Search Results

Refuse Trucks are used to pick up garbage from houses. These trucks have huge robotic arms connected to the frame which are operated by hydraulic mechanism operated by the driver sitting inside the cab of the truck. The operator of the truck controls the robotic arm using a lever. Once the truck is positioned aside the garbage can, the operator moves the robotic arm outwards, grabs hold of the garbage can, picks up the garbage can and dumps the garbage into the truck. During this operation, the frame articulates and moves due to the frame suspension causing the cab to move along with the frame. This operation is performed about 1000 times a day, 5days a week for 12 years which could result in some amount of damage to the cab over its life. Since the time rate of application of the forces during the Automatic Side Loading operation is small compared to the lowest flexible mode of the cab, modal amplification is considered unlikely.

The aim of the paper is to describe how Volvo Construction Equipment uses a virtual product development process to analyze potential risks, find root causes and optimize future product development. A model based method is used to analyze a potential risk in the design of Wheel Loader transmissions. The risk was recognized from failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA), and a simulation model using AMESim modeling tool was developed to analyze the behavior of the new design. Together with test rig result, it is proved that the model based method gives a considerably accurate prediction of the system behavior. By using the model based approach, lead time for development process is reduced and important feedbacks from simulation model are obtained on early stage of the development. This paper further presents the use of the simulation model as a tool to predict the potential risks in the extreme operating conditions, which are difficult to test on the vehicle test bench.