January 11, 2022

Looking at 2021 – The Rear View Mirror that Wasn’t

Like many other USA based manufacturers, CPI had many reasons to be optimistic about 2021 back in December of 2020. A COVID vaccine was on the horizon, business was off, but continued at reasonable levels. There was lots of talk about pent up demand and lots of justifiable pride over our decisions to invest in our infrastructure during a time of great uncertainty. Yes, 2021 was going to be the year we put the pandemic in the rear view mirror and moved on to brave new worlds, or at least an extremely welcome status-quo.

And while 2021 was indeed a different and positive year in many ways, it was also more of the same. That rear view mirror remained foggy, and in some cases showed us exactly what we saw last year.

The global business environment remains challenging and despite some effort by governments and individuals, the pandemic remains with us, having gifted us with the omicron variant which made cautionary tales and behavior as necessary this year as last. Early year optimism has been replaced with more caution, and inflationary fears have become part of the conversation again for the first time in a long time. The effects of global warming are accelerating at a breathtaking pace, and cultural shifts in the work force have brought the changing work-life value systems of young workers to the forefront as baby boomers retire.

So where does that leave manufacturers like CPI? While there is no doubt that everyone is affected by global changes in the supply chain, inflation, and trade, we believe the key is to remain nimble and accepting in a fundamentally changing world. In 2021, we became part of discoverIE Group, a synergistic partnership that has proved prescient in the face of global economic changes. With access to a renewed presence throughout Europe and Asia as well as the USA, CPI solidifies its visibility in distribution channels and its resilience against market upheaval. Our centralized, US based manufacturing continues to be a tremendous competitive advantage in terms of responsiveness, with over 95% of our raw material sourced from the USA.

We continue to provide unique solutions to engineering problems through our waterproof switch, thermal switch, and draw wire sensor product lines, and in 2021 we drove hard into the green economy by targeting our sales and marketing efforts on green energy products in the electric vehicle, wind and solar markets — a trend we expect to continue into 2022.

When we look forward to 2022, we are cautiously optimistic about many of the same things we were cautiously optimistic about last year. We are especially thankful for the dedicated employees who come to work every day and take all necessary precautions to protect themselves and their co-workers. We’re thankful for our customers who kept the faith and continue to work with us to discover new and exciting applications for our products.

We’re cleaning off the rear view mirror, again, and we may finally see the things in there we expected to see last year. But regardless of what happens, CPI is looking forward. To learn more about us, please visit our website at: https://www.cpi-nj.com/

Original content published: https://www.cpi-nj.com/looking-at-2021-the-rear-view-mirror-that-wasnt/

September 3, 2021

Control Products Incorporated Announces Acquisition by discoverIE Group

East Hanover, NJ – July 6th 2021

Control Products Inc. (CPI) a leading manufacturer of waterproof switches and sensors for extreme operational environments, announces its acquisition by discoverIE, an international group of businesses that designs, manufactures and supplies highly differentiated, innovative components for electronics applications and OEM’s around the globe.

For over 70 years, CPI has designed, developed, and manufactured advanced electromechanical limit switches for both extreme duty applications and waterproof markets, as well as a full line of ultra-durable standalone thermal switches used in both military and commercial equipment. In 2000, CPI began development of an advanced, long-stroke, sub-sea capable linear position sensor for large hydraulic cylinders and accumulators which has rapidly become a go-to solution for oil & gas, and other deep-sea applications.

“discoverIE is really a perfect fit for us,” notes Mac Stuhler, General Manager of CPI. “They have a long history managing companies making the kind of innovative and unique electronic components that we do. We expect this partnership to create new markets and applications for our components, as well as much more effective European and Asia distribution.”

CPI’s core management team will remain in place, and existing commitments are unaffected by the acquisition. CPI’s strategy will continue to be focused on niche applications, where their capabilities bring maximum impact to component specification challenges. The objective of the company remains the same: to provide the highest level of service and quality in their chosen markets.

