Talk:Electrical contact

Contact forms
A discussion of Forms D, K, X, Y and Z contacts was reverted on the basis that they were uncited. In fact, the citation at the head of the enclosing Contact Form section (to the Relay Handbook by the National Association of Relay Manufacturers and its successor, the Relay and Switch Industry Association) is the source for all of the contact forms. The citation that was restored for Forms A, B and C (to a data sheet from Matsushita) is just one relay manufacturer's summary of the material relevant to their small-signal products. I don't see a need for Wikipedia to describe all of the relay and switch contact forms defined by the NARM/RSIA, but A, B and C are not enough. I want Form D described because the C/D comparison illustrates the issue of Make-Break order. Center-off switches (Form K) are common, while center-off relays are rare. Forms X and Y are common in toggle switches with ratings over 1/4 HP, and form X is extremely common in power contactors, for example, the contactor linking a thermostat to an air conditioiner compressor. Douglas W. Jones (talk) 15:52, 25 June 2017 (UTC)


 * Pursuant to Wikipedia's verifiability policy, everything you write on Wikipedia must be cited. You did not do that. Instead, you placed one footnote in the section's first paragraph, and assumed that it would cover all other paragraphs and subsections. Unfortunately, the rest of us are not mind readers. I will restore your additions of subsections for Forms D, K, X, Y, and Z, and add the appropriate footnotes as you should have done in the first place.
 * I will also remove the reference that you feel is lesser quality. Going forward, be sure to explain why you are removing references in the edit summary anytime you are doing so. Thanks. – void  xor  19:37, 25 June 2017 (UTC)

contact wipe
The contactor article says
 * "Another technique for improving the life of contactors is contact wipe;"

with a link to a "contact wipe" section of this "electrical contacts" article. When I clicked on that link, I was surprised that this article never mentions "wipe" or "wiping" somewhere, much less an entire section on it.

Should we restore a section on "contact wipe", perhaps based on the section that used to exist 4 March 2017? --DavidCary (talk) 20:54, 13 March 2021 (UTC)