There are many kinds of workboats in the world from fishing boats, to ferry’s, to cargo loaders, dredging boats, fire fighting boats, you name it. But in all these, the ubiquitous Tugboat surely holds a special place.

We spend a lot of time here at CPI talking about “harsh duty environments” and how our waterproof pendant switches are unique in the world for their ability to address this market. Perhaps one of the very best examples of harsh duty is just one day in the life of a tugboat. These incredible floating machines come in all shapes and sizes and can be made to move ships weighing millions of metric tons. At the hands of a skilled operator, tugboats steer huge cargo ships through rivers, lakes, and oceans thousands of times every day and they do it safely without injury, loss of cargo, or damage to the other boat.

CPI Switches Provide Reliable Safety Systems for Tugboat Applications

Consider the case of the SP Amber, a 626 ton towing vessel currently in service in and around the gulf of mexico. Providing 6300 hp through two  Caterpillar 3516C diesel engines, with two, forward mounted, Rolls Royce UT-255-FP z-drives, the SP Amber was originally commissioned for LNG Tanker work, considered some of the most dangerous tug work in the world. Consider that a typical 1000 foot tanker filled with liquefied natural gas is essentially a floating bomb. As they come into port from places like Africa, they are sometimes heavily guarded by the US coast guard and overhead helicopters.

SP Amber like most modern tugs, also has a built in fire suppression capability which includes a fire fighting gun and high pressure pump that can pump water wherever its needed in a high pressure stream that can run close to 10,000 gallons per minute. This pump assembly is on a swivel and critical to safety during firefighting operations, is preventing the pump assembly from over-rotating. In this application our E1092 single pole double throw waterproof switch is used, with our simulated roller actuator and mounting bracket.

 

A Waterproof Switch Solution for Harsh Duty Marine Applications

CPI switches are used in this application because of the harsh nature of the operational environment. Our switches are made of stainless steel and the switch body and lead connections are completely sealed in santoprene or neoprene depending on your temperature requirements. Our switches are truly waterproof, not splash proof or water resistant, and they stand up to high vibration and active duty cycles with certain models having electromechanical endurance of over 1 million cycles.

Tugs keep us Safe. CPI keeps Tugs Safe

CPI waterproof switches are not strangers to Tugboat manufacturers, or the workboat industry in general. In pleasure boating as well as work boats, CPI switches get called upon when manufacturers are sick of dealing with reliability issues and are seeking their “final solution” to switch based detection in safety and other systems.

Call CPI today to discuss how our waterproof switches make workboats, work safer or visithttps://www.cpi-nj.com 

Content originally posted on: https://www.cpi-nj.com/blog/cpi-helps-tugboats-in-harsh-duty-environments/

Manufacturer’s of Skid steer loaders know that versatility and small size make these some of the most common pieces of equipment on the jobsite. They also know that operators will take these machines to the limit and so safety protocols and sensors are key to avoiding accidental property damage, unwanted downtime, or even serious personal injury to the operator.

In addition to seat belts and roll protection, most loaders feature seat bars or operator presence detection for when the operator leaves the seat.  John Deere for example uses a triple-Interlock Operator-Presence System. This system automatically applies the brakes when the lap bar is raised, the operator leaves the seat, or the engine is shut down.

Whatever the configuration of your backhoe loader, safety systems are your primary concern and CPI has sensors, that are perfect for operator presence applications in demanding vehicular environments.

Safety Switch Solutions for Operator presence Detection

CPI has provided a number of different waterproof switches into safety applications where the end result was detection of an operator in the control position. Just some ways in which our switches have been used include:

1. Seated Operator Detection – a very common application for our E1 waterproof Limit switch is in “operator-in-seat” type applications on skid steer loaders, lawn mowers, combines, tractors, you name it. Commonly employed here is our E1115 a robust limit switch with a simulated lever actuator. Completely made of high-grade stainless steel it is truly waterproof and completely customizable per electrical parameters such as button travel height and current ratings
2. Safety Handle down Detection – Another common safety system on Skid steer loaders is the safety bar that comes down as a secondary indicator of operator presence. CPI has been designed into these applications too, using our E1127 simulated roller switch for its high durability under vibration, exceeding over 1 million cycles of electromechanical endurance.
3. Pedal Switches– This application is similar in use to handle mounted where release of the pedal constitutes an emergency event on trains or forklifts. The CPI switch is ideal for these applications due to its small form factor and extremely high reliability and durability.
4. Touch Sensor backup switch– Capacitive touch sensor switches detect a driver’s hand except where the driver needs gloves or their hands are too dirty, the sensor fails. In those cases a backup dead man’s switch is provided that can use our standard, high reliability, E1 Safety Limit Switch.

A Common Set of Characteristics for Safety Applications

Whatever your safety application, CPI E1 Series Waterproof Limit switches with their many versatile mounting configurations embody characteristics manufacturers love in this application.

1. Small form factor for tight spaces.
2. Truly waterproof, not splash proof or water resistant.
3. The basic sealed switch can go into dozens of mounting and actuator configurations including roller mounting, pipe mount, simulated roller, flush mount, pcb mount and custom variations.
4. Extreme electromechanical endurance. Our basic switch has been tested to 5 million cycles.
5. Customizable travel and electrical parameters.
6. Made in the USA.

For more information on use of our E1 switches in your safety switch or operator presence detection application, call CPI today or visit https://cpi-nj.com .

Content originally posted on: https://www.cpi-nj.com/blog/operator-presence-detection-in-skid-steer-loaders/