LINC 1: Electronics expertise for OEM customers

"Plug and play" control for mobile machines with hydrostatic drive

The LINC 1 control being showcased by Linde Hydraulics at Agritechnica makes it now even simpler for mobile machine manufacturers to take advantage of the efficiency and flexibility of modern hydrostatic propel drives. The manufacturer no longer has to bother about development and programming of the electronic drive control — and can rest assured that the system exploits the benefits offered by the hydrostatic system to optimum effect. The control functions are designed to match perfectly with the variable displacement pumps and motors of Linde Hydraulics hydraulic drives. Flexible interfaces allow the integration in any machine peripheral.

The electronic control system revolves around a function and safety controller featuring 16-bit technology. Along with the components of hydrostatic propel drives, it is also possible to incorporate e.g. joysticks, accelerators and brakes as well as the diesel engine into the control concept. The required functions, machine characteristics and vehicle-specific data such as vehicle weight, battery voltage and wheel diameter are factory-set. Thanks to the redundant structure used for the control concept, safety functions up to Performance Level d in accordance with DIN EN ISO 13849-1 can be realised.

The electronic drive control LINC 1 matches perfectly with Linde Hydraulics’ hydrostats. Flexible interfaces allow the integration in any machine peripheral. The machine-specific preconfiguration guarantees a quick and easy system integration without any programming at the customer.

The control system is contained in a sturdy housing with protection type IP 67. It is extremely robust in both mechanical and electrical terms, which is ensured by features such as input voltage protection and insensitivity to electrical disturbances from vehicle’s system pulses as per ISO 7637-2.

As Linde Hydraulics has developed electronic controls for hydrostatic propel drives in-house for many years, the company was able to call on its extensive electronics expertise when designing the LINC 1. Here the main idea was to provide customers with a standardised control system that would link all the drive components to optimum effect. The developers also set great store by the "Plug and Play" principle for the control system: the LINC 1 therefore comes pre-configured. All the manufacturer has to do is fit the control system and insert the plug. There is also the option of comfortably adjusting individual parameters within the LinDiag® software. Thus the manufacturer can use the same control for different power-classes of machine and easily comply with the legal requirements of different countries.

The new control system is perfect for mobile machines manufactured in small to medium-sized batches. This allows small-scale manufacturers to firstly benefit from tried and tested mass production technology, while keeping their costs for developing and programming an individual control system to a minimum. All the drive components are nonetheless perfectly coordinated. The manufacturer is able to tap into additional potential in terms of performance, efficiency and comfort, thereby taking full advantage of the benefits offered by the LinDrive® hydrostatic drive systems.