Gyro SensorsExamples of adoption: MEMS sensors greatly eases the operator’s job and improves both ergonomics and safety.

Ponsse Plc is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of cut-to-length forest machines. The company is recognized as the technology leader with a strong focus on customers’ success and sustainable forestry. Ponsse’s user-and environmentally friendly forest machines offer high stability in difficult conditions-stability empowered by Murata MEMS sensors. Ponsse is not only a company, but also a success story of its own.

Born from one man’s dream and established in 1970 in Finland, Ponsse has grown into a global leader with over 19,000 forest machines manufactured. Today, thousands of forest machine entrepreneurs and operators all over the world rely on Ponsse’s state-of-art machinery in their daily work.

PONSSE forest machines are based on environmentally friendly cut-to-length (CTL) logging, where trees are harvested in the forest with a special equipment developed for the purpose. The CTL is an effective, sustainable and environmentally friendly method, as it improves the overall productivity, enables precise operation, and minimizes fuel consumption, emissions, as well as tree and soil damage.

Forest machines are usually operated in harsh conditions and difficult environments. The impact on the environment needs to be minimized and machine operators’ working conditions need to be improved.

PONSSE forest machines are particularly appreciated for their excellent ergonomics and stability offered even in harsh conditions. PONSSE Scorpion is a new generation harvester, masterpiece of the latest technology and, as Ponsse describes it, “a real beast of a harvester.”

Ponsse’s mission is to contribute to their customers’ success, and with PONSSE Scorpion, the company really focused on designing as good a workplace as possible and considered operators’ wellbeing throughout the development.

PONSSE Scorpion includes an Active Crane management system which makes the crane easier to control and use. The operator does not need to manage separate functions for the crane but only to guide the harvester head to the right direction, at the right speed. Ponsse has chosen to use Murata MEMS sensors for the position and movement detection of the machine and crane.

Murata sensors positioned in the machine frame and crane detect the precise position and movement of the machine and enable optimized easy-to-use crane tip control and smooth levelling of the cabin.

Murata has collaborated with Ponsse for over 15 years already. There are many similarities between the two companies: Murata has a strong company philosophy - SHAZE - which matches well with the Ponsse Spirit and values focused on customer success, sustainability and innovation.

The collaboration between the two companies goes beyond a mere commercial relationship: products have been further developed together to ensure the best possible components for PONSSE forest machines.

Ponsse has chosen Murata as a supplier because Murata’s sensors were the first ones which actually met all Ponsse’s requirements, including performance and total cost. As a company with production and product development in Finland, Ponsse values the fact that Murata has also invested and continues to develop and manufacture MEMS sensors in Finland.

Increased stability enabled by Murata MEMS sensors greatly eases the operator’s job and improves both ergonomics and safety. Thanks to the sensors, monotonous, repeated tasks can be automated, and machine movements become logical and efficient. Efficiency in turn improves energy and environmental efficiency.

“With Murata, we can be sure that the products are of high quality with a long lifespan, according to our specifications and available for deliveries when needed. As we utilize Murata sensors in all of our forest machines, supply security is a must,” says Aleksi Kivi, Product Development Engineer at Ponsse.

“Currently, Murata MEMS sensors are utilized in all PONSSE harvesters and forwarders. And when we look towards the future of forestry it is increasingly about sustainability. Ponsse is already developing a concept of an electric forest machine, EV1, which will also incorporate Murata’s inertial sensors”, he visions.