CPI Manufacturing Investments Fix What Ain’t Broke

 

Almost since the beginning of our company history, CPI made a decision to build products in our USA factory here in East Hanover, New Jersey. The implications of this decision were significant, but it was a decision from which we never wavered. With design, engineering, manufacturing, and support under one roof, it was possible to make products that were of extremely high quality, quickly made, and reliably reproducible. Our products were not subject to the vagaries of manufacturing in low cost geo’s and the accompanying quality, delivery, and raw material compromises common to that business model.

Despite our products being unique in the world in terms of their durability and hardness for extreme applications, that is not to say that price pressure from lesser offshore made parts, did not exist. While CPI broke ground almost every year in streamlining our manufacturing and lowering production costs while preserving our part quality, the fact is that better made things simply cost more to make. For some customers whose equipment was more cost sensitive, the true cost of that competitors offshore part was not always known until expensive failures in the field brought them to our doorstep.

In 2020, with so much of capital investment on hold, and in the middle of a global pandemic, CPI has once again made a brave decision. With a significant new investment in manufacturing equipment, we have again made our parts less expensive to produce, without compromising their singular quality one bit.

Wire Processing System for Waterproof Limit Switches

Existing CPI customers are well acquainted with our integrated wiring harnesses, allowing our switches to be made with any lead length, the ends sealed into the part for perfect waterproof performance and the other end terminated in any connector type required.

The process here is now made faster and easier with the introduction of the Megomat automated wire processing system. The Megomat cuts/scores/strips wires, applies marking, installs a connector seal and crimps terminals.  This system not only brings higher through-put and reduced cost, but it is also capable of monitoring crimp force as well as wire quality.

Laser Welding System replaces Traditional TIG welding

For decades, we have utilized precise fixturing and control to optimize our tig welding process in the production of our thermal switches.  Applying the right energy is a balancing act between achieving optimal weld penetration (strength) and not overheating the assembly, especially in the case of glass-sealed terminal headers.  In response to a very demanding plunger switch application on the LTAS (Long Term Armor Strategy) vehicle, part of the FMTV program, CPI Engineering developed a wiper seal design, which was integral to the mounting bushing.  The cap and body design which incorporated the wiper, or exclusion seal required the precision and control of a laser welder.   The precise energy pulse control afforded by the laser provided even greater weld strength capability than the tig weld, and at much lower temperatures.  This benefit has been migrated to our M2 thermal switches as well.

CPI Won’t Ever Be Done Improving

CPI has never adhered to the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” mindset. Our engineers are constantly encouraged and supported in their work to improve all our technology.  As a result we’ve moved into other emerging technologies like 3d printing, and advanced metallurgical design. This comes at a cost, but in 2020, it’s a cost savings and it benefits all our customers.

This blog is originally posted here: https://www.cpi-nj.com/blog/cpi-manufacturing-investments-fix-what-aint-broke/