What Are Micro Switches and Where Are They Used?

This article is about a technology that all of us are surrounded by. However, you can’t feel the presence of this technology unless you belong to the field of technological sciences. We are going to talk about a micro switch. Read on to know more.

Before getting into details, it is important to know a short history of these switches that will take you back to 1932 when it was invented in Illinois, USA through valuable contribution of Peter McGall. After 5 years of this invention, McGall started a micro switch company which served as a foundation stone for this ever-growing technology.

Let us now generalize the purpose and uses of this technology. The selling point of a micro switch can be derived from its own words. It is a switch that can be activated by minimal force applied by a lever to transmit the flow of current until the unit is turned off.

We will now emphasize on the areas where these switches are used and I am sure you all must be using them in your daily lives. We can categorize its usage into two broad categories to make things easily understandable. So, let’s get started.

Home Applications

The appliances that we will talk about must be familiar to everyone as they all are being used regularly in almost every household. Micro switches are used in all appliances where you see a power supply that needs to be turned on/off but there are some other functions as well. We are going to explain them through examples.

The first example would be washing machines where you can find them in the shape of water-level sensors and completion alarms. In refrigerators, they are used in detecting the freezing levels and checking whether the ice maker is placed in the correct position.

Next on the list are air conditioners. In these units, micro switches are used to detect the close/open status of the door panels, cooling levels and angle of louvers. You can also find them on cookers and ovens and the most common usage of these switches can be seen on the panel which is used to control all function of cookers and ovens.

Building & Security Applications

Another major area where micro switches are excessively used includes security applications and various appliances of any building/premises. Here again we will consider the power on/off switch as a primary function and will try to figure out other usages.

A very common example of a micro switch can be seen in alarms and push buttons which are normally pressed in a state of emergency or requirement. The most common examples include fire alarms, emergency doors, bell of assistance etc. Another common example is the turning devices for cameras.

In these devices, switches are activated when the turning device reaches extreme point and this could be applicable for all such turning devices. You will also find them in door control system and panel of elevators.

This was rather a summarized piece of content to give you an insight into micro switches and their common uses. There are, of course, much more points and examples to discuss but the information given above will be enough for you if you want to have basic understanding of these devices them.

Rabins Sharma Lamichhane

Rabins Sharma Lamichhane is senior ICT professional who talks about #it, #cloud, #servers, #software, and #innovation. Rabins is also the first initiator of Digital Nepal. Facebook: rabinsxp Instagram: rabinsxp

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