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Cam switches: Difference between revisions
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A benefit of this design is low parasitics compared to traditional rotary wafer switches. | A benefit of this design is low parasitics compared to traditional rotary wafer switches. | ||
The original idea for this switch type is credited to [[Howard Vollum]] - see [[Patent US 3562464A|Patent 3,562,464 ''Cam actuated switch having movable and fixed contacts on circuit board'']] (Vollum, | The original idea for this switch type is credited to [[Howard Vollum]] - see [[Patent US 3562464A|Patent 3,562,464 ''Cam actuated switch having movable and fixed contacts on circuit board'']] (Vollum, Verhoef, Sprando). [[Ken Holland]] was also involved with the development of cam switches at Tek. | ||
From ''[https://vintagetek.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/On-The-History-And-Environment-Of-Tektronix.pdf On The History and Environment of Tektronix]'': | From ''[https://vintagetek.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/On-The-History-And-Environment-Of-Tektronix.pdf On The History and Environment of Tektronix]'': | ||
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Then Howard Vollum made the decision that Tek would develop its own switches, and [[Tony Sprando]], [[Bill | Then Howard Vollum made the decision that Tek would develop its own switches, and [[Tony Sprando]], [[Bill Verhoef]], and Howard jointly developed the cam switch. The design ideas emerged from a "a lot of way-out brainstroming. "Howard played a key role by taking an "unlimited funds, the sky's the limit" attitude, while the other members would bring the ideas back to reality. | ||
Once the concepts were established, the manufacturing problems began. The prototypes had been made on numerically controlled machines, and the proposal was now to cast key pieces in plastic. But the Plastics Group said it could not be done. Finally, Tony came up with a four-piece die design that would do the job (previous approaches to die design had assumed there would be only two pieces). The four-piece die was the critical breakthrough which then made production possible at a reasonable cost. | Once the concepts were established, the manufacturing problems began. The prototypes had been made on numerically controlled machines, and the proposal was now to cast key pieces in plastic. But the Plastics Group said it could not be done. Finally, Tony came up with a four-piece die design that would do the job (previous approaches to die design had assumed there would be only two pieces). The four-piece die was the critical breakthrough which then made production possible at a reasonable cost. | ||