Hooked on heavy-duty joysick controllers
Curtiss-Wright Corporation has announced that its Industrial division is supplying Penny + Giles JC8000 joystick controllers to Netherlands-based VDL Containersystemen, a designer and manufacturer of container handling systems including hooklifts, skiploaders and cable systems.
VDL Containersystemen’s ‘Classic’ control system for the hooklifts uses cabin-based air controls to operate the hydraulic main valve that drives the hydraulic cylinders. This allows the driver to operate multiple (but not simultaneous) functions, including the hooklift’s sliding arm or sliding/tilting arm. ControllerPlus is VDL’s optional dedicated hooklift control system, which has evolved from a mechanical air-controlled system to a future-proofed, electronically-controlled version with a graphical user interface (GUI) on the cabin control system.
As VDL Containersystemen continued to develop ControllerPlus, the system’s parameters changed and a robust joystick was required and, following consultation between both companies, the heavy-duty Penny + Giles JC8000 multi-axis joystick controller was specified.
Engineered with a number of high-strength features, the JC8000 joystick controller is ideal for applications in physically demanding working conditions, such as the VDL application, where operators are used to using hydraulic joysticks. Added strength is achieved by increasing body material around the JC8000’s operating lever support; increasing the lever’s diameter; and changing its pivot geometry, which have enabled the joystick to handle increased torque and improved the lever’s bending and applied loads (up to 380Nm overload on the X and Y axes and 2000Nm on the vertical).
