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Will a microswitch wear out if held in the closed position all the time?

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BadMouth:
Thanks!  :D

I plan on using standard cherry microswitches then.

tel0004:
Springs in general don't wear out from being compressed.

I know a lot about guns, and a similar question is often asked about magazines, being loaded. 
When it comes to guns, magazines don't wear out.  Magazines have been found that were loaded for 50 years, and they can be put in a gun and shot.  I've personally had magazines loaded for a year, and they worked just fine.

I know the two technology's are a bit different, but a spring is a spring.  Leaving it compressed it will not wear it out. 

SammyWI:

--- Quote from: RandyT on May 16, 2011, 04:41:29 pm ---
--- Quote from: BadMouth on May 16, 2011, 03:22:11 pm ---I was hoping someone in the industry like Randy would have an answer.   Or maybe a tech that knew of a game that used switches wired in such a way and whether it was an issue or not.  

--- End quote ---

The answer will likely depend on the construction of the switch, but I will say that springs in general do not wear as a result of being constantly stretched or compressed.  Spring steels "memory" is set through intense heat, or considerable stress beyond normal flexing.  It will always try to go back to the position it was in when the heat/stress was applied.  In order to change this, you would need to to either stretch a spring well beyond it's normal size, or apply intense heat to change the "memory" of the metal.

What will wear the spring in a switch (or any other spring) is repetition.  I.e. the constant, repeated stretching and/or compressing (AKA: use) of the spring.  There is actually a similarly common misconception about the ammunition clips used with firearms.  Some think that it is necessary to empty ammunition magazines to save the springs, but it is not.

RandyT

--- End quote ---

Hmm....sounds like we may read the same forums (besides this one).  But anyway, mechanical engineer here, and a properly designed spring will not wear out from being held in it's normally compressed position.  Cycles are what will wear it out.

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