Top 10 switches and relays

Component manufacturers face increased demand for switches and relays that offer longer life cycles and smaller packages and can operate in harsh environments. Many of these new devices offer low profiles for space-constrained applications and improved resistance to corrosion and environmental contaminants. They also provide more options for a variety of specs, such as actuation forces, plating, illumination and customization.

Here is a sampling of switches and relays, introduced over six months. Many of them offer longer life cycles and smaller footprints for a range of applications that, in some cases, need to operate in harsh environmental conditions.

Switches

Switch manufacturers continue to expand their product lines with new capabilities and enhanced performance to improve and extend the life of end applications. These devices are available in a variety of types, including tactile and pushbutton, and are used in a range of consumer to industrial applications.

C&K, now part of Littelfuse, has claimed that its KSC11 tactile switch series with a hard actuator offers the most cycles in the industry, with up to 3 million actuation cycles, tripling the lifespan compared with the competition. With the new hard actuator version, the KSC11 series offers a high tactile ratio without sacrificing its lifetime, said C&K.

The KSC11 tactile switches, measuring 6.2 × 6.2 mm, target high-end customizable products. These include industrial, aviation, audio-video consoles, drones and gaming controllers. The switches offer multiple options for actuation force (1.6 N, 3.2 N and 5 N) and a short travel of 0.2 to 0.4 mm for a crisp feeling and audible sound. The operating temperature range is –40°C to 85°C.

C&K also expanded its detect switch product family with the launch of an ultra-low–current (ULC) version. The SDS ULC detect switch series is designed to limit power consumption on battery-powered devices. With a low current (10 µA) and an ultra-low profile (2-mm mounted), the SDS ULC detect switch can be used in a variety of handheld and space-constrained applications, including consumer, IoT, medical, networking, smart metering and smoke detectors.

The detect switch comes with an overtravel plunger actuator, which allows for 2 mm of overtravel. It is available with different contact arrangements, including normally open, normally closed and silver or gold plating for better resistance to corrosion. The SDS series detect switches feature an SPST design and right-angle termination. Other specs include a 50,000-life cycle and 75-gf actuation force.

IDEC Corp. has introduced a new line of CW low-profile touchless switches, targeting hygienic industrial and public automation applications. These new switches address cleanliness concerns for protecting against Covid-19 and other contamination, said the company.

The CW touchless switches are designed with a nearly flush (with a 2-mm rise) low-profile surface silhouette. They are built for an industry-standard 22-mm mounting hole and require only a shallow 35-mm space behind the panel face, in addition to room for the wiring connector. The typical installation pitch is 30-mm width with a 50-mm height. The operating temperature range is –25°C to 55°C.

The switch uses a rubber washer and locking ring to meet IP65/67, and NEMA Type 4X ratings are maintained. The CW1H housing and bezel is black plastic resin, and the CW4H is silver aluminum alloy metal.

The switch front face consists of a central emitter and receiver sensing lens as well as an LED indicator ring. The infrared LED diffuse reflection technology is used to detect objects. The detection distance is adjustable, typically ranging from 70 to 270 mm depending on the color, material and surface condition of the object to be detected.

The switch output is a non-contact photoMOS relay, available without a timer or with a 0.5-second on-delay and a 2.0-second off-delay, and the switch operates at nominal 12 to 24 VDC with 100-mA max load current. Other features include reverse connection protection and a two-color LED ring for status feedback, which can be externally controlled to illuminate in red or green.

IDEC noted that although the switches are rated for outdoor use and are highly resistant to visible light as well as constructed of weather-resistant materials, excessive exposure to ultraviolet rays from direct sunlight can cause material degradation, color fading and false signals. With almost any signaling device, dirt and water droplets can impact operation, so designers should check product performance before use and consider physical protection, said the company.

CUI Devices’ Switches Group has added IP67-rated models to its line of tactile switches. Suited for applications subject to moisture and environmental contaminants, the TS03, TS05, TS08 and TS19 series feature compact footprints as small as 3 × 2 × 0.6 mm, as well as life-cycle ratings up to 300,000 cycles. The IP67-rated tactile switches are housed in surface-mount or through-hole packages with gull-wing or long-crimped terminations.

Key specs include 12-VDC rated voltages, 50-mA current ratings and an operating temperature range from –30°C to 85°C. Other features include SPST circuits, operating forces from 70 up to 260 gf and actuator heights of 0.6, 4.3, 5, 7, 8 or 9.5 mm.

EAO has upgraded its Series 82 family of anti-vandal pushbutton switches with high-contrast and vivid illuminated symbols for status indication or easy location. Status or visual HMI feedback is important in applications like food and beverage equipment, measurement machinery, medical devices and heavy-duty or special vehicles, said EAO.

The illuminated symbols for pushbuttons also provide fast visual recognition of operational status and are available with green, blue, white or red/green LEDs with standard symbols. Other symbols are available on request. The series offers both single and bi-color LEDs. The devices provide IP65/IP67 protection, making them suited for public use and harsh industrial applications.

Würth Elektronik has expanded its series of washable tactile switches with the introduction of the WS-TASV tact switch for SMT assembly. The compact switch measures 4.1 × 2.8 mm with a height of 1.9 mm. The series is available in three variants, color-coded according to their actuating force: 200 grams (black), 300 grams (white) and 400 grams (salmon). The operating temperature range is –55°C to 125°C.

