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The operating life of a switch is important for the life expectancy of an application. This can be specified in two ways, as mechanical life or electrical life. Electrical life is the more realistic performance metric. Mechanical life is not typically used in specifications as it is based on the number of operations a switch can perform while maintaining its mechanical integrity, with no electrical load applied. The electrical life specification is more widely recognized, it is the number of operations a switch will make and break, within the specified electrical parameters, without the switch failing to maintain its electrical integrity. Therefore, electrical Life offers a more valid expectation of the rated life of the switch. An example of the difference in specifications could be: switch A has a mechanical life rated  of 1 million operation cycles, but it is rated at 100K cycles when under electrical load. This is because each time a switch operates electrically a small arc is produced across the contacts. Over time this arcing creates imperfections that will accelerate wear on the contact surface and ultimately cause the switch to fail.
PTM Published on: 2014-03-26