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Home > InfoZone > Automation > MicroswitchesOverview

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Automation
MicroswitchesOverview
Electronics
MicroswitchesOverview
Electrical
WhatAreMicroswitches?
Amicroswitchisalsoknownasaminiaturesnapactionswitch.Thetermmicroswitchisatrademarkedone,butitisalso
commonlyusedtodescribethesedevices.Theswitchesarenotableforbeingabletochangestateswithminimalphysicalforce.

Theseareinexpensivepartsthatcanfunctionforaverylongtime,withsomeofthembeingratedtoendureasmanyas10million
cyclesbeforetheybreakdown.Theswitchesareusedinavarietyofdifferentapplications,buttheirmaincharacteristicsbeing
easilyactuatedandincrediblydurablemakethemcommoninconsumerdevices,industrialapplicationsandotheruseswhere
theyenduremanycyclesovertheirlifespan.
Theseswitchesareverycommonlyemployedassafetydevices,astheyarereliable,inexpensiveandcanopenupacircuitwhen
needed,preventingamachinefrombeingturnedonoradoorfromclosingwhensomeoneisintheway.

HowDoMicroswitchesFunction?
Manymicroswitcheshaveaconstructionthatemploysawheelstationedaboveapushbuttonactuator.Theactuatoris
depressed,liftingaleverthatmovethecontactsintothedesiredposition.Mostoftheseswitchesaremomentaryswitches.This
meansthat,oncetheactuatorisreleased,theswitchreturnstoitsnormalstate.Thisisaccomplishedbywayofsprings.The
springskeeptheactuatorinpositionandthecontactsintheirnormallyclosedoropenedposition.Whendepressed,aweakerflat
springinthedevicemovesthecontacts,butismovedbackintoplacewhentheswitchisreleased.
Microswitchesmakeadistinctiveclickingnoisewhentheyareactuated,Thiscanprovidetactilefeedbackfortestingtheswitch.
Theinternalmechanismsaresimpleenough,andsecureenoughintheircasings,thattheycanbeinstalledinverydemanding
environmentsandstillfunctionreliably.Tofurtherguaranteeperformance,specificmaterialsmaybechosenforthecontactsand
theswitchescanbechosenbasedontheirabilitytorepeltheintrusionofenvironmentalhazards,whichisdescribedbelow.

Theseswitchesareusuallyprovidedwithacoupleofholesonthecasethatareusedtofastenthemtowhateversurfaceor
applianceisrequired.Theswitchesarecommonlysmall,rectangularcomponents,completelyselfcontained,thatrequireno
maintenance.Theirlowcostmakesiteasyenoughtoreplacethemwhentheywearout,whichhappensrarely,atbest.

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Microswitcheswillbedifferentiatedbytheirnormalstate,thenumberofpolesandthrowsthattheyhaveandthetypeofcasethat
theyaresituatedin.Therearedesignsthatareintendedtobeusedonprintedcircuitboardsanddesignsthatcanbefastened
intoplacewithahexnut.Thecompactsizeandreliabilityofthesecomponentsmeansthattherearemanyvarieties,asthereare
manyusesformicroswitches.

Microswitchesarealsodifferentiatedbytheirelectricalcharacteristics.Thesearesmalldevicesandgenerallyonlydesignedto
carrylowcurrentandvoltages.Therearedesignsthatareintendedtobeusedinmoredemandingapplications,however.

WhatTypeofApplicationsNeedMicroswitches?
Microswitchesareverycommondevices.Theyareusedinconsumerdevices,industrialequipmentandmore.

Oneofthemostcommonapplicationsforthesedevicesisindoorinterlocks.Thesearecommoninconsumerdevices,notablyin
microwaveovens,wherethedoorhastobeshutbeforethepowertothedevicewillturnon.

Microswitchesarealsousedinlevelingdevices,suchasthoseusedonvendingmachines.Inanelevator,thesedevicesare
usedinthedoorasasafetyswitch.Thedevicesarealsousedtodetectwhetherpaperisjammedinacopierandformyriadother
purposes.

Microswitchescanbedesignedtobeverysensitive.Suchdesignscanbeusedinverypreciseequipment,suchasthatwhich
measurestheflowofairorothergassesthroughasystem.Theycanalsobeusedtodetectpressureandtemperature.

