Hiab and Caldaro joined forces to create a robust CANopen Safety C15 joystick for HIAB Loader Cranes. While a mine might seem like the toughest environment for a joystick, the real challenge emerges when the controls are exposed to the open air — such as on a loader crane without the protection of a cabin. In these conditions, where operators work directly in the elements, a joystick that is not just robust but resilient becomes critical.
Hiab is a Swedish company that provides smart and sustainable load-handling solutions. One of their products is the HIAB Loader Crane, where the operator sits in the open air on a high seat. In the company’s early days, hydraulic controls were used, but today, they use electronic joysticks.
This means the joysticks must be adaptable to various challenges: hot spring water, icy cold snow, rain, storms, and many hours of burning sunshine. They must also withstand both very dry conditions and very wet conditions, plus the shaky transport uphill and downhill on rough roads, sometimes with salt on them.
A smaller and more ergonomic joystick was needed
In 2019, Hiab began receiving feedback from operators who found the existing joysticks too large and cumbersome. The demand was clear: a more compact, ergonomic joystick that required less hand movement. After surveying the market, Hiab identified Caldaro’s C15 joystick as a potential fit. However, despite its robustness, the C15 initially did not meet Hiab’s updated safety requirements.
”The joystick offered by Caldaro at that time could not be classified as a sufficiently safe control lever,” says Mattias Jonsson, Control System Integration Manager at Hiab. ”Our machinery directive, updated and enforced in 2020-21, required a higher safety classification — CANopen Safety.”
The importance of CANopen Safety
CANopen Safety is a protocol designed to ensure that safety-critical data is transmitted reliably, even in the presence of interference. It includes features for redundancy management, allowing the system to continue operating safely even if certain components fail. This is crucial in applications like loader cranes, where system failures can have severe consequences. There are two joysticks on the high seat, each offering three primary functions: forward-backwards and sideways movements (x and y axes), a scroll wheel, and additional buttons for various controls.
Hiab has collaborated closely with Caldaro to build upon the C15 joystick and Viper Slim handle, creating an even more robust joystick with CANopen Safety. The standard C15 joystick base has the electronics safely potted in silicone. Still, with this particular product, the Viper Slim grip also has its electronics potted despite using already well-sealed components, meaning almost the entire joystick is filled with silicone. The joystick also undergoes continuous diagnostics to monitor its performance and detect any unexpected behaviour or deviations.
Extreme tests
Hiab holds high standards for safety and robustness and has a history of exposing its products to extreme tests.
They have conducted all kinds of really extreme tests in their test chamber to ensure the C15 joystick with CANopen Safety certification will withstand all conceivable stresses. It has been tested with long cycles of fresh water spray, salt water spray, heat, and extreme cold.
Hiab has then tested the joystick in German forests with good results. ”We are done with testing and implementing the CANopen Safety C15 joystick. We are now glad to be able to offer the HIAB Loader Crane with the safest, most durable control mechanisms available,” Mattias concludes.