Microswitch reliability assured by spring design
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Posted to News on 22nd Jun 2016, 14:10

Microswitch reliability assured by spring design

For many years Goss Springs has supplied springs for use in microswitches, which find applications in thousands of industrial and household products, systems and machines.

Microswitch reliability assured by spring design

Goss Springs is an established manufacturer of miniature springs, one application for which is in the actuation of electro-mechanical microswitches. Often known as 'snap action switches', these switches feature a small tension spring that holds the switch contacts in their normally-closed or normally-open position until the switch is actuated. Burgess Microswitches, now part of the Johnson Electric Group, was for many years the leading brand of UK microswitches and Goss is still the key supplier of miniature springs to the group.

We often take the operation of household devices for granted but consider for a moment the vast number of applications even in the household that depend upon the components in a microswitch operating repeatedly. Burglar alarms and fire alarms are triggered by microswitches, as are the numerous on/off actuators in appliances in the kitchen and bathroom.

Spring design for long life

In these applications the equipment manufacturer expects the spring to provide continuous trouble-free operation throughout the life of the product.

The type of application in which the spring is to be used will, of course, determine life expectancy, performance and, depending on what the life expectancy might be, the type of material used. As a general rule of thumb says Nick Goss, "the more expensive the material we use, the longer the life of the component." Chrome silicon is one of the best materials used in high-performance, high-cycle applications. On the other hand, for applications exposed to harsh environmental conditions, a material such as Inconel provides excellent resistance to oxidation and corrosion. When heated, Inconel forms a thick, stable oxide layer that protects the surface from further attack.

Reliability

At the other end of the duty scale, a microswitch might be deployed in an appliance where it is actuated only very infrequently. An override trip switch, for example, where the spring will be held for long periods of time in a compressed state and in such cases a high-tensile spring or stainless steel will be selected.

Whatever the requirement for a wire drawn spring, press part or multislide tooling, Nick and Dan Goss and their team of experts can advise on the optimum material and design to suit a given application. Follow the link for more information at www.goss-springs.co.uk.


Goss Springs Ltd

Bower Hill Industrial Estate
Bower Hill
CM15 7AQ
UNITED KINGDOM

+44 (0)20 8527 5599

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