Company Name: EAO Corp
Interview With: John Lang, Machine Shop Manager

Why did EAO decide to market this product?
With the ever increasing trend of downsizing operator control panels, this product was designed to accommodate space-restrictive situations often found within hand-held devices, medical equipment, machine control, and lifting/moving devices. Its space-saving design accounts for only 18.8 mm behind-panel depth and is the industry’s shortest stop switch. Yet, these units still maintain the capability to withstand the rugged requirements of industrial applications by meeting the IP65 oil and water-tight criteria, testing beyond 100,000 actuations, and a mono-block contact assembly designed to provide fail-safe operation.

How is this product different from similar products?
Series 51 Stop Switches offer the industry’s leading space-saving design and still meet international approvals, including CE, EN 61058-1, and RoHS requirements. Their unique features include a visible actuation status ring, EAO’s time-proven low-level and snap-action switch elements, and various contact configurations to accommodate all types of application requirements.

What problems did you encountered during the development process?
It was an initial challenge to be able to provide all of the above mentioned features and benefits in such a small package.

How long did it take from conception to final production?
To accommodate industry requirements and customer demands in a single, complete, compact packge, the design-to-production cycle required 24 months.

Did cost factors force the final design of the product to be altered?
The Series 51 Stop Switch was designed to accommodate already present market cost pressures and therefore incorporated proven existing design and switching technologies present in other EAO products.

Who do you consider your target audience to be and what benefits will they realize from using this product?
The product was designed to accommodate space-sensitive applications commonly found within machinery controls, medical testing and diagnostic equipment, hand-held pendants, and lifting and moving devices. Being able to offer all of the features and benefits of these stop switches in such a compact unit gives the end-user great flexibility when maximizing panel design space.

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