Marine Boat Lift Reaches a New Low, with CPI Switches

On a beautiful sunny day not too long ago, Raptor Lifts founder Jeff Troester figured it was a great day to load the family into the car and take the boat out on the lake. After spending the requisite 2 hours getting kids, towels, sunscreen, life jackets, snacks etc… together the family headed out.

They all got to the dock and loaded up the boat into the lift and lowered it, only to discover they were about 2 inches from floating. A small distance for sure, but when you think about it, it might as well be 2 miles. While his family looked on, Jeff tried every clever thing he could think of to get the boat off but nothing worked.  Plus, how would he get it back on? For want of an inch, the great family day was lost, the family piled back into the car, and ate their snacks on the way back home.

To avoid this problem over the years, Jeff paid for extra dock sections and engineered floating devices under the boat, but nothing worked consistently and all were expensive and royal pains in the *!?*$!. But as Benjamin Franklin famously said, “necessity is the mother of invention,” and it never sat right with Jeff that no boat lifts available could put a boat directly in the water without the 15 or so inches they typically require as bottom clearance. For lakeside boats in low water launch conditions, that is simply a non-starter.

Fast forward a few years later and Jeff is now the founder of “Raptor Lifts,” (https://raptorliftsmarine.com) a premiere maker of shallow water lifts for recreational boats, and the latest customer to discover CPI’s line of Waterproof Limit Switches.

CPI Limit Switches were made for Marine applications.

CPI limit switches are no strangers to the mobile lift and crane markets where manufacturers have relied for years on their unique mechanical characteristics to solve tough environmental and operational requirements. Take that durability and put it underwater, and you have a perfect description of the kind of applications CPI switches were made for.

As sensors for lift positioning and end of travel sensing, CPI limit switches are all but perfect. CPI limit switches allow customers to choose a fully sealed, truly waterproof limit switch, with a wide variety of electromechanical properties such as, button travel, maintained or momentary closure, electromechanical endurance, temperature range, and voltage and wiring configuration. This switch is then paired with one of our many stainless-steel mounting brackets which facilitate mechanical switch actuation inside of your equipment.

In the case of Raptor Lifts, the team chose the B3112 industrial grade waterproof limit switch. This switch offers momentary operation from a normally closed position but normally open variations are available as well. The switch is mounted inside our E1100 Mounting bracket which provides a straight lever actuator. When the lift moves into position, the lever is depressed, activating the switch which stops the motor.

CPI Waterproof Switch + Mounting Bracket
Almost any CPI Waterproof Switch Can be placed in our many actuator brackets.

This switch and actuator combination is run at >5A and in that environment, CPI has tested the switch to have electromechanical endurance over 1 million cycles. This means no expensive in-warranty field failures, and reliable operation throughout the life of the lift.

Give your Marine Equipment a Lift!  With CPI Limit Switches. To learn more about our waterproof limit switches, please visit our website at: https://www.cpi-nj.com/

Originally posted: https://www.cpi-nj.com/blog/raptor-lifts-with-cpi-switches/

A Heavy Duty Limit Switch with a Simple Explanation.

Taken directly from a competitor’s website, is this description of their watertight limit switch “…have internal parts that are protected against splashing or hose-directed water seepage within the limits of the NEMA specified tests for type 4 watertight enclosures. These switches are not sleet or ice-proof.”

That’s a lot of words to say, “not really waterproof”.

For engineers looking for a small form factor, truly waterproof and can’t-kill-it-with-a-hammer limit switch we offer, well…our whole product line. To break it down lets take a look at the major types of switches and switch configurations we manufacture.

Ball and Plunger Limit Switches

Our J4 series limit switches come in both a ball and a plunger variation. These have seen use in military vehicles, construction vehicles, emergency and work trucks, even submarines. These switches can be mechanically activated by a transmission sliding into neutral, or a door or hood closing, or a valve opening up and reaching the limit of its travel, or any one of a hundred other applications where size and durability were the primary concerns.

