New Miniature Snap-Action Pushbutton Switch Offers Longer Electrical Life

ALCOSWITCH Blue Series pushbutton switches are available in single- or double-pole, double-throw configurations (SPDT, DPDT) with push on/push off or momentary function. The internal contacts are brass with a silver inlay; optional gold plating is available for signal transmission up to 60mA@30VDC. The silver inlay contacts have an initial resistance of ≤10 milliohm at 125 VAC, at 1 A at 2 ~ 4 VDC. For the gold plated version the contact resistance is ≤20 milliohm at 100mA at 2~4VDC. Equipped with the silver inlay brass contacts the pushbuttons switches are rated for up to 250 VAC at 1.5 amps for European applications and for up to 125 VAC at 3 amps for North American applications. Due to the extremely fast contact travel, the silver inlay version electric lifecycle is 25,000 at load, and 50,000 cycles at load for the gold plated version. This compares to the UL requirement of 6,000 cycles at load. The higher lifecycle of the pushbuttons means that the lifetime of a valuable piece of equipment is less likely to be limited by its electromechanical control elements.

Application benefits
ALCOSWITCH Blue Series pushbutton switches function according to the break-before-make principle.The miniaturized, innovative internal snap-action mechanism is completely different from existing pushbutton style designs. It transfers the movable contact from one position to the other with extreme speed, which helps to reduce arcing and bounce. Due to the spring-loaded action, the user will clearly feel and hear the contact transfer. This feedback is particularly helpful to meet specific human machine interface (HMI) requirements. In applications where the operator cannot typically dedicate his full attention to the control panel at all times, it is a great advantage if the HMI feedback is not solely visual, as this reduces the level of eye-hand coordination needed.. Applications that can pose this type of HMI requirement include industrial, medical, general instrumentation, communication equipment, and control equipment.
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High-quality mechanics
ALCOSWITCH Blue Series pushbutton switches with snap-action mechanism can be used at operating temperatures of between -20 °C and 80 °C. The epoxy sealed switch terminals are available either with wire lugs or in a PC board mount design. The switch case is made from UL94V-0 epoxy resin. The frame is stainless steel. Caps are available and must be ordered separately. They are available in many colors and two outer diameters.