diagrams for the machines has
How to build an
industrial vehicle
PART 4
50
The number of basic
machine types offered
by OEM Sennebogen,
each with a variety of
customer options
Increasingly, however, vehicle
designers are saying good-bye
to this way of designing
electrical systems.
/iVTInternational.com