Introduction

There are thousands and thousands of switch applications found in home and industry. Hundreds of electrical switches work for you everyday to perform functions you take for granted. Some switches operate by the touch of a finger and many others are operated automatically.

Switches are used in the home to turn off the alarm clock, to control the stove, to turn on the refrigerator light, to turn on and control radios and televisions, hair dryers, dishwashers, garbage disposals, washers and dryers, as well as to control heating and air conditioning.

Industry uses switches in a wide variety of ways. They are found in the business office on computers, copy machines, electric typewriters, and other equipment. A factory or shop may use thousands of switches and they are found on almost every piece of machinery. Switches are used on woodworking machinery, metal working machinery, conveyors, automation devices, elevators, hoists, and lift trucks.

Switches are designed to work in many different environments from extreme high pressure, as in a submarine, to extreme low pressure, as in a spacecraft. Other environmental conditions to consider are high or low temperature, rapid temperature changes, humidity, liquid splashing or immersion, ice, corrosion, sand or dust, fungus, shock or vibration, and an explosive atmosphere.

It would not be possible to describe all the different switches used. This chapter will describe the most common types of switches.

Manual Switches

A manual switch is a switch that is controlled by a person. In other words, a manual switch is a switch that you turn on or off. Examples of common manual switches are a light switch, the ignition switch on a motor vehicle, or the channel selector on a television. You may not think of the channel selector as a switch that you use to turn something on or off, but that is what it does. The channel selector is used to turn on the proper circuit and allows the television to receive the channel you have selected.

Automatic Switches

An automatic switch is a switch that is controlled by a mechanical or electrical device. You do not have to turn an automatic switch on or off. Two examples of automatic switches are a thermostat and the distributor in a motor vehicle. The thermostat will turn a furnace or air conditioner on or off by responding to the temperature in a room. The distributor electrically turns on the spark plug circuit at the proper time by responding to the mechanical rotation of a shaft. Even the switch that turns on the light in a refrigerator when the door is opened is an automatic switch.

Automatic switches are not always as simple as the examples given above. Limit switches, which sense some limit such as fluid level, mechanical movement, pressure (altitude or depth under water), or an electrical quantity, are automatic switches. Computers use and control automatic switches that are sometimes quite complicated. Basically, any switch that will turn a circuit on or off without human action is an automatic switch.