Reach Lift Truck Personal Simulator

Reach Lift Truck Personal Simulator Industrial Controls

Developed in response to demand from customers for a superior simulation experience, Simlog’s USB-ready Industrial Controls feature

• an authentic OEM Control Handle (we now offer 3 choices, for 7 different brands)
• a Steering Tiller that faithfully reproduces the look and feel of real reach lift truck operator controls
• a Foot Brake Pedal

There are also two pushbuttons to present alternative viewpoints during the simulation, along with a mini-joystick to pan and tilt the current viewpoint.

The Industrial Controls are mounted on an industrial console for stand-up use, with casters for easy portability and a front panel key lock. They arrive fully assembled and USB-ready, to connect to your PC and displays. Alternatively, Simlog can provide a computer that’s ready to go, as part of what we call a PC Bundle.

Key Features

• OEM Control Handle (there are 3 choices, for 7 different brands)
• Steering Tiller, that faithfully reproduces the look and feel of real reach lift truck operator controls
• Foot Brake Pedal
• Two Pushbuttons, to present alternative viewpoints during the simulation (especially important when there is just one display)
• Mini-joystick, to pan/tilt the current viewpoint
• Emergency Power Disconnect Pushbutton
• Front Panel Key Lock, to restrict access to the PC placed inside the console

Stand Up Counterbalanced Lift Truck Personal Simulator Industrial Controls OEM Control Handle OEM Control Handle OEM Control Handle

Possible Setups: 

There are two possible setups, as follows:

• three displays placed to the left, in front, and to the right to present views that are typical of “side stance” positioning when looking backwards, to the side, and forwards
• one display in front, to present the view looking forwards

Reach Lift Truck Personal Simulator Industrial Controls - C - with Three Displays in Portrait Mode Reach Lift Truck Personal Simulator Industrial Controls - C - with Three Displays in Landscape Mode Reach Lift Truck Personal Simulator Industrial Controls - C - with One Display

Specifications

• Overall Dimensions: Depth 19.5” (50 cm) x Width 39” (99 cm) x Height 46” (117cm)
• Weight: 110 lbs. (50 kg)
• Shipping Dimensions: D 24” (61cm) x W 44″ (112 cm) x H 54″ (138 cm)
• Shipping Weight: approximately 150 lbs. (330 kg). One unit per skid, not stackable.
• 120 VAC/60 Hz, 220-240VAC/50 Hz

Reach Lift Truck Personal Simulator Replica Controls

Replica Controls for the Reach Lift Truck Personal Simulator feature industrial strength USB-ready input devices and special tabletop mounting brackets to work from a standing position, just like in the cabin of real reach lift trucks.

For the left hand, there is a horizontally-positioned steering wheel, a commercial-of-the-shelf (COTS) USB-ready input device, that can also be used with many other Personal Simulators. There is also a steering wheel “knob” for turning the steering wheel (that rotates clockwise and counter-clockwise) with just one hand.

For the right hand, there is a “control lever” (a USB-ready joystick) to control travel forwards and backwards. The control is proportional: push a little to move slowly; push more to move quickly.

Practically, the control lever for the right hand can be positioned either vertically or horizontall, as per the two most common arrangements in the cabins of real equipment as shown here.

For the horizontal positioning, Simlog offers a joystick with a stiffer spring and an oval-shaped face,

In both cases, pushbuttons on the joystick are used to extend/retract the pantograph, to side shift, to tilt the forks, and to change the viewpoint during simulation e.g. by “leaning” left/right.

(Real reach trucks also have a pedal that that acts as an “emergency stop” if your foot comes off. Since this functionality is for safety, not operations, and to help keep costs down, our Replica Controls include no such pedal.)

Possible Setups
There are two possible setups as follows:

• one display in front, to present the view looking forwards
• three displays placed to the left, in front, and to the right to present views that are typical of “side stance” positioning when looking backwards, to the side, and forwards

Here we present both setups, for the case where the joystick is positioned horizontally.

Reach Lift Truck Personal Simulator Setup with One Display Reach Lift Truck Personal Simulator Setup with Three Displays - Landscape Mode Reach Lift Truck Personal Simulator Setup with Three Displays - Portrait Mode

Custom Travel Cases for Replica Controls

As for other Personal Simulators, Simlog’s Custom Travel Case makes transportation easy.

