CM Labs partners with Tigercat Industries to develop forestry equipment simulators
CM Labs Simulations has entered into a partnership agreement with forestry equipment manufacturer Tigercat Industries. Under this agreement, CM Labs will develop and supply Tigercat with a series of simulators that replicate the functionality and behaviour of the 20-tonne Tigercat 1075C log forwarder and the Tigercat 1165 mid-sized wheel harvester.
The forwarder is designed for demanding, high-production cut-to-length applications, while the Tigercat 1165 mid-sized wheel harvester is used for selective cut and final fell harvesting operations. Using simulators for training on these complex vehicles ensures risk-free, safe training for operators and decreases training time and costs, freeing up actual equipment for its work on the jobsite.
"We are excited about this project because we've been able to integrate the PLCs of the forwarder and the harvester into our simulators," said CM Labs Product Manager Julien Lanciault-Richer. "This is because Vortex enables the machine controllers to talk to our software."
One of the advantages of the machine controls on the simulator being identical to the actual equipment controls is that the operator will be completely at ease once they transition from training. "This increases key learnings for the operator—and is safer from an operations perspective," added Lanciault-Richer. In addition, both dealers and operators can be trained on new technology or functions available on their equipment.
"We are delighted with CM Labs' offer—in particular that they could bring our machine controls into the simulators," said Tigercat's VP of Engineering Jon Cooper. "The machine behaviour was just what we were looking for, along with the company's innovative technology and its clear knowledge of the PLC for adaptability and evolution as we go forward. Our long-term vision is to work with CM Labs to support our training and sales—and to complete our cut-to-length portfolio with other simulators."
The partnership between CM Labs and Tigercat also involves co-marketing activities where the two companies will promote the use of simulators for safe and effective training and explore innovation in simulation for the forestry industry. The first of these activities is a forestry event hosted by CM Labs on February 18, 2020.
