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New Microswitches sticking ON
RandyT:
Not normal at all, not for Zippy's, or any other brand name switch. What is likely is that these aren't true Zippy switches, rather some very cheaply made parts from a Chinese factory which bear the high tech Taiwanese company's name, maybe with their permission, but probably not.
If it's a cruddy beige, or two-tone plastic, with one of those being the cruddy beige, then it's probably a knock-off. I've seen plenty of the standard Zippy microswitches, and the ones straight from the factory have been either a nice white, or solid black, but not that beige color. Also, I just looked and found online supposed Zippy parts being sold out of China with that appearance, and they had a model number which doesn't appear in the Zippy catalog.
That being said, put a drop of silicone spray on the actuator. It won't change the dynamic of a crappy switch, but it might fix the sticking.
RandyT
Marsupial:
I have about 25 zippy switches, got them brand new, the 20 grams variety. They are solid black and got them from a reseller I found on these forums.
Had issues with 3 or 4 of them, one simply never worked at all.
2-3 were on-and-off - in that I mean I could click it and have no response.
It seems sometimes I have stickiness in some other ones too, but its not frequent and destick by a single buttonpush.
that's an aweful failure rate, at best.
On the bright side, I got replacement from my supplier for the defect ones, excellent service, not even his fault! The new identical ones seems to not be faulty: might have been a faulty batch.
BTW 20 grams rock when it comes to microswitches.
RandyT:
--- Quote from: Marsupial on September 28, 2010, 12:42:02 pm ---..might have been a faulty batch.
--- End quote ---
It's possible. Or could be poor storage. High humidity while not being used could cause the contacts to tarnish, which can act as an insulator. Nylon sucks a lot of moisture as well, and parts can swell.
The parts we had made to our specs have been flawless so far (5000+pcs). I'm sure I would have heard something by now if they weren't.
RandyT
riley454:
Thanks for all the knowledgeable advice guys.
As far as dirt or humidity being the problem, this is highly unlikely since I received them but I have zero knowledge how my supplier treated them :-\
--- Quote from: RandyT on September 28, 2010, 12:30:49 pm ---What is likely is that these aren't true Zippy switches, rather some very cheaply made parts from a Chinese factory which bear the high tech Taiwanese company's name, maybe with their permission, but probably not.
If it's a cruddy beige, or two-tone plastic, with one of those being the cruddy beige, then it's probably a knock-off.
--- End quote ---
As you may see in the link I posted, it IS a cruddy beige on one side and black on the other with "ZIPPY" on one side, so it appears they are a knock-off.
Funny thing though, whilst writing this, I picked up one of the faulty ones to write their description and they appear to be working almost flawlessly again. For now anyway! Perhaps there is/has been some minor ambient humidity that isn't overly apparent but is enough to affect the cheap dodgy switches but probably not better quality switches.
Since emailing my supplier a few days ago, I'm still waiting for a reply but it appears beneficial to find a new supplier who can provide genuine parts. Sad part is, the proper quality (basic model)switches are likely to cost almost the same as the cheap rubbish I already bought. Maybe should have asked you guys before spending. ::)
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