28 hydraulics, and you have to go back and forth because of dead band in the system, a lack of understanding of force and position, and power sharing among functions,” says Pfaff. “Electrification has really turned that development paradigm upside down and this is fundamentally a software machine. Once it’s assembled, we turn to our software engineers to work their magic when it comes to applying this plethora of power in the way the customer expects it to be applied. We discuss how we want the feature to work, the structures and functional safety aspects, and then we can watch this happen through the use of software. “The machine is tuned so that it has a smooth performance, just like a normal machine, but it is able to give power to all those motors simultaneously, giving you drive, lift and tilt all at the same time. There is no need to compromise any one of those to get the full power you want – and that’s a very different experience than the normal machine. “We actually have way more power available than we have programmed into the machine, so instead of being challenged with how to maximise the 74 hp in the diesel engine to get it to do what we want it to do, we can use the software to tune the machine and make it adapt instantaneously to get the most amount of performance.” Applying that power safely requires a delicate balance. But that is far easier in this all-electric machine because, unlike diesel hydraulic versions, the drive functions and lift arm operations are under the control of the same software, enabling programmers to build in functions that let it go beyond standard capabilities without the risk of damage. Honeyman explains: “The software knows the position of the actuator for the lift arm and tilt at all times, and also what the current load is on the actuator and the electric drives. You don’t know that with hydraulics, and this allows us to do a lot of things with software that we couldn’t do before without the need to use additional sensors. “As an example, we created a feature we call ‘Beast Mode’, which allows an operator to hit a button on the right joystick, and when the machine is at a certain position and the lift arm is down, the software will provide even more current to help power through something. We only allow that in short bursts though, because we don’t want to damage the machine. “Equally, we can apply extra lifting power when the lift arm is down, because we know the structures can handle a lot more force. So, in the very first few inches of travel on the lift arm, the software will apply a lot more power, then back off as it raises up in the air, because there are many reasons why you don’t want that much power at that point. “Another feature we have, which is really interesting to a lot of operators, is automatic bucket shake. This is a manual process on a hydraulic machine, but on this machine the operator can hit another button on the joystick, and it will vigorously shake the bucket to get the material out without them having to put in any physical effort at all. “We can even use the software to protect the lift arm from being damaged if, as can sometimes happen, a rock gets wedged in a front attachment. On the electric platform, that causes a March/April 2025 | E-Mobility Engineering An operator’s eye view from inside the Bobcat T7X – all very similar to the diesel version
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI2Mzk4