Month: January 2018

January 22, 2018

Safety Systems on Work Trucks

The broad category of “Work Trucks” or “vocational trucks” includes vehicles from ambulances to class 8 heavy trucks weighing over 33,000 pounds . Unlike cars and your consumer oriented pickup truck, these vehicles really work for a living, and are built for a complex purpose beyond getting you from here to there.

As a manufacturer of some of the worlds most durable and reliable waterproof safety switches, CPI brings both deep and broad experience to the problems of safety system designers for work trucks. The CPI switches and sensors designed into these trucks of every type represent a small, but critically important component of overall safety system operation. Chances are no matter what safety system your vocational truck design needs, you won’t be blazing any new trails by designing in CPI hardened limit switches and ball switches.

Work Truck Applications for CPI Waterproof Switches

Here are some examples:

Emergency Vehicles – Often use our E1 limit switches for Outrigger Deployment detection to insure the stabilizer is locked into place.

Bucket Trucks – Bucket truck manufacturers have used a wide variety of our E1 limit switches as part of safety systems controlling the boom hydraulics and buckets. Our control panels have been used to provide operator control through our panel mounted waterproof pendant switches.

Agricultural Sprayers – Use our J4 ball switch to sense that sprayer arms are locked owing to its ability to withstand highly corrosive spray fertilizers.

Sanitation Trucks – Use our waterproof limit switches pre-mounted into a stainless steel control panel to control compressor and lift gate operations on the vehicle.

Cranes – Cranes of all types and sizes have made use of our E1 waterproof limit switches in anti-two-block safety systems owing to their robustness and small form factor.  They also use our J4 ball switch in hydraulic valve position detection applications using our specialized valve mounting brackets.

Forklifts and Construction Vehicles – Our operator controlled, Waterproof Pendant Switches are the perfect solutions to things like backup alarms and siren control. Or put this in any of dozens of mounting brackets we can provide and let the machine activate it. Our K1005 using our E1057 mounting bracket is a great example of this.

Military Vehicles – In applications like Door Alarms, and Neutral Safety detection, our J4 ball switch has been designed into tough vehicles for its durability, reliability, and small form factor.

Vocational Vehicles Need More Reliable Parts

On Work Trucks costing upwards of $100,000, its seems silly to take a chance on safety system sensors, with cheap, offshore produced switches.  All CPI switches are designed and made in the USA right here in our East Hanover NJ Factory. Despite this, our switches often cost less in quantity than comparable switches by Honeywell, Eaton, and Otto.

We love solving problems of safety and sensing with our switches. Please give us a call today.

https://www.cpi-nj.com

Original content posted on https://www.cpi-nj.com/blog/safety-systems-on-work-trucks/

January 12, 2018

First Responders Rely On CPI Switches

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Emergency vehicles like ambulances, law enforcement vehicles, police cars and motorcycles, and fire trucks represent some very specially designed vehicles. Packed with special equipment, and special usability requirements, these vehicles are equipped with safety systems and fail safe systems way beyond what would be needed in your average family sedan.

Because of the critical and specialized nature of the work done by first responders, one might say that “failure is not an option”. Imagine an ambulance that accidentally speeds away without the door being fully closed…or a helmet microphone that fails during a critical police motorcycle chase. Or a fire truck that becomes unstable at the scene because outriggers were not set properly.  These, and dozens of other safety systems on emergency vehicles rely on CPI switches to be there every day, under all conditions.

Ambulance Door Switch – Emergency Unlock

One great example of an emergency vehicle application is the use of our E1005-B7151 waterproof limit switch as a hidden ambulance door open switch.  Used by several ambulance manufacturers like Braun and PL Custom, these hidden waterproof switches allow operators into the vehicles when keys are not available to open the door. (You know, like when someone locks them in the ambulance…) Our switch Is mounted by manufacturers in a “hidden” area that is known only to the ambulance operators and allows them quick access in an emergency.

For obvious reasons we can’t divulge exactly where the switches are mounted but suffice to say that our B7151 waterproof switch was chosen due to its ability to withstand the elements including water and vibration, as well as its extremely high electromechanical endurance. This switch has been qualified to over 5 million cycles without failure, with variations that can handle current up to 20A (at lower endurance ratings).

Our basic B7151 switch is an industrial grade sealed pendant-style switch. It is normally open and features a high pushbutton, low actuation force configuration.  The variation above is mounted in our stainless steel E1005 surface bracket. The leads are sealed into the switch at the factory and can be delivered in any length required by your application.

Delivering Robust Switches And Sensors to Emergency Vehicles and Beyond

While just one example, our switches actually provide numerous points of interface with man and machinery in the emergency vehicle safety system space. We usually get the call when manufacturers and integrators need a truly reliable, field proven, and USA made solution.

You know, when failure is not an option.

Call CPI’s Waterproof Switch team today to discuss your application.

Original content posted on https://www.cpi-nj.com/blog/first-responders-rely-on-cpi-switches/