Resources
Articles, guides, and industry news.
Silver tungsten (AgW) is the standard contact material for low-voltage electrical apparatus, AC contactors, motor starters, relays, and LV circuit breakers. Sourcing AgW involves two decisions beyond the grade: which physical form (tip, rivet, custom) and which grade for your duty. This guide covers both, with product recommendations.
Read Article →Contact arms connect the operating mechanism in an MV breaker to the contact face. They carry full breaker current, support the mechanical motion of opening and closing, and in many designs are the visible moving element when the breaker actuates. Two choices drive contact arm sourcing: single vs paired configuration, and material. This guide covers both.
Read Article →The current path through MV switchgear, from cable termination through the breaker contacts to the outgoing bus, runs through conductors that have to balance three things: conductivity, mechanical strength, and arc tolerance at exposed segments. No single material wins on all three, so most switchgear current paths combine materials. This guide explains how to choose conductor material and which product to source for each segment.
Read Article →Bronze fills the spaces in MV switchgear where copper is too soft and copper tungsten is overkill, bushings, contact fingers, commutator plates, rings, and the precision machined parts that make breaker and disconnector mechanisms work. The catch is that "bronze" covers several alloy families with different properties. This guide explains which bronze alloy fits which job, and which product to source.
Read Article →Tulip contacts are the plug-in connection in withdrawable MV switchgear. The multi-finger spring-loaded contacts that let you rack a breaker in and out without de-energizing the bus. Choosing the right tulip contact comes down to three things: current rating, whether you need arc resistance, and whether your application is standard switchgear or something else (like a surge arrester). This guide walks through the options.
Read Article →If you're building or refurbishing medium-voltage switchgear, copper tungsten (CuW) shows up in more places than just the obvious arc contacts. Shielding caps, conductive rods, contact plates, guide pins. The CuW family covers a dozen distinct component types, each for a specific job inside a vacuum interrupter or switchgear assembly. This guide walks through which CuW component fits which application, so you can match the right part to your design or sourcing requirement.
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