About discoverIE

discoverIE is based in Great Britain and has a portfolio of companies throughout Europe, as well as Asia and North America

The Group employs c.4,400 people and focuses on key markets which are driven by structural growth and increasing electronic content, namely renewable energy, transportation, medical, industrial, and connectivity.

The discoverIE Group is listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE Small Cap Index, classified within the Electrical Components and Equipment subsector, and has revenue of over £450m. Over the last five years, revenue and underlying earnings per share have both more than doubled.

Originally posted: https://www.cpi-nj.com/control-products-incorporated-announces-acquisition-by-discoverie-group/

July 27, 2021

CPI Chips Away at Forestry Equipment Market

CPI Chips Away at Forestry OEM’s

Another industry that has discovered the special qualities of CPI waterproof limit switches is certainly in the area of forestry equipment manufacturers. Consider the operational characteristics of your average wood chipper:

Sits out in the rain for long periods of time.
Involves the safety management of high power blades, motors, and conveyance systems.
Vibrates like crazy during normal operation
Gets very hot over long periods of continuous use
Expensive and logistically difficult to repair field failures
In close proximity to human operators…

We could go on… The point is that industrial forestry equipment presents some of the most challenging work environments to be found anywhere. This amazing high power machinery makes logging not only efficient but also safe for man and machine. Consider some of the heavy duty equipment pieces used in forestry management.

Wood and Brush Chippers – Forestry versions of these are larger and more powerful than the ones your landscaper uses, but have essentially the same operation under even more intense environmental conditions.
Harvester Forwarder – These amazing machines process a tree from soup to nuts, cutting the tree down, trimming the log and cutting it to manageable bites at the same time. These machines do the work it took 1 guy an hour to do with chainsaw and loader, in barely a minute. Check out this video:

Feller Bunchers – These large logging machines cut down trees while holding them at the end of crane, allowing the operator to stack them for later processing.
Skidders – These machines literally drag downed trees to where they can be loaded on trucks for transport. They are essentially tow trucks for trees with engines producing almost 300 hp and 1000 nm for lifting and dragging multiple long logs at once.
Forwarders – these machines are like cranes/ transports for logs, typically used to load logs onto the forwarder for transport elsewhere.
Mulcher’s – These vehicles are used to get rid of tree branches and vegetation in large scale land clearing operations but essentially grinding it into pulp! Typically the rotating blade runs at 500 or more horsepower with torque of over 2000 nm.
Grinder’s – Unlike your typical wood chipper, these 40 ton mobile factories will grind entire trees into wood pulp, for use in clearing forest area’s of debris.

CPI limit switch solutions were made for this.

A great example of our waterproof, high endurance switches in action is our E1 simulated roller mount switch, recently adopted for a brush chipper manufactured by Vermeer, one of the worlds largest makers of forestry and agricultural equipment. Vermeer engineers were frustrated by field failures of their directional indicator switch caused by water, and the general lack of real world robustness of the previous switch solution.

CPI engineers created a form-fit-function replacement based on our E1 simulated roller design. A right and left version of the switch was created and the basic sealed momentary switch was sealed in santoprene insuring the highest immunity to dirt, sand, rain, vibration, and heat.

In another application, the Brazilian company Lippel chose a similar switch for cam activated position sensing in their wood chipper application, for similar reasons of robustness. In the Lippel solution, three switches are used to detect the changing position of the cam, in this failsafe application. These switches are produced with custom lead lengths that are sealed at the switch end, making for easier assembly in production environments.

Diverse Switching Requirements, One Common Manufacturer

Forestry and Agricultural equipment from lawn mowers, to sprayers, to chippers all the way to mining shovels and backhoe’s, are just a few of the types of equipment using CPI switches in the field. Applications include:

Machine Position detection
Safely locking mechanism’s
Outrigger position detection
Hand Actuated alarms and lights
Hood open/closed detection
Door closed/open
Safety fail-safe switches
Mower deck up/down detection
Crane position detection and anti two-block.