Made of all stainless steel with a patented double seal mechanism, these switches are usually the final resort of engineers who don’t want to mess around with safety limit switches who fail in the field. That’s because configurations of our limit switches have been qualified to over one million cycles.

Shown here is one of our cab down detect applications for a military transport. These applications can use our J4 plunger switch typically though many make use of our E1 series switches discussed below.

E1 Series Limit Switches

When you take one of our Santoprene or Neoprene (extended temperature range) sealed momentary or maintained contact pendant switches and combine them with CPI’s custom actuators and bracket mounting options, the result is a broad line of waterproof limit switches that can be readily configured for your specific applications, usually with an off the shelf purchase from one of our distributors. Many combinations of travel parameters, electrical configurations, roller lever or panel mounting configurations as well as our standard high-endurance capabilities are offered as standard products.

It’s Easier to say “Heavy Duty” with CPI Limit Switches.

Did we mention that our limit switches actually operate underwater? And at -40F or 220F? Here’s how we say that in our product description.

“CPI limit switches are waterproof and weatherproof.”

Easy right?

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Original content posted on https://www.cpi-nj.com/blog/a-heavy-duty-limit-switch-with-a-simple-explanation/

CPI Limit Switches – Climbing that Mounting

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Designers looking for a robust waterproof limit switch, will almost certainly run across our switches at some point. It’s that “all roads lead to Rome” thing.

Sometimes however, its not just the stainless steel, high electromechanical endurance aspect of our switches that wins the day with engineers and OEM’s.

Sometimes, it’s about how easily and flexibly our limit switches can be mounted into an application and how many different types of actuation we support. With over 70 years’ experience designing switches for demanding engine compartment, cab, door, cockpit and valve applications to name just a few, we’ve developed a set of low profile, hardened mounting and actuator combinations that fit into almost any contraption out there. Think “off-the-shelf”.

Waterproof Switch Mounting Brackets

A picture is worth 1000 words. Check out a few examples of the thousands of mounting configurations we support with off-the-shelf mounting hardware and actuators. Almost any of our sealed pendant switches can be mounted in this hardware, making this one of the most flexible waterproof switch configurations in the world.

Surface Bracket With Momentary Switch

Waterproof switch mounting bracketPictured here is our E1008 surface bracket used with any of our B series Momentary Waterproof Switches or K Series Waterproof Rocker Switches. This two-piece assembly is made of 304 stainless and welded together for a rock solid, flat surface mounting. A reverse mount option (E1005) isalso available.

 

Right Angle Mount with Simulated Roller

Waterproof dump body limit switch (E1092)In this application our B9112 switch uses a simulated roller actuator to detect mechanical closure for anything from a truck door to a dump body. The mounting bracket is our standard stainless steel right angle mounting bracket. The switch internals are held inside the bracket, sealed in Santoprene including lead connections which can be ordered in any length. The switch itself can be any of our momentary or maintained waterproof pendant switches.

Pipe Mount Rocker Switch

Pipe mount Pendant SwitchOur curved metal pipe mount bracket is easily secured to a wide variety of common pipe diameters. Shown here is our K1007 Maintained Contact Rocker Switch. With our standard Neoprene seal, this switch can operate from -60F to 180F without issue and can be specified with current capability up to 15A or endurance to 5 million cycles at lower amp ratings.

 

Angle Mount with double simulated roller Actuator

dual action waterproof switch mounting bracketIn this configuration, any two of our low profile momentary or maintained pendent switches can be used to create redundant, or complementary sensing of mechanical actuation. All lead connections are sealed within the neoprene coating.

 

Waterproof Roller Limit Switch

roller limit switch on angle bracket, waterproof switchRoller limit switches of varying angles can be used in many of our bracket configurations including both flush mount and angle mount housings. These switches see diverse usage as safety limit switches for doors, hatches, outriggers, cranes, emergency vehicle systems and much more.

