CONTROL UNIT FOR A HYDRAULIC SYSTEM

The present invention relates to a control unit (24) for a hydraulic system (16), the hydraulic system (16) comprising a hydraulic actuator (18) which in turn comprises an actuator chamber (26), the hydraulic actuator (18) comprising a first actuator portion (30) and a second actuator portion (32) wherein the first actuator portion (30) can move relative to the second actuator portion (32), the actuator chamber (26) being in fluid communication with a flow rate control arrangement (34) adapted to control a rate of flow from the actuator chamber (26). According to the present invention, the control unit (24) is adapted to: receive a load signal indicative of the magnitude of the load (L) applied to the hydraulic actuator (18), which load (L) is determined to impart a pressure in the actuator chamber (26); receive a requested speed signal indicative of a desired relative speed of movement between the first actuator portion (30) and the second actuator portion (32) in a direction that reduces the chamber volume;