Brazil’s subtropical climatic conditions demand high load-bearing capacity from Case IH harvesters. For parts of the control system, the manufacturer opted for the elobau joystick J6 with CAN bus connection. As always, elobau’s main focus was on high quality standards and specific adaptations for the customer.
Brazil is the world’s largest producer of sugar cane, with an annual production of 633 million tonnes on an area of over 8 million hectares. It isn‘t then surprising that Case IH, with a production base in Brasil, is considered a global reference for harvesting machinery for this sector. With more than 50 years of experience, they are one of the leading manufacturers in this area. Case IH A8810 Series Cane Harvester sets new standards in the industry. They chose the J6 joystick with a CAN J1939 bus connection from elobau for parts of the control elements of the vehicle.
The subtropical climate conditions in Brazil are extremes, as there are either periods of high precipitation or of high heat and drought. Because sugar cane is grown and harvested all year round, the machine and also the joystick must have an enormous load capacity to withstand the weather. Likewise, a long service life with many usage cycles is essential for sustainability.
With elobau, Case IH has a long-standing partner who knows its customer’s requirements well and can fully meet their requirements. The proximity of elobau Brazil to Case IH engineering was also a decisive factor in the purchasing decision, as fast response times and prompt solutions were essential, especially during the development phase. The initial, detailed discussions about the transmission system and the autopilot helped to make the necessary, customer-specific adjustments to the joystick and the CAN bus connection. The harvester has been designed to manoeuvre easily in narrow spaces without losing too much speed. This requires high steering precision so that the chassis is not overloaded.
After all the requirements had been defined, a range of strenuous tests to ensure the technical requirements and service life requirements would be met were carried out. The high electronics protection class of IP67, high temperature range of up to +85°C, and service life, were all successfully tested. Practical tests for series production soon followed.
The customised joystick has enabled the control of the vehicle to be simplified. The autopilot can be activated or deactivated by means of a button. When activated, the speed can be adjusted with a thumbwheel. The J6 joystick was chosen due to its high mechanical load capacity of 750N in the x- and y-axis, and 500N in the z-axis, and because the ingenious mechanical design along with the Hall technology, enables the steering, braking and acceleration operator commands to be precisely reproduced.
The high technical quality and capability from elobau, combined with a reliable partnership with fast and comprehensive consulting led to another successful project between Case IH and elobau, giving Case IH a joystick that is perfectly suited to the modern design of the Case IH A8810.
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