844 the Miniature Heavy Duty Joystick

The extremely compact finger joystick 844 by MEGATRON offers features otherwise only found in the heavy-duty sector. Its robust metal mechanics, high EMC resistance and extremely low installation depth make it the ideal joystick for flat operating panels in industrial and mobile hydraulic applications. 

With a housing depth below the panel of less than 20 mm, the robust and durable joystick blends easily into confined spaces. The mechanical design of the joystick is unusual for this size. Its metal omnidirectional mechanism has a robust ball socket joint on which the forces of the shaft are dissipated. This construction is particularly resistant to vertical shocks. In addition, the mechanism resists high pulling and shearing forces (up to 400 N from above) that can occur during operation. These features are otherwise only found in large heavy-duty joysticks. The joystick comes standard with a centre tap or centre detection and offers a mechanical life expectancy of 10 million movements (5 million on 3 axes).

The configuration options of the finger joystick are extensive: The user can choose between versions with one to three axes and up to 3 push buttons as well as between many handle designs and various mechanical and electronic options. Due to the internal magnetic shielding, the joystick has a high ESD and EMC resistance and is also available in redundant electronic versions for particularly safety-relevant applications. It can be used in a wide temperature range from -25 °C to +70 °C and achieves a degree of protection of up to IP65 depending on the handle type.

Thanks to all these features, the joystick is suitable for a wide range of applications. Starting with applications that require a very robust and compact joystick, such as professional camera control systems, through to robot-based TV inspection systems for sewer and manhole inspection, and sensitive, safety-critical applications in medical technology. But the joystick also retains its consistent quality wherever the shaft is subjected to frequent actuations such as those that occur in monitoring systems.

In addition, MEGATRON offers numerous additional options and adaptations for the 844 joystick, which can be implemented on request, such as cable assemblies, customer-specific handle variants and special output options such as PWM and much more.