New palettes in Rottne's machines change and improve the work with forestry machinery
The palettes are the most important interface the operator has with the forestry machine. Hydraulkompaniet, together with Rottne Industri, are now launching new palettes that facilitate the work and improve the ergonomics considerably. - There are always three things driving development. What customers want, what we want to do and what we must do. Sometimes, all three can be ticked off, which is even more satisfying, David Selstam at Rottne's Development Department says.
The finished product is a breakthrough innovation. Improved ergonomics, displays in the palettes, more functions as well as more buttons on the joysticks. The working environment will now be better, more flexible and, of course, everything is manufactured to comply with relevant standards and regulations.
- We have spent a lot of time on the ergonomics and we've really optimised the placing of the buttons and the functionality. It's not just that there are more buttons but we have also used them in a way that means they will never be too few, David Selstam says.
Rottne's machines have always had an outstanding cab environment with good palettes and this is undoubtedly a component that allows us to maintain this advantage in the future.
The cooperation between Product Development Department at Rottne Industri and Hydraulkompaniet, based in Umeå (Sweden), was initiated three years ago and came about somewhat spontaneously.
The timing was right. As Hydraulkompaniet was producing a completely new palette and was looking for a potential customer, Rottne has started looking for ways to renew and improve their palettes.
- The first customer we chose to contact was Rottne, and it was an immediate match. We knew Rottne was a technology-driven company with a lot of engineering expertise. Rottne is frequently the first to introduce technical solutions into the forestry machines industry, which is why Rottne was our preferred choice of partner, Niklas Anens, Hydraulkompaniet's owner, says.
Hydraulkompaniet's palette immediately ticked off almost everything on Rottne's wish list and, together, they have helped to tick off the entire list.
- Without doubt, the greatest result is the ergonomics. The palettes are compact and flexible. All the buttons needed to operate and work the machine are now placed on them. For the harvesters, for example, we have added two extra buttons per joystick, seven instead of five, allowing more to be done from the joystick. The inbuilt displays provide even greater possibilities for smart interaction with the operator, Niklas Anens says.
Everything has been developed to help the machine operators. Among other things, we have looked at the spring force in the controls, which regulates the force needed to press the buttons and we've also upgraded the silicone mats in them. All this lifts up comfort, the right feeling and ergonomics.
After summer, the palettes will be presented in reality. We will then provide more detailed information.
- You don't often get the chance to alter something from the bottom up, so we have really taken the chance and worked hard to make this as good as possible, David Selstam says.
