A contactor has three components:
• The contacts are the current-carrying part of the contactor. This … See more

When current passes through the electromagnet, a magnetic field is produced, which attracts the moving core of the contactor. The electromagnet coil draws more current initially, until its inductance increases … See more

Without adequate contact protection, the occurrence of electric current arcing causes significant degradation of the contacts, which suffer significant damage. An electrical arc occurs between the two contact poi… See more

Contactors are rated by designed load current per contact (pole), maximum fault withstand current, duty cycle, design life expectancy, voltage, and coil voltage. A general purpose motor control contactor may be suit… See more

Contactors are often used to provide central control of large lighting installations, such as an office building or retail building. To reduce power consumption in the contactor coils, latching contactors are used, whic… See more

When a series of contactors is to be operated in sequence, this may be done by a camshaft instead of by individual electromagnets. The camshaft may be driven by an electric motor or a pneumatic cylinder. B… See more

In addition to their current ratings and rating for motor circuit control, contactors often have other construction details not found in relays. Unlike lower-powered relays, contactors generally have special structures f… See more