The design of the modern work truck is moving forward at an amazing pace. With long haul trucks, the focus has been on collision avoidance systems and advanced controls for fuel economy, but dump truck builders have long had a different focus.

For Dump Trucks, it’s all about safety.

Historically, makers of class 8 dump trucks have not exactly been “early adopters” of technology, preferring instead to allow these advances to trickle down after many years of trial by fire on long haul trucks and other vehicles. More recently however, increased safety regulations, modularized construction methods and accelerated adoption rates for technology have conspired to put more and more intelligence in the “Dumb Dump Truck” than ever before. That means an increasingly connected vehicle, with improved fuel economy, and an ever increasing focus on safety systems.

Switches Used in Work Trucks Must be Robust

It turns out that CPI switches and sensors are critical components of safety systems on dump trucks, work trucks, and many construction vehicles owing mostly to their extremely durable, and watertight operational characteristics. CPI waterproof limit switches have an extremely small pendant switch style form factor and can be mounted in a wide variety of actuation mechanisms, allowing flexible placement in machines and vehicles.  They can be sealed in either Neoprene or Santoprene making them fully waterproof and capable of extended temperature operation from -20 to 120 degrees F. And finally, the switches are capable of extremely high electromechanical endurance. CPI has qualified certain switch models to over 5 million cycles of operation.

Safety Systems In Dump Trucks and other Work Trucks

Here are just a few safety systems that have used CPI limit switches over the years along with the parts commonly used.

Dump Body Detection – Our E1092 simulated roller mechanism is mounted easily under the truck bed using one of our waterproof pendant switches like our B9112, NO switch. When the bed is raised, a circuit is completed, raising a visible (and potentially audible) alarm in the cab. This design is used for safety sensing in bucket trucks, loaders, and other vehicles that require mechanical feedback as to boom or bed position.

Cab Down Detection – This is a safety interlock switch function, which prevents the system from operating until the hood or cab is closed. While any of our E-series limit switches can be used, CPI actually makes a specific plunger style switch for this application called our J4 Plunger Switch. Originally developed for the military, this switch has an ultra-rugged design featuring a wiper seal and a plunger that can withstand 50 psi to overcome hardened-sand and ice buildup.

Neutral Safety – One of the most common safety systems in commercial vehicles is neutral safety detection. In this application, various vehicle operations are prevented until the transmission is confirmed to be in neutral gear. Commonly chosen for this is our J4 ball switch, a hardened, small form factor, stainless steel ball switch designed with our patented seal exclusion system that actually forces contaminants out of the housing every time the ball is actuated. This waterproof switch design is so reliable and robust that it was used to detect the status of torpedo doors on navy submarines.

Back Up Alarm – Another common requirement of work trucks is the audible back-up alarm which sounds when the vehicle is moving in reverse.  Our E1092 is a great example of a robust limit switch with a simulated lever actuator that is commonly used in this application. Completely made of high grade stainless steel it is truly waterproof, and completely customizable with almost countless mounting and actuator combinations available. This switch can be designed to meet operational standards for military use (B2 series) as well as heavy duty industrial applications (B3 thru B9 series). Parameters such as travel length, current rating, and electromechanical endurance are customizable. CPI has achieved endurance qualifications over 5 million cycles with this basic roller limit switch design.

Waterproof Safety Switches for Industrial Use

There are hundreds of specialized safety switch applications on dump trucks, work trucks and other industrial vehicles. Those that choose a CPI solution generally do so because they want the most reliable operation in the field that they can possibly have. When the safety of operators is on the line, why would you want anything else?

We have a vast amount of off-the-shelf options for our switches. And yet all our switches can be cost effectively customized for custom mounting and electrical parameters.

Call us today to discuss your safety switch system requirements with a product specialist. https://www.cpi-nj.com

Original content posted on https://www.cpi-nj.com/blog/dump-truck-safety-system-design/