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Stabilising feet are an important feature of many larger fire-fighting vehicles, providing an essential base to enable the full deployment of ladders and access platforms. One manufacturer of such vehicles approached Sensor-Technik with a brief for a system to control both the stabilising feet and the access platform, thereby providing increased safety when the vehicle’s platform was deployed to its maximum extent.
Sensor-Technik chose one of its own ESX CANbus controllers married with a Wachendorff Opus HMI unit to control the hydraulics for the outside stabiliser feet, applying more pressure where needed to provide perfect balance as the the platform is rotated. The system also controls the extension of the platform, with failsafes for overload conditions. The controller is also interfaced with to the vehicle’s engine CANbus system to control the speed of the hydraulic pump.
The Opus HMI is a key part of the system. It shows the operator the exact position of the platform, indicating at the same time how much more extension is possible before the vehicle becomes unstable. And other safety systems use the CANbus system to first test the ground under the vehicle to ensure that the surface is sound enough to support the vehicle.
The ESX family of programmable controllers from STW is especially designed for mobile applications. Robust cast-aluminium housings with an IP65 rating (optionally IP67) offer a high degree of safety, resisting both the extremes of outdoor environments and interference from electromagnetic disturbances. Similarly, the Opus family from Wachendorff has been developed with commercial vehicle applications in mind. Attractively designed and expertly finished, these control interfaces for CANbus systems are sealed to IP65 and feature backlighting that adjusts automatically to ambient light.