And many more too numerous to mention. If your application requires reliable switching in harsh environments, make the switch to CPI.

Originally posted: https://www.cpi-nj.com/blog/cpi-forestry-equipment-switches/

June 25, 2021

EV Charging Stations look to CPI Switches

Volta EV Charging Station uses CPI Switches

CPI Helps Charging Stations Fulfill the Promise of Electric Vehicles

It seems like every day that goes by, electric car charging stations are popping up in more and more places. So called EV stations (Electro-Voltaic), are on a mission to make electric car usage more convenient and widespread by putting stations everywhere that people go.

The transformation to electric vehicles is slow, but make no mistake: it is happening. BNEF predicts 4 million EVs will be delivered annually by 2030, representing a quarter of all vehicles sold in the U.S.

Technical and Economic Challenges Abound in the Conversion to Electronic Charging.

All those cars will need power to run. While it is easy to plug in your car when it’s home in your garage, what if you run low on power while you’re on the road? Will there be a charging station close enough to you? Will it be “fast charge” or will you have to wait hours for your car to charge up? Typical fast charge today will still require up to an hour to bring your car to 80% capacity. That’s a big adjustment for folks used to spending 5 minutes to fill up at a gas station.

And there’s the issue of the availability of charging stations. Even if there is one installed at your local supermarket, it’s going to be subject to all manner of public abuse and neglect, not to mention being outdoors and subject to hot sun, rain, wind, dirt, and more. To do this national rollout right, we want lots of EV stations everywhere we go, and they need to be working right when we get there.

One EV charging station challenge solved by CPI Waterproof Limit Switches

Charging station manufacturers face a variety of challenges insuring the operation of their stations in the field. Recently, one manufacturer of EV stations with placements across the continental US faced a daunting problem, people! Human nature being what it is, It turns out then when people are done charging the car, they generally want to get going quickly and putting the charging cable back correctly in its holster isn’t their first priority!

To allow for more perfect and reliable charging cable holster detection, the CPI D1022 plunger switch was selected for the job. “The D1022 is really perfect for this application,” notes John Crozier of CPI’s switch engineering team, “It is a stainless steel, completely weathertight plunger with a double exclusion seal mechanism that keeps crud out of the mechanism, no matter how badly it’s abused.”

A key part of the design of this switch is its ability to over-travel. This allows for the switch to suffer a certain amount of abuse from users of the station without impacting the functionality of the switch. Inside the plunger mechanism sits one of CPI’s sealed momentary switches, completely waterproof (rated IP68) and available off-the shelf with dozens of specifiable electrical and mechanical parameters to suit every need.

One other key characteristic of the D1022 is its overall electro-mechanical endurance rating. When running at 5V, < 1A the switch is rated for over 100,000 cycles. That means that the EV station in the middle of nowhere in Kansas that you pull up to desperately in the middle of the night, will be working properly when you get there. Or at least CPI’s switch will be. Field failures of EV equipment are problematic in many respects. They create a bad brand perception, they erode consumer confidence in the viability of electric vehicles, they are expensive and logistically difficult to service, and can result in genuine human misery. With the reliability of the D1022, and all CPI limit switches, manufactures can put some of these issues in the rear-view mirror.

For more Information on the D1022, and our complete line of small form factor waterproof switches, call the team at CPI today.

Originally posted: https://www.cpi-nj.com/ev-charging-stations-look-to-cpi-switches/

April 27, 2021

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/

January 25, 2021

CPI 12v Switches For Demanding Applications

One of the most common applications for CPI switches is when they are configured as in 12v systems as safety switches, interlock switches or manually activated as when they are mounted on steering wheels of work trucks, fork lifts, even motorcycles and mountain bikes.

12v switches are commonly called for in many industrial vehicle designs for everything from horns and alarms, to outrigger proximity detectors in fire engines and backhoe-loaders. The 12V bus is standard for most power supplies and all CPI switches are rated from 5v to 28v so 12v dc operation is perfectly in our sweet spot. Furthermore these switches are fully industrial IP68 rated.