Travel Case for Simlog Personal Simulators - Opened Travel Case for Simlog Personal Simulators - Stacked Travel Case for Simlog Personal Simulators

 Key Features

• Made-to-measure, with dedicated slots for the steering wheel, joystick, and tabletop mounting bracket
• Space for a laptop PC, cables, and documentation
• Pull-out handle, with multiple positions
• Wheels (casters)
• Cases are “stackable,” for easy transport.

 Specifications

• Overall dimensions: 30″ (76cm) x 24″ (61cm) x 19″ (50cm)
• Approximate weight: 50 lbs. (23 kg) when empty, up to 100 lbs. (46 kg) when full (depending upon the Replica Controls.)

Multi-Purposing with Stand Up Counterbalanced Lift Truck Personal Simulator

Practically, stand up counterbalanced lift trucks and stand up reach lift trucks are often found together, the first working at the loading docks, to load and unload trailers and sea containers, while the second works indoors in racking systems that are tall and narrow.

And with Simlog, you can create a multi-purpose Personal Simulator station with our Reach Lift Truck and Stand Up Counterbalanced Lift Truck, to train people to operate both kinds of lift trucks.

This means using the same setup for the two simulation software programs, so the same simulator controls, the same Simulation Manager, and the same computer, displays and speakers.

Reach Lift Truck simulation software features many software options to configure what you see and do, to reproduce the operator controls and steering behaviour of the most common kinds of (real) reach lift trucks.

  Configuration Parameters

• position the joystick (“control lever”) horizontally or vertically
• control the up/down motion of the forks using the joystick axis or pushbuttons
• choose either “Forward” (Front Directional) or “Reverse” (Rear Directional), for the steering convention

 Forks Camera System

To help operators work with loads on high shelves in racking systems, reach lift trucks are often equipped with a Forks Camera System that presents, on a separate display in the cabin, the view from a camera installed between the forks.

Since this functionality is also helpful when training new operators, Simlog’s Reach Lift Truck simulation software features a simulated Forks Camera System, with the display superimposed on the simulation graphics.

Just like real camera systems, the display automatically disappears when the reach lift truck is moving quickly because at speed, the operator should not be looking down at the forks. Then when the reach lift truck is moving slowly or is stopped, the display automatically re-appears.

 Simulation Modules

There are seven Simulation Modules of increasing degree of difficulty, as follows:

• Controls Familiarization
• Slalom 1, for driving forwards
• Slalom 2, for driving backwards
• Selective Pallet Racks, standard aisles, low shelves
• Selective Pallet Racks, standard aisles, mixed shelves
• Selective Pallet Racks, narrow aisles, low shelves
• Selective Pallet Racks, narrow aisles, mixed shelves

When working in the racking systems, an “overhead map” is presented to display the position of the reach lift truck, the loads to be moved, and their target positions, to encourage new operators to think about planning the work to be done to become more productive.

In addition, there are three “Demo’s” for “freestyle” simulated work in both standard aisles and narrow aisles.

 Viewpoints from Inside and Outside the Cabin

As with other Personal Simulators, the viewpoint can be changed during the simulation.

For viewpoints from inside the cabin, the three displays placed to the left, in front, and to the right present views that are typical of “side stance” positioning when looking backwards, in front, and forwards.

But to help train new operators, you can also present viewpoints from outside the cabin using buttons on the simulator controls, keyboard keys, or the PC’s mouse.

 Key Performance Indicators
Key “Performance Indicators” measure how quickly and how carefully the simulated work is performed.

With 47 unique Performance Indicators, feedback is diagnostic instead of just a consolidated pass/fail score. They include execution time, average and maximum driving speeds (forwards and backwards), measurements about how precisely loads are picked up and put down (errors in orientation, centering, etc.), and counting many kinds of collisions (forks, loads, shelves, etc.).

A variety of incorrect operating conditions will trigger “Procedure Errors” such as driving “out of bounds”.

Finally, conditions related to safety will trigger a “Fatal Error” that immediately stops the simulation such as damage to the pantograph as a result of a collision, a reach lift truck overturn condition, or a load falling down from a shelf.

Here we present just a few of the Reach Lift Truck Personal Simulator videos from Simlog’s YouTube channel.