Daniel Kajhager is Head of Research and Development at Hägglunds in Mellansel and is responsible for operations in the new hydraulics lab.
– The lab is the brain of our business, and through the major investment we are now making in a comprehensive upgrade of the lab, we are ensuring that we will continue to deliver products with high quality and great reliability, which are Hägglunds’ core values. In the lab, the development department can verify new products and innovations, he explains.
The best the market has to offer
Hägglunds, which is part of Bosch Rexroth, manufactures powerful hydraulic motors and direct drive systems used in areas such as material handling, recycling and shipping all over the world. All development and manufacturing of hydraulic motors takes place in Mellansel, and the company is one of Örnsköldsvik’s largest employers. The first hydraulics lab was built in Mellansel in 1978, and since then smaller investments have been made to improve different parts.
– This investment of SEK 50 million is a clear signal that we will continue to invest in Örnsköldsvik and remain in Mellansel, he states. On an area of 1,500 square metres there are, among other things, eleven newly furnished test boxes where one or more motors can be mounted for different types of measurements and tests. The power comes from a completely newly built pump room, with several hydraulic pumps that can be used individually or together to create extra high flows and pressures. In addition, the lab is equipped with a state-of-the-art, newly developed control system that can deliver a large amount of new data on the motors and ongoing tests.
– We have chosen the best the market has to offer today in order to meet the needs of the future. We have the ability to test a great many different things, and it also enables tests we do not even yet know that we will need. We can carry out tests on everything from component level to full-scale testing of entire systems.
Great flexibility
The new lab has significantly greater flexibility than before and creates opportunities to set up tests based on a customer’s conditions in order to carry out realistic tests and ensure quality and reliability.
– The lab is built in a modular way where each box can be used for either individual larger motors or several smaller setups. This enables different combinations of tests, and because the roof can be moved aside to lift in new test motors with an overhead crane, the test possibilities increase even further in the future.
Located next to the design department
Daniel Kajhager further explains that Hägglunds has two types of testing operations. One is the delivery testing they always carry out in production to ensure that the products they send to customers meet all requirements, and the other is an innovation and product lab.
– It is for the latter type of testing that the new lab is intended. Here, both components and complete systems are tested during the development of new products; our future is in this lab. A major advantage is that the lab is located wall-to-wall with the design department, and he sees that proximity as crucial for being able to drive development forward at a high pace.
– It is a privilege for the designers to be able to quickly go out into the lab and test new ideas and verify whether they are the way forward or not. If the lab had been located some distance away, they would have hesitated to carry out all the small tests that can be the key to finding the right solution. Production is also located next to the lab, which creates opportunities for internal learning between design, innovation and production, knowledge they can benefit from in their respective roles, explains Daniel Kajhager. The pump room is the heart, and the control system is the brain. Together they provide entirely new opportunities to test, measure and produce the data their customers need to make investment decisions.
Sustainability an important goal
Sustainability has been an important part of the planning of the new lab, and they achieve energy savings of 200 megawatt-hours per year thanks to new, energy-efficient solutions.
– In addition, the lab creates opportunities to test more environmentally friendly technologies such as renewable hydraulic and lubricating oils, something that is in strong demand in industry. The sustainability ambition also applies to the personnel side, namely creating a sustainable working environment.
– We have installed new floors, lifting tables and smart solutions in both the test boxes and the pump room that provide an ergonomic and safe working environment. To ensure that no oil leaks into the surroundings in the event of leaks inside the lab, they have installed a special safety floor surface.
– It is completely sealed, so if oil leaks out it cannot penetrate the floor. That is just one example of the many safety aspects we have introduced in the new lab, Daniel Kajhager notes.
Strategic collaboration with universities
– With such an advanced hydraulics lab, they can also continue and expand their collaborations with universities. For example, they can both carry out joint research and development projects and bring in students for degree projects. It is an important part of our strategy to remain at the forefront of development. The new lab strengthens ties with academia, where we already have long-term collaborations with technical universities. Building such an advanced lab is part of a broader ambition; it is not only for ourselves but also for universities and the rest of industry, both in Sweden and abroad.
The lab runs 24/7
In the lab, tests are run 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and they test all prototypes and products that are on their way out.
– All the products in our data sheet have been thoroughly tested so customers can feel confident that they get what they ordered. Reliability is a very important part of what we offer customers, and thanks to such an advanced lab as we now have, we can continue to deliver at the same high level going forward.
