“Delivering a control system together with our mechanical products strengthens the longevity and value of the products. It also lays the foundation for good service and support.” -Brunvoll
When entering the business of propulsion systems, Volda Mekaniske started delivering clean mechanical remote control systems. The systems connected the reduction gear and the vessel bridge control in the form of chains and other transmission mechanisms. The systems were developed in cooperation with A.M. Liaaen, and the legacy is now part of the Brunvoll history.
In about the same time period, electrical control systems were entering the market, and Brunvoll was an early adopter cooperating with Eivind Gude to deliver standalone control cabinets with an iconic "frying pan" lever on the side for controlling thrust. The offering also included a mobile control console for bow and stern thrusters combined.
This first generation thruster control system was delivered from 1965 to 1980 and is still in operation.
In Dalen, Mar-El was founded and started delivering electronic control systems for Controllable Pitch Propellers CPP.
In 1979, Mar-El also delivered their first Marco I joystick control system. The Marco joystick product was continued all the way to Marco V, launched in 2007.
The first pneumatic and hydraulic control systems were delivered from Volda in the 1970s, for single speed engines and controllable pitch propellers. The first versions used a jet nozzle amplifier system developed by A. M. Liaaen Industrier, combined with pneumatics and hydraulics, where the jet nozzle amplifier was a complex and costly component.
The second generation BruCon thruster control is often referred to as the 631 system, since the generational versions of the controller cards ranged from number 432 to 631. The controller cards were delivered by Eidsvoll Electronics, Norway, today called EIDEL. To this day, there are still several vessels with fully functional 631 thruster control systems sailing the world.
To the left, some illustrations of the systems delivered from Volda, new pictures of older parts delivered from Molde, and below, the 1970's propulsion system and joystick delivered from Dalen, in original delivery pictures.
Moving the electronic control systems engineering in-house in Molde was a strategic decision, using components from Eidsvoll Electronics. In addition to tunnel thrusters, Brunvoll also delivered the first Black Box control system for the Retractable Azimuth thruster. The name represented the shape and colour of the controller unit.
The second generation pneumatic and hydraulic control from Volda were produced from the 1980s. These systems were developed by Technical Manager Harald Fet and are still receiving service. In the picture, an example of a serviced/produced version in Volda can be seen, with original drawings dated September 1989.
The engineers in Volda also created an inhouse electronic controllable pitch propulsion (CPP) control system with servo valve, using programmable logic controllers (PLCs) as controller units.
Mar-El in Dalen continued to deliver a larger number of propulsion control system to Ulstein, Wickmann and Rolls-Royce, and developed the Marco Joystick generations II and III.
In Dalen, the Mar-El product portfolio was expanded to also cover Main Engine Control and Steering Gear Control, in addition to CPP Control. The portfolio was also expanded to fast ferries, enabling a new adventure for Mar-El. In 1996, Mar-El was acquired by the Scana group.
In Volda, a cooperation was established with engineering firm Ose & Aarseth, which delivered the control system engineering for propulsion systems delivered from Volda. These systems were called Volda Electronic Remote Control (VERC) and used the Siemens Simatic S5 units, and therefore often passes as the S5-system. Volda Mekaniske Verksted was acquired by the Scana group in 1998.
In Molde, the Eidsvoll Electronics components were replaced for the more industrialised SAIA PCD 2, and later PCD 4, and a new third generation of BruCon emerged.
Across all sites and products, both control panels and the controller hardware got visual lifts, as can be seen in the pictures.
In this period, the BruCon 3 range is expanded with RDT control, Combi-thruster control, main propulsion thruster control, etc. The controller hardware was replaced with the SAIA PCD 3, which has been the main controller supplied from Molde well into the 2020s.
The VERC from Volda is replaced by the CPP@Control system, which builds off the latest Siemens Simatic S7 controller. The system therefore receives the common name 'the S7-system'.
In Dalen, Neptune CPP is the newest generation propulsion control system, setting a higher standard for user interfaces. To suit a wider range of segments and vessel types, Neptune Compact is developed. As the name hints, Neptune Compact is a more compact and light-weight system, tailored to vessels of less size both on the bridge and in the machinery space. The Marco V is launced as a suitable joystick control system for many vessel types.
BruCon 4, a shared propulsion, manouveuring, and joystick system sees the daylight, with combined command of multiple thruster units. The 4th version of BruCon was designed to support larger offshore DP vessels with many thruster units and more system requirements. Redundancy was implemented as a common feature for all thrusters and azimuth propulsion units. In addition, the bridge control panels were redesigned to support new trends in safety focused and ergonomic design.
The Neptune II generation supports advanced CPP control systems and was developed widely. The Neptun II portfolio included also Steering Gear and Azimuth control. Triton is the new generation of light-weight systems, with both CPP and Thruster control versions.
In 2017, Brunvoll group acquired Scana Propulsion AS, including then the capacities and competences in Volda and Dalen. The acquisition has turned out as a win-win situation for all involved.
Brunvoll is now a large firm with a wide product base for propulsion and manoeuvring of vessels. To continue to deliver world class trusted value, Brunvoll is merging their product expertise in a single product family, called BruCon.
BruCon per today includes the BruCon Propulsion & Thruster Control, BruCon Dynamic Positioning, BruCon Joystick, BruCon Autocrossing, and BruCon Condition Monitoring System, and more products are under development.
For more information on how to get the latest BruCon products onboard, see our webpage on Retrofit of Propulsion & Thruster Control Systems.
Please feel free to contact the gentlemen below for any questions about the systems above and the Brunvoll Control Legacy.
Brunvoll RDT-Thruster is ideal for vessels with high demands for comfort, or operate substantial time in DP-mode
Please contact us for more information or send us a request for service of your vessel
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