[Whippet]

Originally Posted by lokistormbringe

We are using java. The current code runs the throwing arm at full until the top switch is hit and them slowly reverses it back into place

Alright. I'm not too good with Java, but I think the pseudocode for such an operation would look something like this:

if(stick.getRawButton(Trigger) == true){
arm.setSpeed(speed);
timer.Delay(time);
arm.setSpeed(0);
}
else {
arm.setSpeed(0);
}

where the variable Time is equal to how long your arm needs to be run, Speed is the power you are applying to your arm, and Trigger is the appropriate button on your joystick. Sorry if this is incorrect, I use LabVIEW and just started learning Java this weekend, but I *think* with some tweaking, this should be what you want.

EDIT: This is for a strictly timing-based solution like SenorZ suggested. I am as yet unsure of how to get the values from limit switches.