Designed for high reliability and long service life, all metallic parts of the switches are tested for corrosion resistance with a 48-hour salt-spray test. A polyimide film protects the tact switch even under extreme operating conditions, while snap domes made of stainless steel ensure high reliability and reduced friction — tested in full-load life cycle, according to Würth.

Key specs include a current rating of 50 mA and rated voltage of 32 V. The service life is between 100,000 and 200,000 cycles, depending on the operation force. The initial contact resistance is 100 mΩ, and after-service life testing is 2 Ω.

Relays

Here is a selection of new relays, targeting industrial, military/aerospace and test and measurement applications. They include a variety of types, such as low-signal relays, RF relays, reed relays and contactors.

CUI Devices’ Relays Group has unveiled its first line of signal relays. These low-signal relays offer max switching currents of 2 A or 3 A in SPDT (1 Form C) or DPDT (2 Form C) contact forms, targeting low-level current switching in industrial applications, security devices and test and measurement equipment.

Key features include contact ratings of 120/125 VAC or 24/30 VDC at 1 A, AuAg overlay contact material and max switching voltages of 120/125/220 VAC or 24/30/60 VDC. They are housed in packages as small as 10.2 × 7.4 × 10 mm with carrying coil power ratings from 150 to 450 mW and coil voltages from 3 to 24 V.

Pickering Electronics has launched new miniature coaxial reed relays for high-frequency RF systems up to 3 GHz. The Series 113RF SIL/SIP reed relays feature a 2-mm spacing footprint, which enables them to be stacked at very high densities.

“All Series 113RF reed relays feature an internal Mu-metal magnetic screen to enable high-density stacking of relays without the risk of adjacent devices interfering with each other, resulting in faulty operation,” said Pickering.

The Series 113RF reed relays are suitable for switching up to 10 W, 0.5 A and 1 Form A configurations (SPST normally open) are available with 3-V or 5-V coils with coil resistances of up to 100/300 Ω, respectively. At low levels, the typical life expectancy of Series 113RF reed relays is greater than 250 million reliable operations.

Pickering offers a coaxial RF option for many of its small instrumentation reed relay ranges, up to 5 GHz.

The company also noted that the screened reed relays offer advantages over other relay technologies. They are faster and smaller than electromechanical relays, offer a lower insertion loss and better DC capabilities than solid-state relays and provide better hot-switching performance than microelectromechanical-machine products.

TE Connectivity has extended its KILOVAC CAP120R contactor family with a new high-voltage latching configuration. Applications include defense, marine, urban air mobility, unmanned-aerial–vehicle commercial and military/aerospace applications that require lightweight latching coils and reduced power consumption.

Targeting an industry need for higher voltage isolation, smaller size and weight and lower power consumption, the 150-A DC contactor includes single-pole, hermetically sealed auxiliary contacts with a latching actuator mechanism, which allows for low-power–consumption uses, said TE. The hermetically sealed design enables the contactor to operate in harsh environments.

The high-voltage device can be used in power distribution, energy storage and battery systems. Key specs include an operating temperature range of –40°C to 85°C, a voltage maximum of 600 VDC and a mechanical life (minimum) of 100,000 cycles.

Key specs include withstand high break levels of 1,000 A at 400 VDC and 600 A at 600 VDC. The dielectric withstand voltage terminal to terminal is 1 mA max @ 2,800 Vrms and 1 mA max @ 1,500 Vrms terminal to coil.

The contactor allows installation flexibility through bidirectional load switching, said the company. The contact arrangement is SPST-NO, Form P, and the main contacts are not polarity-sensitive. The contactor weighs 0.14 kg.

Delivering more switching options for telecommunications, military and RF test and measurement applications, Teledyne Relays introduced a new wide temperature range of hermetic relays operating up to 18 GHz. The RF131 and GRF131 SPDT models are non-latching, offer fail-safe functionality and are available for both through-hole and surface-mount applications.

The RF131 and GRF131 non-latching models complement the equivalent through-hole RF121 and surface-mount GRF121 magnetic latching relays from Teledyne Relays. The new electromechanical switches offer fail-safe functionality up to 18 GHz and 40-Gbits/s data rates for the most challenging environments, said the company. They feature glass-to-seal hermetic seals throughout the relays and operate over a temperature range of –55°C to 85°C.

The RF131 is a through-hole mount version and can switch frequencies up to 12 GHz with 20-Gbits/s signal integrity. This relay is supplied with standard gold-plated .75-inch leads and can also be ordered with solder or RoHS-compliant solder-dipped leads.

The GRF131 features a unique ground shield to facilitate surface mounting and to extend the frequency range when compared with through-hole solutions, which increases the RF capability to 18 GHz and signal integrity to 40 Gbits/s, said Teledyne Relays.

Both series are available in an extended Centigrid package, “incorporating a precision transmission line structure in the internal construction of the contact system to ensure the best RF performance with minimal insertion loss and high isolation between signal paths,” said the company.

Each relay can be ordered with a 5-V or 12-V rated coil and is designed with protection from dust and contaminates. Life expectancy is rated up to 2 million cycles.