Then it finally came to me, what if I could mount the electronics to the switch just like a contact block mounts to the switch? Mechanical Design But I didn’t want this thing rattling inside my switch. Things are pretty well insulated so it would be unlikely to short out. My second thought was to just let a loose circuit board float between the contact blocks inside the big red button’s enclosure. A small circuit board would hold the USB electronics and I’d 3D print a case for it. This box would sit between the big red button’s enclosure and the computer. My first thought was to build a small box that had screw terminals for a contact closure input on one side and a USB connector on the other side. Like any engineering project, there’s tons of ways to get to a solution and it’s my job to pick the optimum solution (where optimum is open to debate). The immediate goals for this project were (1) to use a big red button and (2) to connect it to a computer using USB. For example if the actuator is broken, one can disconnect the frame, replace the actuator, reconnect the frame, and be back in business without any rewiring. Below is a page from an Omron Industrial Automation catalog showing some of the available configurations and how they fit together.Ī page from the Omron industrial controls catalog.īy splitting the switch into so many pieces, the exact switch needed for a job can be built from its component parts. Finally, if the switch is illuminated, there’s an illumination unit that can hold an LED or incandescent bulb. In other designs, they mount using screws. On these Omron controls, the contact blocks snap to the frame and a plunger on the actuator presses a plunger on the contact block to change the state of the contacts. The contact blocks do the electrical switching and are available in a variety of configurations such as normally open, normally closed, screw terminals, quick connect terminals, etc. The part immediately behind the actuator is a frame that connects the contact blocks to the actuator. These vary in shape and color often depending on if they’re designed to be easy to press (emergency power off) or hard to press (start self-destruct sequence).
The actuator is the part that mounts to the panel and is exposed to the user. The typical switch consists of an actuator, a mounting collar or frame, contact blocks, and, if illuminated, an illumination unit. In the photo above are a few disassembled Omron 22mm push button switches. Random Omron switch parts including a shrouded red non-illuminated push button, illuminated mushroom button, a mounting collar, LEDs, NO contacts, illumination unit, NC contacts, and an assembled non-illuminated mushroom button.
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