Hermetically Sealed Micro Switches: A Guide for System Designers
Why Hermetic Sealing Matters In aerospace, mission-critical, and industrial applications, a switch is not just a switch — it is a potential point of failure. When a limit switch controls a orbital solar array deployment, a flight-critical arming sequence, or a cryogenic valve, the cost of failure is measured in mission loss, not warranty returns. Standard micro switches rely on plastic housings and elastomeric seals. Under thermal cycling, vacuum, radiation, or corrosive atmospheres, these organic materials degrade. The seal fails. Contaminants enter. The switch becomes unreliable — often without visible warning. ...