SIMULATORS

The Vortex Crawler Boom Crane Simulator puts students to work in a fully equipped simulation featuring real crane controls and noises, realistic worksites and operational conditions, high-fidelity physics behaviour, and much more. It provides a proven interactive immersive environment for building real-world boom crane operator skills.

Vortex Crawler Boom Crane simulator allows students to experience and react to important stimuli as the crane handles the load, as well as the dynamics of the engine and the hydraulics systems.

The Leading Crawler Crane Simulator

Based on the Manitowoc 8500 and deployed in leading heavy-equipment training centres, the Vortex Crawler Crane Simulator provides a state-of-the-art interactive virtual environment to provide certification-calibre operator training. The Vortex simulator ensures an effective and repeatable training experience with high-fidelity physics simulation, actual crane pedals and input devices, high-resolution 3D graphics rendering, 360-degree and bird’s-eye views, shadows and ambient sound, and an authentic crane-operator interface. Students get valuable training on realistic boom crane configurations, such as dragline and clam-shell operations, pile-driving with an impact hammer, and working with an extra jib for advanced load maneuvers. Simulation scenarios range from driving the tracked crane and worksite setup, to unsafe situations and emergency procedures.

Vortex Crawler Crane simulator goes beyond lift training – it also offers clamming, dragline and pile-driving.

Realistic Physics-driven Dynamics and Effects

At the heart of the simulation, the Vortex physics engine allows students to experience and react to important stimuli as the crane interacts with its environment and the load, like the dynamics of the operating engine and hydraulics systems, boom deformation, and hoisting cable and grappler behaviour. Since the Vortex Crawler Crane Simulator fully interacts with all objects in the 3D graphics scene, students gain valuable experience practising multiple realistic dragging, pile-driving, hoisting and move scenarios, with and without obstructions. They can also encounter and react to challenging real-life conditions such as boom collisions, wind gusts, cable snags or breaks, uneven terrain, and even rollovers. The optional Instructor module allows trainers to specify worksites and scenarios, trigger unanticipated events, issue hand signals, measure student progress, and more.

Accurate Cab and Worksite Conditions

The Vortex Crawler Crane Simulator provides trainees with valuable hands-on experience using actual crane joysticks and pedals, as well as an accurate Load Moment Indicator (LMI), which displays real-time crane-state and load data such as boom position, engine RPM, and load indicators. The simulator’s 3D rendering includes an advanced head-motion tracking system that changes the viewpoint as students stand, move and look around objects to gain better depth perception, which is critical for working with distant objects. The accurate generation of shadows and realistic ambient noise – like the correct engine sound under various load conditions – heighten realism and provide important sensory cues for the trainees.