 

Did we Mention Custom?

If after all this and more, you still don’t have the bracket or actuator you need, our custom design team is standing by to tweak a high performance switch exactly to your needs. Our switches are all IP68 rated and Military and Space Qualification documentation can be made available for most switches.

Give our engineers a call today to discuss your application.

Original content posted on https://www.cpi-nj.com/blog/cpi-limit-switches-climbing-that-mounting/

 

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/

CPI Switches Won’t Kick The Bucket On Bucket Trucks

CPI Limit switches for outrigger safety

In vehicles requiring added stability during operation such as cranes, bucket trucks, backhoe’s, fire trucks, and all kinds of powered lifts, it is common to use an outrigger mechanism.  Typically, hydraulic, outriggers can provide additional “legs” to a vehicle, making it less likely that extreme loads at odd angles will create a situation where both man and material is put in jeopardy.

fire truck outrigger safety limit switch

Outrigger limit switches for safety by CPI

Some typical outriggers are shown above.  In some cases the position of the leg is variable like on a backhoe, and locking is a function of the integrity of the hydraulic system.  Operation of an outrigger in other vehicles involves the extension of the leg into a fixed position for maximum stability either by mechanical motor or even man made movement. If the leg is locked, certain operations can proceed, otherwise a warning light is typically activated and this safety indication may even be wired to prevent operation of the crane or lift until locking is verified.

CPI Waterproof Limit Switches on Outrigger applications

Major manufacturers of lift equipment and bucket trucks have tended to gravitate to CPI waterproof limit switches over the years, owing to their reliability, and the ease with which they integrate into the outriggers used on this equipment.  Many times, this isn’t their first attempt at a solution, rather an attempt to replace low reliability parts suffering a high rate of in-warranty field failures.

Versalift Bucket Trucks

Versalift Bucket Truck using CPI Limit SwitchesVersalift Chose our E1092 limit switch as outrigger locking detection on their line of articulated telescopic “bucket trucks”. The customer evaluated our switch for over 3 months in a phased rollout. Ultimately they realized significant improvements over what they were using before saying “Your switches work very well, easier to install, and no field complaints.” Versalift is now moving into broad production deployment using our switch

Dur-A-Lift

In a similar application, Dur-A-Lift has also chosen the E1092. One of the primary design advantages of the E series limit switches from CPI the ease of application compared to off the shelf parts from other manufacturers.  With CPI switches the entire assembly is provided to your specifications including  the wire leads, harness, and termination/connector.  All sealed and ready for installation insuring 100% waterproof performance right from the factory.

The Advantages of a CPI Waterproof Limit Switch In Outrigger safety detection

CPI’s E1092 Interlock SwitchThe E1092 is a great example of a robust limit switch with a simulated lever actuator. 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.

Original content posted on https://www.cpi-nj.com/blog/cpi-switches-wont-kick-the-bucket-on-bucket-trucks/

Industrial Farm Equipment Looks To CPI Ball Switches

Hagie Sprayer uses CPI Ball Switch

Like so many other manufacturing and production industries, automation has become a key part of the economical growth and harvest of agriculture across the United States. Essential to this growth are the large sprayers used to spread fertilizer and crop protection compounds across large swaths of plants covering thousands of acres of rolling farmland. In the past, the choices for a farmer were not great: either hire hundreds of workers to spray crops by hand, or hope it is a bad year for Japanese beetles. With margins on most produce being so low, profitable economies of scale can only be achieved by having maximum yield on acreage.  Without it, one bad year of beetles, can make another tract of farmland into Condo’s.

In 1947, Hagie Manufacturing took on the challenge of large scale farming and invented the world’s first self-propelled sprayer.  Today Hagie has partnered with John Deere to engage globally in the sales and manufacturing of self-propelled sprayers, detasslers, nitrogen toolbars, cutter and puller attachments.

