Arm Rests

Crane Cab Simulator

As an addition to the Crane Cab simulator project, albino igil were commissioned to design and arrange manufacture of several sets of arm rests. These are to be using in conjunction with a pre-bought seating system by Recaro.

Software used:

Ideas Generation

As with every design project, we begin with pen and paper, sketching out initial ideas based on the client’s brief. In this instance, the arm rest was to be able to mimic actual crane cab hardware. To allow the device to cover more variants, a touch screen was incorporated, along with several programmable buttons alongside an industry standard joystick.

To keep weight down, it was decided to use aluminium sheet – Corian was considered but tolerances weren’t accurate enough.

Preliminary Designs

Often in conjunction with the Design Engineer stage, we flesh out the most promising ideas to a standard where aesthetics play a more important role in deciding which to take forward to final design.

Here we have two very different designs aesthetically, although the ergonomics are very similar. A choice between the two will be down to aesthetics, manufacturing methods and costs, and usability issues when it comes to maintenance and installation.

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Design Engineering & Ergonomics

The design engineering for this project was relatively simple regarding the marrying of the product to the seat. The ergonomics were, however, critical, in that positioning of the screen, buttons and allowance for the majority of percentiles to be accommodated. The major design engineering task was to ensure the various bent components matched well once assembled, and this is where information from the production floor was invaluable.

Production Drawings

Once we had the aesthetics and ergonomics in hand, and making sure the product was fit for purpose regarding maintenance and installation, we produced the first set of production ready drawings.

Prototype Assembly

Here we can see the first prototype being assembled at the production company, separate to the sheet metal workshop who manufactured the individual components. At this stage we finalised the design, tweaking tolerances where needed and making sure it went together. There followed one more set of drawings before we were production ready.

Final Product

The final design on its own, and as a pair installed in a crane cab simulator at the headquarters of Offshore Simulator Centre AS in Norway. Several more have been shipped around the world, including the Farstad Shipping Offshore Simulation Centre in Perth, Australia.