On Thursday August 24th, 2017, at a ceremony held by KLM in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Bosch Rexroth, the leading company in drive and control solutions, signed an agreement with KLM and EDM to supply the motion platform solution for KLM’s new cabin crew emergency trainer. The trainer is part of a completely renewed facility KLM is building at Schiphol Planned to start operating in 2019, the system will provide KLM with a modern training facility in the Netherlands.
KLM is investing in renewing its training facility for its cabin crew at Schiphol to ensure the most comprehensive safety for the airline‘s passengers and crew. Rexroth’s motion platform will be used to simulate flying conditions in a 777-airplane cabin.
“We are committed to providing our cabin crew with the best training possible, in order to deliver maximum safety for our customers,“ said Richard van den Nouweland, Project Manager Flight Operations at KLM. “While it is possible to use a static cabin for crew emergency training, the motion platform from Rexroth allows us to more accurately simulate in-flight conditions for more realistic and extended scenarios.“
The Rexroth motion platform enables cabin crew to practice procedures like emergency evacuation in highly realistic conditions. It can simulate a variety of scenarios from turbulence to the plane dropping, and specific emergency situations such as a nose wheel break. It can generate up to 1 G acceleration, and can be locked in any required position. The cabin can also be raised by up to 5 meters so that evacuation slides can be deployed for realistic evacuation training scenarios.
Each of the hydraulic cylinders in this platform has its own compact drive, so the need for a separate hydraulic power unit is eliminated. This hybrid solution, based on Bosch Rexroth Sytronix technology, is able to deliver ‘power-on-demand’, ensuring the highest possible energy efficiency. “We have been using this technology for over 5 years and it has proven itself in a number of other applications,“ said Hans ten Hagen, Manager Motion Simulation Technology at Bosch Rexroth. “This is the first time it will be incorporated in a cabin emergency evacuation trainer, and we are confident that it meets all expectations.“
The platform features a high number of built-in safety measures. Both mechanical and software motion limiting features are utilized so the system cannot exceed its programmed limits. Drives are equipped with Bosch Rexroth certified ‘Safety on Board‘ technology. This meets the standards for industrial robotics, and provides additional security measures like guaranteed safe stop.
Installation will begin Q2, 2018, with the training center going into operation in 2019. The motion platform will be integrated into the facility by Manchester-based firm EDM, experts in system integration. “EDM has collaborated very successfully with Rexroth on several projects already and we are very pleased to be working together with KLM on this project.“ said Tony Bermingham, Managing Director at EDM.
“We are delighted to have signed this agreement with KLM and EDM,“ said Hans ten Hagen. “It’s a great opportunity to grow our relationship with both partners, and very satisfying that the project is on our home ground of the Netherlands.“
More information: www.boschrexroth.com/motion
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