Hagie Boom using CPI J4 Ball SwitchOne of the key features of Hagie sprayers is their long hydraulically controlled booms which can spread out on either side of the cab, yielding a wingspan of up to 132 feet!  Critical to operation of these booms is that they travel to a locked position so that liquids are sprayed evenly and accurately.  To provide closed loop feedback on the mechanical locking mechanism, a limit switch is typically used which is activated when the boom reaches its locked position. The problem however, is that these switches must be deployed in an area completely exposed to outdoor conditions on the boom including sprayed compounds like Urea Ammonium Nitrate (URN) which has excellent properties as a fertilizer when mixed with water. Unfortunately, it is also highly corrosive to steel over time and Hagie had difficulty finding a limit switch for this application that did not ultimately degrade, and require expensive field repairs.

A High Endurance Limit Switch for Farm Equipment and Vehicles

J4 Ball Switch for Farming Equipment

CPI’s High Endurance J4 Ball Switch, Thread Mount

Hagie’s chosen solution for detecting the locked status of their boom turns out to be none other than our J4311 Ball Switch. Hagie worked closely with CPI engineers to develop a variation of our proven design that was hardened and sealed specifically for Hagie’s application.  The J4311 is a normally open switch with screw in mounting from a .625 – 18 UNF-2A mounting thread.

Our J4 ball switch is a much sought after solution to limit and safety switch feedback applications owing to its incredible resistance to environmental contaminants, shock, vibration, and its electromechanical endurance rating of up to 1 million cycles.  Originally designed for demanding military applications the J4 Series switches replace standard ball switches in mission critical applications, where harsh environments cause high failure rates.  Our J4 ball for Hagie was customized to use a fully corrugated loom covering the switch and the wiring as well as termination in a custom Deutsch connector. CPI can modify our J4 ball switches for appropriate lead lengths, terminations, and electrical and endurance parameters so that you are shipped a part that plugs directly into your application

CPI High Endurance Ball and Plunger Switches for Your Application

In the world of agricultural equipment and vehicles, wet and wooly deployment scenarios with corrosive compounds are a fact of life. But whatever your application, if the words “tough”, “corrosive” or “exposed” describes your environment, then our J4 series Ball and Plunger switches may be the solution for your closed loop safety switch or limit switch requirement.

Call our engineering team today or visit our website at http://cpi-nj.com

Original content posted on https://www.cpi-nj.com/blog/industrial-farm-equipment-looks-to-cpi-ball-switches/

Waterproof Switches and the Commercial Marin Industry

Waterproof Switches Made for the Commercial Marine Industry

People who work for a living on Commercial Fishing boats tend not to mince words…

I mean really, why should they. The fact is that commercial fishing is one of the most dangerous jobs in America. The bureau of Labor Statistics ranked commercial fishing as the job with the highest fatality rate in the country with 141.7 deaths per 100K, almost 75% higher than the fatality rate for pilots and flight engineers. (the next highest on-the-job fatality rate). The injury rate for crews is nearly 100% due to weather conditions, working on heavy machinery on a rolling deck. In other words if you work long enough on a commercial boat you will get injured, its virtually a guarantee.

That’s why commercial boat manufacturers aren’t interested in messing around with the reliability or operational toughness of their onboard electronics and machines. Their clients wouldn’t stand for it. Sitting in a gale, 100 miles offshore in the dead of an Alaskan Winter with half a million dollars of King Crab on board, is a bad place for your electronic control systems to take a vacation.

Here at CPI we believe our waterproof marine switches were simply made for the commercial marine world. Consider the following real world switch failures and you’ll understand how critical a robust, truly waterproof marine switch can be. And incidentally, all these applications are places CPI switches have already proved themselves.

