The world is full of companies that make a conscious choice to focus on quality and engineering excellence, as opposed to mass producing low cost high quantity commodity goods. Control Products is no exception. CPI decided as a fundamental business philosophy decades ago, that we would operate under a few general principles:
The CPI philosophy has both its challenges and its rewards. For instance unless a client is already familiar with a company’s products, it can sometimes be difficult to sell the quality argument when faced with lower cost competing products whose reps will tell you that they represent “quality” too. In these cases, real quality is not understood until products live in the field for a while and get a good long look at the real world. The Real Cost Of Low Quality I had an Aunt who used to say “…cheap is just another kind of expensive”. Nowhere is this truer than in the area of engineered parts and sub-assemblies for outdoor environments. The problem for equipment manufacturers is that it is simply hard to tell the difference between a switch or sensor that will last and one that won’t. Sometimes it’s just easier to buy the cheapest piece that will do the job and hope for the best. But sometimes, that road leads to expensive in-field failures, often while equipment is still in warranty. The cost and difficulty of replacing these parts instantly becomes a headache manufacturers don’t want. Not to mention the intangible damage to brand perception that comes when large equipment fails due to small compromises in quality. At that point of failure is when many manufacturers turn to CPI for help. After the pain of failure, they’re finally ready to fully receive the quality argument. And if it’s a bit more expensive, so be it because dealing with those field failures really really stinks and no one remembers that you saved a few dollars on the switch while putting the entire machine at risk. The Reliability Road Leads to CPIHere’s a few examples of how this usually goes down:
We have collected hundreds of stories like this over the years, where customers have come to us to meet their quality requirements, after the joy of buying a cheaper part has long receded into memory. The thing is, next time, why not just come to us in the first place? http://www.cpi-nj.com Original content posted on https://www.cpi-nj.com/blog/thoughts-on-quality-when-cheap-is-just-another-kind-of-expensive/ 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.
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 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 The 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/ CPI Manufacturers a line of hand actuated pendant switches, that are completely waterproof, and designed for high vibration, high endurance applications in the industrial and military spaces. They are designed and made entirely in the USA.
It’s fair to say, these are not your mother’s pendants… The CPI switch story started over 70 years ago designing waterproof switches for the military back in WWII. That knowledge has evolved in this modern product line which see’s use in a wide variety of applications. Generally speaking, after folks get tired of in-field failures of those cheap offshore made imported switches, they end up at our door. CPI’s deceptively innocent looking pendant switches actually represent decades of switch research, field testing, and manufacturing advances that allow affordable US based mass production with incredible efficiency. These switches come in dozens of electrical configurations, with specifiable endurance ratings and contact parameters. CPI Pendant Switches – Primary Characteristics. Perhaps the most singular characteristic of this product line is simply that it’s really, really hard to break them. They are designed to last under extreme environmental use cases so as to be perfect for mission critical safety applications or operator hand actuated controls.
CPI Pendant Switch Applications The ways our clients have used our switches over the years is as diverse as your imagination.
CPI Pendant Switches are Unique Problem Solvers For Today’s Demands When the run-of-the-mill commercial pendant switches just won’t get the job done, our unique capabilities in waterproof pendant switch design might be just what you need. We’ve been making high endurance electromechanical switches for the toughest applications on planet earth for over 70 years. Is your application tough enough for our switches? Let’s find out.. Original content posted on https://www.cpi-nj.com/blog/heavy-duty-waterproof-pendant-switches/ |
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