11 Myths About Electromechanical Tactile Switches (.PDF Download)

June 29, 2017
11 Myths About Electromechanical Tactile Switches (.PDF Download)

1. Switches are a normalized commodity.

The saying “no two snowflakes are alike” also applies to switches. Unlike connectors in which male/female coupling can be possible, even if the two components are from different origins, there’s no industry standard mandating uniform design, form factor, or behavior when it comes to switches. As a result, each switch manufacturer has total freedom to define its design, select raw materials, and target different performance criteria or market needs (e.g., high-end industrial vs. low-cost toy market).

2. The same form-factor switches from various manufacturers are all the same.

The devil is in the details! Even pin-to-pin compatible, or side-by-side comparable, tactile switches can create different functionalities and perhaps different user perception on how they should work. In any case, the mechanical equivalence doesn’t automatically mean correlation of actuation force, travels, haptic feeling, low current capabilities, overload resistance, corrosion resistance, reliability, and so on.

3. I can pick a switch part number (P/N) from any catalog at the last minute for my electrical device development.

It’s possible, but you will probably experience a few issues. Tactile switches are small devices, manufactured by micro-mechanical companies. They’re also sensitive to their surrounding elements, such as their shape, their own manufacturing tolerances, and even their assembly constraints. Consequently, it’s not uncommon for some switches to be incompatible with specific devices.

The quality of the final result in the application will be led by tiny details, such as using mechanical stoppers to achieve extreme overload resistance on a button, optimized soldering reflow to get the leanest printed-circuit-board (PCB) manufacturing process, and button/switch alignment to create optimal haptic feeling and extend product lifetime.

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