CPI Waterproof Switches are among the most durable 12v switches you will find in the world. They are truly waterproof unlike many marine switches which are simply splashproof. Our switches are fully sealed and fully submersible, sealed in either Santoprene or Neoprene, including where the leads attach. These options also allow for extended temperature ranges including cold operation down to -40F without contact sticking.

Vehicle Applications for CPI 12V Waterproof Switches

Designers select our 12V switches because their applications are usually outdoor or because they anticipate a harsh duty operational environment. Our 12V switches are rated for over 50,000 cycles (depending on amperage being switched), and are all but impervious to extreme vibration or extended operating temperatures. Here’s a few examples of our most popular 12v Switch variations.

CPI Waterproof On/Off Switches

K1005 shown with optional E1057 bracket for surface mounting.

A great example of our 12v waterproof switch line includes this K1005 rocker switch. This is a maintained contact, on/off type switch, typically available with a neoprene cover. The switch has positive tactile actuation and is available in 2 wire and two conductor cable.

This 12v switch, and all CPI 12v Switches, can be placed in a variety of mounting brackets. These brackets can allow for fixed mounting on a dashboard, pipe mounting, or flexible mounting using a hook mount for flexible operator positioning.

Custom mounting options are available from the factory.

CPI Waterproof 12v Rocker Switches

A great example of our 12v Rocker Switch in action is our K1007 SPST Maintained Rocker Switch. With our standard Neoprene seal this switch operates from -60F to 180F without issue and can be specified with current capability up to 15A or electromechanical endurance up to 5 million cycles. And don’t forget that like all our waterproof switches, the K100X series of Waterproof rocker switches is truly waterproof: not splash-proof or water resistant.

Pictured here, is our pipe mounting option.

CPI 12v Switches – Waterproof Durability

When designers don’t want to take a chance on field failures, or switch failure in critical safety applications, they often end up at CPI’s doorstep.

Call our engineering team today to discuss your application.

Originally posted: https://www.cpi-nj.com/blog/cpi-12v-switches-for-demanding-applications/

February 27, 2019

CPI Switches Solve Problems for Work Trucks

CPI switches continue to see broad acceptance across the work truck industry, for applications where manufacturers are just tired of dealing with switch failures or unreliability in the field. Work trucks have a few operational characteristics that makes switch toughness and reliability a key consideration.

Most work trucks operate continuously or at least for long hours every day, racking up wear and tear faster than other types of vehicles.
Works trucks operate outside in the rain, snow, sleet, and hail, under freezing cold, and sweltering heat.
Mechanical systems on work truck are often high power and affect human safety. Having switches or sensors that fail just isn’t an option.
The cost of repairing faulty safety switches in the field is significant both in terms of repair cost and the amount of time the vehicle is out of service.

In short, this class of vehicles was born to use CPI’s hardened waterproof switches for many of their primary operator control switches, or safety limit switch applications. In 2018, here are just some of the work truck applications our switches have been designed into.

Work Truck Application for CPI Waterproof Limit Switches

Outrigger Locking Detection– On bucket trucks, fire engines, cranes, and other vehicles that use outriggers for stability, CPI Waterproof Limit switches detect when the outrigger is full extended and locked into position.

PON/POFFApplications – On many types of work trucks, supplementary hydraulic controls require operator manipulation to turn on and off. CPI Pendant style switches are completely sealed and provide the electromechanical endurance operators need to turn on or manually control critical equipment.

Liftgate Control– A common application for our switches is to control the up and down motion of a liftgate, especially since these systems are often mounted outside, on the liftgate itself.

Dump Body Detect– Stories of dump trucks flying down the highway with the dump body up are sadly, all too real. Dump truck manufacturers need a reliable safety limit switch like our B9112 to raise alarms in the cab when the dump body is extended.

Cranes– Whether they be truck mounted cranes or full construction 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.

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.