Waterproof Marine Switch Panels

Flexible mounting options for our many switch types include a standard panel mount variety. But unlike the switches used for recreational boats, our waterproof switch panels contain completely sealed switch electronics which have been qualified to 5 million cycles and can meet almost any electrical, mechanical, or endurance requirements. Typical examples of these switches include panel mount versions of our momentary and maintained pendant switches and our D1040 Panel Mount Waterproof Plunger switch.

Winch or Crane End of Cable Safety Limit Switch

Winches and/or cranes are standard on most commercial boats and a limit switch typically manages end of cable detection. It is all that stands in the way of a snapped cable, lost payload, or a dangerous and dynamic on-board crane failure

The CPI J4-Series Limit switches have been designed into dozens of land and sea based cranes for exactly this purpose due to their environmental hardness and endurance. Both lever type limit switches and our robust roller limit switches can be used depending on the design.

Flow Control Systems

One of the less glamorous jobs of a good limit switch is monitoring valve position for onboard bilge systems or lavatory system holding tanks. Failure here is more foul than fatal but our J4 Series Ball series often get the job owing to their solid steel construction, double seal design, and overall electromechanical endurance.

Hatch Open/Closed Detection

Another application for CPI J4 Plunger Switches is to reliably detect the status of watertight hatches. We have it on good authority that a few of these switches are responsible for telling US Navy submarine commanders whether their torpedo doors are fully open or closed. Either ball or plunger switch variations of our J4 Limit Switch are used for this depending on design constraints. Custom mountings can be fully specified for the basic switch assembly which is small, tough, and extremely reliable.

About Control Products, Inc.

Control Products, Inc. (http://www.cpi-nj.com) has been manufacturing a broad line of high quality waterproof and thermal switches since 1946. The company acts as an extension of its customers’ engineering departments providing full compliance testing and certification as required. CPI waterproof switches are designed to operate reliably when exposed to water, oil, humidity, sand, dirt, vibration, and shock. A building block system of basic switches, mounting brackets, and actuators provides a broad array of application solutions, perfect for marine switch applications.

Call CPI today for your truly waterproof switch solution and more.

This content was originally posted at www.cpi-nj.com.

What is a Limit Switch?

Applications for CPI limit switches are often safety related or critical to the performance of a machine where failure would be catastrophic. (or catastrophically expensive to fix…) Add requirements such as 5 million electro-mechanical cycles, precise actuation points, and a hostile operational environment and you’ve found a home for a CPI limit switch.

Typically customers seek us out for a difficult application where requirements could not be met by the existing suppliers. In some cases previous design opportunities that went to a cheaper offshore solution, return to us when it becomes clear that quality controls, and electromechanical performance will not meet requirements. How quickly the joy of low pricing is overtaken by the grief of high failure rates and poor performance..)-:

Extending the performance of electromechanical  limit switches.CPI engineering excels at extending the performance of limit switches by practicing one primary thing: a fanatic devotion to customer service. For limit switches this means discovering all of the parameters critical to the application, and testing the parts in the field. After 60 years of doing this, the CPI engineering team understands a few things about taking limit switches to the limit.

  • What is the complete picture of the electrical load on the switch (resistive, inductive, current, voltage, impulse current)
  • Circuit type (Normally open/closed, SPDT, DPDT etc…)
  • Electro-Mechanical endurance – how many full travel actuations, how many partial.
  • Electrical Endurance – how many cycles, typical duty cycle.
  • Travel parameters – specification of pretravel, overtravel, actuation point, differential.
  • Actuator Style – Plunger, lever, roller, ball, etc..
  • Mounting and packaging requirements.

Coupling our extensive knowledge of limit switch customization with a robust internal project management process affords CPI a competitive advantage when it comes to limit switch design. Add to that our commitment to USA based design and manufacturing, our small and nimble size, and our dedicated support and we firmly believe there is no better partner for your engineering team.

Make the switch to CPI today, call our engineering team to discuss your limit switch design requirements.  Visit our website’s limit switch product page for more information.

http://www.cpi-nj.com