CAROL STREAM, IL - Virtual reality is today a key tool for New Holland Construction's Product Development engineers when designing new machines and components. New Holland Construction benefits from the use of two Virtual Reality Centers: one in Burr Ridge, Ill, and a second one, which recently opened in its manufacturing plant in Turin, Italy.

This cutting edge technology, which was used in the development of the latest cab upgrades for New Holland's skid steer loaders and telehandlers, enables product development engineers to test new design through the use of interactive 3D simulations. CAD (Computer Aided Design) technical drawings are converted into 3D models, which are projected on a massive screen. The engineers can interact virtually with the images and move "within" the virtual model.

The benefits of this system are manifold. It accelerates the process of prototype testing of new products, as it eliminates the need to build physical prototypes until the very final stages of development. It also enables engineers to test in real time the effect of changes in single components on the whole machine, carry out ergonomics studies and share the project with colleagues from different departments to reach the virtual validation of the model before launching the final prototyping phase. An intensive lab and field testing program follows before the product engineers sign off on the new product and full production can begin.