Weatherproof Switch Panels– CPI has custom made switch panels and wiring for all kinds of vehicles who want a weatherproof, prewired option. Luckily all our waterproof switch come with panel mounting capability for use in any application.

CPI Safety Limit Switches were Made for Work Trucks…

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/cpi-switches-solve-problems-for-work-trucks/

January 14, 2019

Liftgate Engineering for Work Trucks

Liftgate manufacturers need to contend with a great many variables as they seek to make their hydraulic lift assemblies operational on the widest possible variety of vehicles. Is it a pickup truck, straight truck, van, or trailer application being used? What are body widths? Will it be a swing up platform or a stowaway gate? What ground clearance and load must it support? Will it cantilever to support uneven ground? The list of considerations goes on well beyond these and fleet managers need to consider all them when designing liftgate solutions for their work trucks.

One thing however that seems to be more agreed upon are the requirements of the platform activation switches. These are typically mounted in a fixed position on or near the liftgate. As such they are often exposed to the same conditions as the outside of the vehicle itself, namely rain, mud, dirt, wind, vibration and temperature extremes. Given the propensity for operators to ride up and down on the liftgate, they are often designed to go for the ride too.

CPI Switches and Panels for Liftgate Control

Because CPI’s switch construction is truly waterproof, not just splash-proof or water resistant, we can create assemblies out of our totally submersible basic switches and stainless steel panels that are perfect for a wet outdoor environment. Our assemblies are used in outdoor applications including lift gate up/down control, construction and mining equipment, as well as engine compartments in transit buses.

Most commonly used for liftgate control and positioning is our E1333 series dual pushbutton switch panel to raise and lower the lift gates. The E1333 provides a short behind the panel depth requirement making it usable in places where other switches can’t fit. The CPI switch also provides low assembly labor to install with its integral PEM nuts and its packard connector. Lastly as opposed to electronic switches that require power from the circuit to operate the discreet CPI switch is resistant to failures due to poor grounds and its high electromechanical endurance. In fact our “snap action” contact design has been tested to over 500,000 “contactor” electrical cycles.

Don’t worry about lead lengths either. Our switches and switch panels can be ordered from the factory at any custom lead length you need.

The ability of our switch to withstand abuse at the hands of an operator or mother nature, really sets our products apart for most outdoor applications. And with convenient custom or stock panels, there’s one less piece of engineering you need to do.

CPI Custom Waterproof Switch Panels

Switch panels come in a variety of configurations: separate circuits, in-series, and in-series with interlock (to prevent both switches from operating at the same time).

We can produce multiple switch panels that also include additional electrical components such as LED indicator lamps per customer specification.

CPI Waterproof Switch Panel Features / Options

All-stainless brackets
2- and 3-switch configurations
Custom wire treatments: wire-protecting tubing, wire restraints (tie wraps), wire tags
Switch & wire color variations available (minimums may apply)
Sealed connections available: Weatherpak, Deutsch, ITT Sure Seal

The Buck Stops with CPI Liftgate Control Solutions

Given our durability and worldwide leadership in waterproof switching solutions, it’s likely that our switches will be the last you’ll ever need for your liftgate application. Give us a call today to discuss.

Original content posted on https://www.cpi-nj.com/blog/liftgate-engineering-for-work-trucks/

December 28, 2018

Make the Switch To CPI in 2019

For the team here at CPI it’s been an exciting 2018. After a long period where companies large and small were discouraging capital investment, its safe to say that the military-industrial complex had largely recovered by 2018. We saw renewed investments in product development and design, and increased willingness by manufacturers of industrial equipment, to upgrade and expand their product offerings.

As a supplier of premier waterproof switches and unique linear position sensors, the good economic news has certainly trickled down into our supply chain. While our product line is diverse, we’ve seen an almost across the board uptick in design-ins across industries. in industry’s like oil and gas, we’ve seen renewed interest in our extreme duty linear position sensors. Our limit switches saw major design in’s Construction Vehicles, and military applications. And our thermal switches continue to find applications both inside and outside the military where only a reliable thermal switch will do.

