Searching for mini excavator with joystick "drive by wire"

[MrChuckles]

I am an amputee with no left arm, only a right arm. I can run the Kubota backhoe that I have on my tractor but it isn't too pretty. It is a challenge to do things like keep the bucket level while pulling in the dipper and bringing the boom up. I manage by moving the right stick a little, grabbing and moving the left stick a little, and then back and forth repeating like that. It works, but is awkward.


I want to buy a mini excavator. If I am going to go through with this I want to modify the left joystick so that it runs off of a pedal on the floor that acts like the joystick. In other words, if you step in the back of the pedal, the boom comes in. If you push it forward, the boom goes out. If you push down on the right side of the pedal, you get swing right, and vise versa. I think the only reasonable way to do a modification like this is with a joystick that is actuated via electrical switches/solenoids versus one that had hydraulic valves in the joystick.


My preference in a mini excavator is the Kubota KX040-4, but it has (I think) hydraulic controls at the joystick. If I am right, that eliminates Kubota from my search. Do any of you know of a machine brand that has the joystick connected to wires and switches? Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge.

[Muz]

I am an amputee with no left arm, only a right arm. I can run the Kubota backhoe that I have on my tractor but it isn't too pretty. It is a challenge to do things like keep the bucket level while pulling in the dipper and bringing the boom up. I manage by moving the right stick a little, grabbing and moving the left stick a little, and then back and forth repeating like that. It works, but is awkward.


I want to buy a mini excavator. If I am going to go through with this I want to modify the left joystick so that it runs off of a pedal on the floor that acts like the joystick. In other words, if you step in the back of the pedal, the boom comes in. If you push it forward, the boom goes out. If you push down on the right side of the pedal, you get swing right, and vise versa. I think the only reasonable way to do a modification like this is with a joystick that is actuated via electrical switches/solenoids versus one that had hydraulic valves in the joystick.


My preference in a mini excavator is the Kubota KX040-4, but it has (I think) hydraulic controls at the joystick. If I am right, that eliminates Kubota from my search. Do any of you know of a machine brand that has the joystick connected to wires and switches? Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge.

Welcome .. good to see you can operate as it is .. must be frustrating for you though ! There should be no barrier to getting the machine modified. If you think about it, the controls are only the way they are now as a result of convenience for a person with two arms. Modern servo hydraulics are the perfect answer to your problem, in that, they can be placed literally anywhere on the machine, as the supply hoses are flexible and can be routed anywhere. The difficult part is building the switches in a position that suits you, as they will more than likely have to be bespoke designed. So in that sense any modern servo operated machine should do you, your search should focus on which ones will be simplest to modify for your needs, because special brackets will need to be fabricated to hold the servo controls in an alternative position. I wonder is there a company out there that specialises in these sorts of adaptations ?

[MrChuckles]

Welcome .. good to see you can operate as it is .. must be frustrating for you though ! There should be no barrier to getting the machine modified. If you think about it, the controls are only the way they are now as a result of convenience for a person with two arms. Modern servo hydraulics are the perfect answer to your problem, in that, they can be placed literally anywhere on the machine, as the supply hoses are flexible and can be routed anywhere. The difficult part is building the switches in a position that suits you, as they will more than likely have to be bespoke designed. So in that sense any modern servo operated machine should do you, your search should focus on which ones will be simplest to modify for your needs, because special brackets will need to be fabricated to hold the servo controls in an alternative position. I wonder is there a company out there that specialises in these sorts of adaptations ?

A guy on the Kubota forum found this place for me. https://www.clockmobility.com/unique-modifications They might be able to create the mods you indicated. I will give them a call today. Thank you for your advice. I appreciate you!

[maffume]

Good luck with your search, I'm really entrigued.

[MrChuckles]

Good luck with your search, I'm really entrigued.

I am cautiously hopeful. I was also able to get a hold of my local Kubota guy who told me he had contacted the corporate engineering group at Kubota to scope out the work required to make the mods. So that option might work out. Fingers crossed.

The folks at Clock Mobility were also quite positive and have an engineering visit already scheduled for another amputee (legs gone) to check on modifying foot controls to hand controls. While they are there they are going to investigate how to convert the left joystick to a foot pedal for me. So there is another option for me to be able to run it.

I'm excited because I used to run big equipment before my electrical accident and it will feel so good to become proficient again. That will feel good if I can swing it.

Thanks everyone!

[sandy2210]

after speaking to an amputee friend of mine who drives a digger he recons that you would not have the same "finess" using a 4 way foot pedal and suggested a foot pedal for the slew which could be a simple pipe swap/ divertor valve from the boom offset pedal as the slew does not need to be so accurate and the dipper worked from the aux proportional swich on the other joystick if it is a fairly newish kubota . a couple of pipe swaps wouldmakethis a cheap and reversible option ifyou wanted tosell it or try something different

[Muz]

after speaking to an amputee friend of mine who drives a digger he recons that you would not have the same "finess" using a 4 way foot pedal and suggested a foot pedal for the slew which could be a simple pipe swap/ divertor valve from the boom offset pedal as the slew does not need to be so accurate and the dipper worked from the aux proportional swich on the other joystick if it is a fairly newish kubota . a couple of pipe swaps wouldmakethis a cheap and reversible option ifyou wanted tosell it or try something different

Yeah interesting point .. so dexterity is important relative to each function. Theres also something else though .. most valve blocks are designed with major feeds to the most required service such as boom lift / dipper /slew ... it would radically change the operation of a machine if you combined two major services on one stick ... as the pump demand would be significantly increased .. I guess thats all in the working out though

[MrChuckles]

after speaking to an amputee friend of mine who drives a digger he recons that you would not have the same "finess" using a 4 way foot pedal and suggested a foot pedal for the slew which could be a simple pipe swap/ divertor valve from the boom offset pedal as the slew does not need to be so accurate and the dipper worked from the aux proportional swich on the other joystick if it is a fairly newish kubota . a couple of pipe swaps wouldmakethis a cheap and reversible option ifyou wanted tosell it or try something different

Thanks for the informative thoughts. I will pass this along to Clock Mobility who are working on the evaluation of solutions.

[MrChuckles]

Yeah interesting point .. so dexterity is important relative to each function. Theres also something else though .. most valve blocks are designed with major feeds to the most required service such as boom lift / dipper /slew ... it would radically change the operation of a machine if you combined two major services on one stick ... as the pump demand would be significantly increased .. I guess thats all in the working out though

I can tell you guys know a lot more than I do about the hydraulics. I’d have never thought of that. Thank you.

[Arthur]

Might be worth talking to one of the car conversion companies. We have one of these fitted to our car because my wife has a paralysed shoulder so can only drive with one hand: http://www.davidrelph.com/remote-control-devices.html

The advent of CANbus technology in modern cars makes interfacing supplementary controls relatively easy but we had previous cars without CANbus and the interfacing was done with relays, which might be more applicable to diggers.

Good luck!