Rapid Assault Tools Facilitated by Rapid Prototyping.

 

In the continuing annals of applications we could never have imagined our waterproof switches being used for, comes the story of Rapid Assault Tools.

If you’re a police officer, a special forces unit, or firefighter, getting through a locked door is part of the job description. A quick viewing of any number of television shows centered around the police will eventually feature this moment as our hero’s break into a house or structure to confront and subdue a suspect. In these sequences the police often use a small manual battering ram. This is literally just a heavy metal cylinder with handles that is manually operated. By swinging it at the door lock area with enough force, the door bolts are literally ripped out of the door frame and the door swings open. While this technique is fairly simple (and dramatic if you’re a TV producer) and works much of the time on wooden door installations, its not nearly as reliable on metal door installations or heavier security type doors with multiple deadbolts and stronger frames.

In these situations, police or military teams have another option that doesn’t involve explosives. Powered hydraulic door blasters can be employed, that are portable and generate more breach power than swinging a manual ram could ever generate. Used by police and firefighters around the country these hydraulic rams generate more consistent and reliable breaching power and are useable on almost any type of door. They have the further advantage of being much quieter and faster to deploy than explosives. The power for the hydraulics comes from a battery and a hydraulic pump that is carried in a backpack. A single person can operate the breacher, and various models can generate almost 15,000 lbs of instantaneous force to pry a door open. They can even be operated remotely after placement, a huge tactical advantage for breached entry into a hostile environment.

Dual Acting Hydraulics

The better breach tools incorporate dual acting hydraulics. That means a single hydraulic activation powers a cylinder that simultaneously spreads the door frame, while another acts to drive the door open near the lock cylinder. For this application, two separate hydraulic cylinders are employed as shown. The ram cylinder connects to a small hydraulic pump in the backpack, which drives the spreader cylinder as well. The cylinder can be adjusted for various door widths and locks into place allowing the spreader to fire with one end fixed.

To satisfy the client requirements, CPI provided 2 of our B7 series waterproof switches used for control of device. In this application, the switches were provided as part of a switchplate assembly that was printed in house using our 3D printer technology. By using this technology to quickly develop the prototype switch panel, the entire remote assembly could be proven, fitted, and deployed in short order.

The panel mounted B7 switches are a robust solution for ram control, chosen because of their super reliable performance characteristics, as well as their high electromechanical endurance.  These switches can be purchased with a 50,000 cycle rating when running at 12V, 1A, even more when running at 5V. Parameters such as actuation force, button height, actuation contact state, lead length, temperature range and more are all specifiable in our B-series switches. And of course, they are all fully sealed and truly waterproof, not just water resistant or splash proof.

It seems that CPI switches have been breaching a lot of new applications lately. With our USA based manufacturing and rapid prototyping capability, we can help you quickly assess the suitability of our switches for your application. 

Call us today. https://www.cpi-nj.com

This blog was originally published at: https://www.cpi-nj.com/rapid-assault-tools-facilitated-by-rapid-prototyping/