Monitoring Equipment Temperature is a SnapStat with CPI Switches

Almost every large commercial machine with an engine or motor of some sort has a system for monitoring temperature. Critical systems that are thermally controlled can be designed to shut down or throttle operation to prevent system failure or deliver cooling fluids that bring operation back into nominal ranges. In every case these switches must be trusted to prevent compromised safety situations which can cause damage to both man and machines.

Depending on the operating temperatures involved, CPI’s Thermal switch products are a go-to solution for hundreds of thermal monitoring applications around the world. Our line has evolved over 50 years to include three distinct thermal switch technologies that can accurately switch at precise setpoints from -20F to 1750F.

SnapStat Thermal Switch Applications for Harsh Environments

For operating conditions in the 0 to 300^o F degree range, CPI has a product line known as “SnapStat” which has been used in hundreds of harsh duty thermal monitoring environments.

Just some of these include:

1. Galley Fire Detection – our switch has been used to detect the conditions on a ship galley’s which could cause fire and activate warning lights or sirens.
2. Avionics equipment bay temperature Monitor – In this application our switch makes sure the overall temperature of the LRU bay stays in acceptable limits.
3. Food Processing Equipment – Items like Fryers and portable ovens have used our switches to monitor critical thermal limits in commercial cooking equipment.
4. Engine Oil Over Temperature – In equipment from Jets to Generators, CPI SnapStat thermal switches have been used to monitor oil temperature and activate safety systems prior to engine overheating.

A Versatile, Affordable solution to Over-Temperature Monitoring

The SnapStat switch is a close tolerance, bimetal type thermal switch made from all stainless steel and an option for a hermetically sealed design. The nature of the bimetal design makes it extremely resistant to high vibration, extremely accurate and the option for glass sealed, pre-soldered wiring of any length, makes it easy to integrate into your application.

Mounting options are equally flexible

• Surface Mount
• Flange Mount with Probe
• Thread Mount
• Clamp Mount

We can even custom design a custom mounting for your application.

For over 50 years CPI has been providing robust thermal switching solutions into robust thermal applications.  Give us a call today to discuss your design.

When Smoking is a Good Thing

If you work at TARDEC (the Tank and Automotive Research Development Center) you pretty much spend all day thinking about how to increase the survivability of ground vehicles during combat operations.

In fact, the folks at TARDEC have created a nice metaphor to explain levels of survivability on the battlefield using none other than your garden variety onion. The metaphor works well when you consider that peeling back the layers of an onion, is not unlike the enemy peeling back your defense mechanisms in a ground vehicle. See the graphic below:

Falling somewhere between “Don’t Be Acquired” and “Don’t Be Hit” is the use of battlefield smoke generators. While not a new idea, these generators have grown in sophistication over many decades and are part of the defensive arsenal of many military vehicles in use today, particularly tanks.  By deploying plumes of thick smoke, vehicle operators can obscure line of sight vulnerabilities. If enemy fire misses you as a result, well an inch can be as good as a mile.

Making Smoke Reliably Requires things to Get Hot.

Recently when (TARDEC) needed a thermal switch for a new battlefield Smoke Generator System they came to Control Products Inc.

To make smoke on a tank, a small amount of oil is dropped into the hot exhaust of the vehicle.  As the oil burns, smoke will billow out the exhaust. The driver can then move in a random pattern to create a wider smokescreen, ultimately obscuring the movement of the vehicle. The oil based smoke is heavy and stays close to the ground for a period of time, which is critical to allowing the vehicle to get under cover.

CPI actually has long experience with this application, having provided thermal switches for the older M157 Smoke Generator designed used on variations of the HMMWV. This previous configuration of the Smoke Generator System used both a CPI M2 style thermal switch as well as our X2 style switches.

In the new system CPI X2 series high temperature thermal switches are used. These thermal switches will be mounted directly inside the engine exhaust and programmed to activate the oil injector system at 300F.  But the military’s requirements don’t stop there. As the temperature in the smoking exhaust increases, the switch will then need to survive temperatures up to 1300F afterwards.

Our X2 series “Rod and Tube” thermal sensor is perfect for this application having an operating temperature range up to 1750F, and a design for high durability and survivability.

In our rod & tube thermal switch design, the outer tube expands at a faster rate than the inner rod allowing for movement of one set of a spring & contact assembly towards another set. Setpoint temperature is calibrated by position of the calibration screw which moves the position of the spring & contact assembly opposite of the moving contacts. Electrical circuit configuration is determined by use of insulators. In our MIL connector designs, the terminal screws are replaced with an inner pin and wire assembly that are connected to related terminals on the MIL connector.

Switch variations include close-on-rise, open-on-rise, and close-on-fall behavior to fit any system requirements.

For More information on this or any of our military grade switching products, please contact CPI’s Thermal Switch engineering team through our website at https://cpi-nj.com

Original content posted on https://www.cpi-nj.com/blog/when-smoking-is-a-good-thing/.