Thesedevicesareusedextensivelyinindustry,oftenincontrolcircuits.Theyaresometimesemployedasthedirectmeansof
turningequipmentonandoff,aswell.

WhatAretheCharacteristicsofMicroswitches?
Microswitchesareverycommonelectricalcomponentsandtherearemanyvariationsonthedesign.Dependingupontheiruse
andwhattypeofconditionstheywillendureduringuse,variouscharacteristicshavetobetakenintoaccount.

ActuatorType
Thisissimplythetypeofactuatorthatactuallythrowsthecontactsinthedevice.Therearemanydifferenttypes.Buttonactuators
areverypopular,asarelevertypes.Therearevariationsonthebroadtypes,suchaslonghingelevers,longleafleversandlong
straightleversbeingvariationsonleveractuators.Therearealsorollerdesigns,springdesignsandmore.

ContactConfiguration
Thecontactconfigurationsfortheseswitchesarelikeanyotherswitch.Theyincludenormallyopenandnormallycloseddesigns
withvariouspoleandthrowconfigurationsavailable.

ContactCurrentRating

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Thisisameasureoftheamperagethatthecontactscancarry.Whilemostoftheseswitchesareusedatlowercurrentlevels,
therearedesignsthatareintendedtobeusedinhighercurrentapplications,suchasfortheactualcontrollerforanelectricmotor
oranotherdevice.

TerminalType
Microswitchesofferflexibleinstallationoptionsand,owingtotheirsize,theycanbeusedonprintedcircuitboards.Theterminal
typeoptionsareappropriatelybroad.Theyincludelugs,PCBmountsinvariousangles,screwsandmore.Someofthemounts
aredesignedtobesolderedintoplace.

IPRating
IPRatingstandsforIngressProtectionRating.Thisisameasureofhowwellthedeviceisprotectedfromintrusion.Theratings
applytoeverythingfrombodypartstospecificsubstances,suchaswaterandotherchemicals.Thisratingsystemisdesignedto
beabitmorespecificthanjustsayingthataswitchisweatherproofordescribingitwithsomeothervagueterm.
Forexample,theliquidingressprotectiononadevicecanbespecifiedasbeingappropriateforconditionswherethereis
dripping,splashing,sprayingorjettedwater.Thisallowsthedesignertobesurethatthedevicetheyreselectingissuitablefor
theconditionsunderwhichitwilloperate.

OperatingForce
ThisisusuallymeasuredinNewtons.Itdescribestheamountofforcerequiredtoactuatetheswitch.

ReleaseForce
Thisistheforcetheswitchexertswhenreleasing,alsomeasuredinNewtons.

ContactMaterial
Thecontactmaterialonmicroswitchescanbechosenbasedondurabilityrequirementsoranyotherrequirementsthatdrivethe
decision.Materialsincludegold,silver,brass,nickelandvariousalloysoftheabove.Therearealsooptionsfordifferentmaterials
tobeusedinthestationaryandmovingparts,aswellasoptionsastowhetherthematerialisdoubleclad.

MechanicalLife
Wheremicroswitchesareconcerned,theoperatinglifeoftheequipmentisgenerallyveryhigh,beingmeasuredinmillionsof
cycles,inmostcases.Consumerproductsgenerallyhavelighterdutymicroswitchesthanindustrialproducts,butthelowcostof
thesepartsmakesiteasyenoughtoupgradetohighermechanicallifeexpectancieswhenrequiredorwhenitssimplybeneficial
todoso.

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MinimumOperatingTemperature
Thisisaselfexplanatorycharacteristic.Itsimplydescribesthelowesttemperatureatwhichtheswitchcanbeexpectedtofunction
asintended.Thismaybeanissueinareaswheretheairisrefrigeratedorwheretheenvironmentiscold,butmostofthese
switchescanoperatesafelyfarbelowfreezingtemperatures.

MaximumOperatingTemperature
Thehighestsafetemperatureatwhichtheswitchcanbeoperated.Theseswitchesareverydurableandreliableandsomeof
themcanoperatereliablyattemperaturesfarhigherthanthatofboilingwater.

CaseMaterial
Microswitchesaredurable,inpart,becausetheircasescanbemadeoutofverysturdymaterials.Fiberglassandothermaterials
arecommonfortheconstructionoftheseswitches.SpecialtymaterialssuchasNitrilecanbeusedinapplicationswhereitis
required.Inareaswhereshockandvibrationmaybeanissue,materialssuchasrubbercanbeselected.Materialssuchassteel
andzincarealsowidelyavailable,thoughmostofthemanmadematerialsaredurableenoughformostapplications.

