Mounting Methods

SINGLETACT MOUNTING METHODS

5. The Tail Extender

The tail extender offers much more mounting flexibility to the user, and not just because of the

6” of extra length. The tail extender is able to bend and conform to an application much better

than a SingleTact sensor alone would, since the tail extender is 67% thinner than the SingleTact

sensor, and is therefore less prone to breakage. This also allows the user to position the sensor

and electronics almost exclusively of each other, and transfer the mechanical strain away from

either end.

In the application example below, a SingleTact sensor is mounted to the plunger head of a

dispenser, while the electronics is mounted on the cap end. Ideally, the sensor and electronics

would both be mounted together on a moving part, but when the mounting surface is as small

as this, sometimes it is not possible to do so. In this configuration, when the plunger is

depressed, this action creates a bending force across the length of the SingleTact sensor, and

puts strain on the FFC connector of the electronics board. This motion also puts considerable

stress on the contact end of the sensor and stiffener.

With a tail extender, much of the mechanical stress and strain mentioned above is alleviated.

The SingleTact sensor experiences much less flexing and bending, and those forces are

instead transferred across the tail extender that connects to the electronics mounted off below.