Here’s a few Highlights:

A major British construction vehicle brand designed our J4 ball switch into their fleet of backhoe/loader vehicles in a safety detection application where reliability under extreme conditions was of paramount concern
An American manufacturer used a series of our thermal switches in a new food packaging application, saving almost $60k over the prior solution.
An integrator of wellhead platforms in Scandinavia choose our SL-2000 for a subsea linear position sensor application on a huge hydraulic accumulator used in heave compensation.
Our thermal switches were selected and qualified by NASA, for use in a unique Flow Boiling and Condensation experiment due to launch on the ISS in 2020.
Our waterproof E1 series limit switches were selected for dozens of work truck applications including first responder vehicles, bucket trucks, sanitation vehicles and more. A common application here is to sense when outriggers used on these vehicles are in the locked position.

We continue to be amazed at the diversity of applications that our switches and sensors find themselves in. It seems that when you need a no-holds-barred solution to robust waterproof switching, there are actually very few good choices in the world…(-:

Onward and Upward

We want to thank all our customers in 2018 for continuing to support our USA made products and continuing to recognize the unique value and no compromises engineered products that we offer.

And if you’re new to CPI, welcome. We look forward to new and interesting partnerships in 2019.

Sincerely,

Mac Stuhler

Original content posted on https://www.cpi-nj.com/blog/make-the-switch-to-cpi-in-2019/

December 6, 2018

Looking at Electromechanical Endurance

A common reliability acronym that applies to all types of components and subassemblies is MTBF, Mean Time Between Failure. If you’re an engineer concerned about the reliability of your switch in a hostile, demanding operational environment, then you’re worried about a type of rating called electromechanical endurance (EE).

Electromechanical endurance is usually defined in terms of how many switching operations can be performed under certain conditions before failure. These numbers are affected by a number of parameters including:

Switch Voltage Rating
Switching current (the higher the current rating, the lower the ESE)
Ambient operating temperature
Other Environmental factors (vibration, airbourne contaminants, operation underwater etc..)

So what constitutes excellent reliability for a waterproof switch, and how does a manufacturer go about achieving it?

How Does CPI Make Reliable Electromechanical Switches?

Typical endurance specifications for electromechanical switches in military and industrial applications can run anywhere from to 1 to 5 million cycles depending on the aforementioned factors. Achieving this requires tight specifications related to travel parameters and electrical requirements, carefully controlled through the manufacturing process.

Key to being able to build a switch with electromechanical endurance of over 5,000,000 cycles is an extensive knowledge of how every switch design parameter affects operational reliability at the limits. We’ve learned the hard way how electrical configuration can prevent contact freezing at low temperature; how to prevent contact chatter in vibrational environments: or how to handle startup electrical loads that contribute to early switch failure.

Key to solving these problems is the broad array of actuator, travel, and mounting configurations we have deployed into a diverse array of field applications over the years. Once our engineers have selected and designed the combination of elements that best meet the application need, then it is time to field test. Time and time again we have seen that no amount of bench testing can duplicate field trials where unforseen (and often unspecified) requirements are imposed on the design. Solving these problems finally leads to better more reliable switch operation and informs our production testing leading to more reliable parts all around.

Another key to delivering robust electromechanical switches is the reliable manufacturing and testing of custom parts in production quantities. While CPI manufactures and produces many standard parts, it is in custom manufacturing that we really excel. All our design and manufacturing is done in the USA, we do not outsource design or primary manufacturing. Not only does this insure higher quality and consistency, but we are cost competitive with switches built overseas that are bulkier, and far less robust. They are “splashproof”, and “Water-resistant”, but our sealed switches are truly waterproof.

At CPI we long ago committed to remaining a “Made in the USA” company. We think it shows.

Please contact us to discuss your application for one of our high electromechanical endurance switches.

Original content posted on https://www.cpi-nj.com/blog/looking-at-electromechanical-endurance/

Control Products, INC

Providing creative & reliable control solutions

Waterproof Switches