Subminiature switches with high ESD ratings

August 2003 Operator Interfaces, Switches & Relays Security Services & Risk Management

Knitter-Switch ESD resistant subminiature toggle and pushbutton switches are washable, fitted with gold plated over nickel contacts, good for 50 000 operations and have an ESD resistance greater than 14 kV between actuator and contacts.

Besides EMV (electromagnetic tolerance) an additional feature, 'ESD', (protection against electrostatic discharge) is required where sufficient grounding is not possible or desired.

The standards in Europe (Norm IEC 801-2 and DIN VDE 0843) list four different ESD levels:

Grade 1: 2 kV

Grade 2: 4 kV

Grade 3: 8 kV

Grade 4: 15 kV

Knitter-Switch EST and ESP toggle and pushbutton switches comply with these norms and except for physical size are compatible with series A switches.

The guaranteed ESD resistance of 14 kV is close to the upper limit required and is therefore not only higher than that of comparable switches but also exceeds all known requirements of miniature components (Grade 3-8 kV). As it is not possible to use metal support brackets (for example with the RA version) single pole versions are fitted with two additional supports to improve stability.

Further reading:

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