CONTACTORS

● A contactor is an electrically-controlled switch used

for switching an electrical power circuit.
● It belongs to a kind of control device, and it is one of
the most widely used low-voltage electrical
appliances in electric drive system, machine tool
equipment control circuit and automatic control
system
● A contactor is typically controlled by a circuit which
has a much lower power level than switched circuit ,
such as a 24-volt coil electromagnet controlling a
230-v motor switch.
● According to the types current which run through the
contacts, it can be divided into AC contactor and DC
contactor.
● Though they are used for switching purposes ,they do
not interrupt a short-circuit current like a circuit
breaker.
● They have ratings ranging from a breaking current of
a few amperes and 24 dc volts to thousands of
amperes with many kilo volts.
● Contactors are designed to be generally connected to
high-current load devices.
● Relays tend to be of lower capacity and are usually
designed for both normally closed and normally
open applications. Devices switching more than 15
amperes or in circuits rated more than a few kilowatts
are usually called contactors.
● Apart from optional auxiliary low-current contacts,
contactors are almost exclusively fitted with normally
open contacts.
● Unlike relays, contactors are designed with features
to control and suppress the arc produced when
interrupting heavy motor currents.
 AC CONTACTOR
● The AC contactor is an on-off switch applied in the AC
power environment and is most widely used in various
control circuits.
● It features low voltage/zero voltage release protection,
reliable operation, stable performance, high operating
frequency, and easy maintenance.
● In practical applications, the AC contactor is mainly
used as an on- off switch in the AC power supply line
to achieve long-distance connection and disconnection
line functions, such as in frequent starting and breaking
control lines of AC motors, welding machines and
electric heating equipment.
APPLICATION OF AC CONTACTOR IN CONTINUOUS
CONTROL CIRCUIT OF THREE PHASE AC MOTOR
● From the figure , it can be seen that the AC contactor
is installed in the motor control box and is mainly
used to control the turning on or off of the power
supply of the motor so as to control the start and stop
of the three-phase AC motor.
 DC CONTACTORS

● The DC contactor is an on- off switch applied in the

DC power supply environment, and also has the
characteristics of low voltage release protection,
reliable operation, and stable performance.
● In practical applications, DC contactors are used to
remotely switch on and off the DC power supply or
control lines and common DC motor start-stop
control.
 CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING

● A contactor has three components.

● The contacts are the current carrying part of the
contactor.
● This includes
✔ power contacts and auxiliary contacts
✔ Electro magnet
✔ contact springs.
● The electromagnet (or "coil") provides the driving
force to close the contacts.
● The enclosure is a frame housing the contact and the
electromagnet.
● Enclosures are made of insulating materials like
Bakelite, Nylon 6, and thermosetting plastics to
protect and insulate the contacts and to provide some
measure of protection against personnel touching the
contacts.
● 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 when the metal core
enters the coil.
● The moving contact is propelled by the moving core;
the force developed by the electromagnet holds the
moving and fixed contacts together.
● When the contactor coil is de-energized, gravity or a
spring returns the electromagnet core to its initial
position and opens the contacts.
● For contactors energized with alternating current, a
small part of the core is surrounded with a shading
coil, which slightly delays the magnetic flux in the
core.
● The effect is to average out the alternating pull of the
magnetic field and so prevent the core from buzzing
at twice line frequency.
● Because arcing and consequent damage occurs just as
the contacts are opening or closing, contactors are
designed to open and close very rapidly; there is often
an internal tipping point mechanism to ensure rapid
action.
 CONTACTOR RATINGS
● Rating of a contactor are given according to the pole of the
contactor. It also depends on factors like fault withstand
current ,coil voltage and so on.
● According to their rating ,contactors are classified into
following:
● ACI – Non –inductive loads
● AC2 – Contactors for starting of slip-ring motors
● AC3-Starting of squirrel-cage motors and switching off only
after the motor is up to speed
● AC4 – Starting of squirrel-cage motors with inching and
plugging duty
● AC11 – Auxiliary control circuits
 APPLICATIONS

● Lighting control
● 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, which have two
operating coils.
● One coil, momentarily energized, closes the power
circuit contacts, which are then mechanically held
closed; the second coil opens the contacts.
● Magnetic starter
● A magnetic starter is a device designed to provide
power to electric motors. It includes a contactor as an
essential component, while also providing power-
cutoff, under-voltage, and overload protection.

● Vacuum contactor
● Vacuum contactors utilize vacuum bottle
encapsulated contacts to suppress the arc.
● This arc suppression allows the contacts to be much
smaller and use less space than air break contacts at
higher currents.
● Mercury relay
● A mercury relay, sometimes called a mercury
displacement relay, or, mercury contactor, is a relay
that uses the liquid metal mercury in an insulated
sealed container as the switching element.
THANK YOU !