SwitchHousing
Theswitchhousingislargelyselectedbasedontheapparatustowhichtheswitchneedstobeattached.Variousdesignsare
available,rangingfromstandardizedVtypestoboxhousings,providingplentyofoptionsforinstallingtheseswitchesinvarious
devices.

WhatAreDoorInterlockMicroswitches?
Adoorinterlockmicroswitchisasafetydevice.Itprovidessafetyforthemachine,theoperatororboth.

Themostcommontypeofdoorinterlockmicroswitchthatmostconsumerswilllikelyrecognizeistheinterlockinstalledona
microwaveovendoor.Themicroswitch,ifthedoorisopen,preventsthemagnetrononthemicrowavefromoperating,preventing
accidentalinjuryduetoexposure.

Doorinterlocksarealsocommonlyseenonautomobiles.Thesewill,forinstance,soundanalertifthedoorisopen,aseatbelt
isntfastenedandsoforth.Manyofthesecanbeeasilyspottedbycheckingthedoorframe,fromwhichtheplungerona
microswitchwillprotrude.

Doorinterlocksarealsousedonverydangerousequipment,suchasindustrialmachineryandelevatordoors.These
microswitchespreventoperatorinjuryand,inthecaseofmanyindustrialmachines,theypreventthemachinefrombeingturned
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onunlessitisproperlysecured.

MicroswitchAccessories
Microswitchaccessoriesprovidethemeansoflocatingthedeviceinplace,operatingthedeviceandmore.Insomecases,they
mayneedtobechosenbasedontheconditionsunderwhichtheswitchwillbeutilized.Aswitchinanenvironmentwithjetted
water,forinstance,willneedtobeinsulatedfromthespray.Inothercases,theaccessoriesmaysimplymakeiteasiertoactuate
theswitch.

WhatAreMicroswitchActuators?
Theactuatoristhemeansbywhichmechanicalforceisappliedtotheswitchtomakeitchangestate.Thesecomeinmany
differentdesigns,frombuttonstoleversandmore.Thesearegenerallychosenbasedonwhattypeofactuatorwillworkbestwith
theapplianceormachinerytowhichtheswitchisattached.Forinstance,onacardoor,abuttonactuatorworkswell,asthe
closeddoorcandepressthebuttonandchangethestateofthemicroswitchsothatanalarmisswitchedoffandsoforth.

WhatAreMicroswitchBoots?
Aswitchbootisplacedovertheactuatorandotherpartsoftheswitchtopreventtheingressofmaterialsorforidentification
purposes.Theycanbecolorcodedtoindicatethattheswitchispartofaspecificcircuitorsystem.Theycanalsobeoutfittedwith
coloredbootstomaketheswitcheasiertolocate.

Thesebootsaregenerallyreplaceableand,giventhelengthoftimethatmicroswitchescanworkfor,theymayneedtobe
replacednowandthentoguaranteeperformance.Thesedevicescanalsobeusedtopreventsurfacesthatcontacttheswitch,
suchastheinteriorofadoor,frombeingscratchedbytheexposedactuator.

WhatAreMicroswitchCaps?
Aswitchcapismuchlikeaboot.Itgoesoverthetopoftheactuator,providingprotectionandaneasymeansofidentifyingthe
switch.

WhatAreMicroswitchHexNuts?
Hexnutsarethreadedontothemicroswitchtoholditinplace.Theyareparticularlygoodsolutionsforswitchesthataremounted
belowasurfacewiththeactuatorprotrudingabove.Theyprovideaneasymeansofsecuringtheswitchand,whenneeded,they
areeasilyremoved.

WhatAreMicroswitchLevers?

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Theleveronamicroswitchisusedtotriggertheactuator.Theyareavailableinvariousdesignsandsizes,sotheycanbeusedin
mostanyapplicationwheretheswitchneedstobemadeeasiertotrigger.

WhatAreMicroswitchTerminalCovers?
Terminalcoversprovideameansofinsulatingtheswitchagainstbeingexposedtopotentialcontaminants.Theyalsoprovidea
meanstoprotecttheterminalsfrombeingaccidentallyshortedandfromaccidentlycomingintocontactwithoperators,potentially
causingashock.

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