This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the ConceptDraw site you are agreeing to our Use of Site Cookies.

Electrical Symbols — Switches and Relays

In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can break an electrical circuit, interrupting the current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The mechanism of a switch may be operated directly by a human operator to control a circuit (for example, a light switch or a keyboard button), may be operated by a moving object such as a door-operated switch, or may be operated by some sensing element for pressure, temperature or flow. A relay is a switch that is operated by electricity. Switches are made to handle a wide range of voltages and currents; very large switches may be used to isolate high-voltage circuits in electrical substations. 26 libraries of the Electrical Engineering Solution of ConceptDraw DIAGRAM make your electrical diagramming simple, efficient, and effective. You can simply and quickly drop the ready-to-use objects from libraries into your document to create the electrical diagram.

Electrical Symbols, Electrical Diagram Symbols

When drawing Electrical Schematics, Electrical Circuit Diagrams, Power Systems Diagrams, Circuit and Wiring Diagrams, Digital and Analog Logic Schemes, you will obligatory need the electrical symbols and pictograms to represent various electrical and electronic devices, such as resistors, wires, transistors, inductors, batteries, switches, lamps, readouts, amplifiers, repeaters, relays, transmission paths, semiconductors, generators, and many more. Today these symbols are internationally standardized, so the diagrams designed using them are recognizable and comprehensible by specialists from different countries. Electrical Engineering Solution included to ConceptDraw Solution Park provides 26 libraries with 926 commonly used electrical schematic and electrical engineering symbols making the reality the easy drawing of Electrical diagrams, schematics and blueprints. Now you need only a few minutes to create great-looking Electrical diagram, simply choose required electrical design elements from the libraries, drag them on the needed places at the document and connect in a suitable way.

Electrical Drawing Software and Electrical Symbols

Any electrical device could not be created without electrical diagram, wiring also cannot be laid without pre-designed and approved scheme or plan. Electrical drawing is a type of technical drawing that depicts scheme of some electrical device and includes the information about power, lighting, etc. Electrical plan designed for architectural or engineering project visually displays location of electrical devices and connections. ConceptDraw DIAGRAM is ideal electrical software for construction professional-looking Electrical Circuits, Electrical Schematics, Electrical Layouts, Electrical Wiring, Automotive Wiring, Cabling Layout Diagrams, Circuits and Logic Schematics, Logic Gate Diagrams, Digital Circuits, Parallel Circuits, Blue Prints with help of 926 standard electrical symbols offered by 26 libraries of Electrical Engineering solution from the Engineering area for ConceptDraw DIAGRAM. It makes drawing Electrical diagrams very easy even for beginners, and also extends your work with various export methods.

Electrical Symbols — Maintenance

Electrical maintenance - troubleshooting electrical circuit. The diagrams are a big help when workers try to find out why a circuit does not work correctly. 26 libraries of the Electrical Engineering Solution of ConceptDraw DIAGRAM make your electrical diagramming simple, efficient, and effective. You can simply and quickly drop the ready-to-use objects from libraries into your document to create the electrical diagram.

Electrical Symbols — Power Sources

A voltage source is a two terminal device which can maintain a fixed voltage. An ideal voltage source can maintain the fixed voltage independent of the load resistance or the output current. However, a real-world voltage source cannot supply unlimited current. A voltage source is the dual of a current source. Real-world sources of electrical energy, such as batteries, generators, and power systems, can be modeled for analysis purposes as a combination of an ideal voltage source and additional combinations of impedance elements. 26 libraries of the Electrical Engineering Solution of ConceptDraw DIAGRAM make your electrical diagramming simple, efficient, and effective. You can simply and quickly drop the ready-to-use objects from libraries into your document to create the electrical diagram.

Electrical Symbols — Composite Assemblies

Electronic components have two or more electrical terminals (or leads) aside from antennas which may only have one terminal. These leads connect to create an electronic circuit with a particular function (for example an amplifier, radio receiver, or oscillator). Basic electronic components may be packaged discretely, as arrays or networks of like components, or integrated inside of packages such as semiconductor integrated circuits, hybrid integrated circuits, or thick film devices. 26 libraries of the Electrical Engineering Solution of ConceptDraw DIAGRAM make your electrical diagramming simple, efficient, and effective. You can simply and quickly drop the ready-to-use objects from libraries into your document to create the electrical diagram.

Electrical Symbols, Electrical Schematic Symbols

Electrical Schematics and Electrical Circuit Diagrams are included to the number of obligatory diagrams and documents while developing the package of construction documentation for the building project. It is comfortable to use the special drawing software for designing diagrams of this type. ConceptDraw DIAGRAM diagramming and vector drawing software extended with Electrical Engineering solution from Industrial Engineering Area of ConceptDraw Solution Park provides the powerful drawing tools, a lot of specific samples and templates, and numerous libraries with incredibly large quantity of predesigned electrical schematic symbols, including analog and digital logic electrical symbols, electrical circuits symbols, inductors, power sources, lamps, resistors, transistors, delay elements, switches and relays, terminals and connectors, and many other useful electrical symbols, which will be helpful for easy designing professional looking Electrical Schematics, Electrical Engineering Diagrams, Circuit and Wiring Diagrams, Power Systems Diagrams, Digital and Analog Logic Schematics.

Electrical Symbols — Delay Elements

Variable delay elements are often used to manipulate the rising or falling edges of the clock or any other signal in integrated circuits. Delay elements are also used in delay locked loops and in defining a time reference for the movement of data within those systems. 26 libraries of the Electrical Engineering Solution of ConceptDraw DIAGRAM make your electrical diagramming simple, efficient, and effective. You can simply and quickly drop the ready-to-use objects from libraries into your document to create the electrical diagram.

Electrical Symbols — Resistors

A resistor is a passive two-terminal electrical component that implements electrical resistance as a circuit element. Resistors may be used to reduce current flow, and, at the same time, may act to lower voltage levels within circuits. In electronic circuits, resistors are used to limit current flow, to adjust signal levels, bias active elements, and terminate transmission lines among other uses. Fixed resistors have resistances that only change slightly with temperature, time or operating voltage. Variable resistors can be used to adjust circuit elements (such as a volume control or a lamp dimmer), or as sensing devices for heat, light, humidity, force, or chemical activity. 26 libraries of the Electrical Engineering Solution of ConceptDraw DIAGRAM make your electrical diagramming simple, efficient, and effective. You can simply and quickly drop the ready-to-use objects from libraries into your document to create the electrical diagram.
The vector stencils library "Switches and relays" contains 58 symbols of electrical contacts, switches, relays, circuit breakers, selectors, connectors, disconnect devices, switching circuits, current regulators, and thermostats for electrical devices.
"In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can break an electrical circuit, interrupting the current or diverting it from one conductor to another.
The most familiar form of switch is a manually operated electromechanical device with one or more sets of electrical contacts, which are connected to external circuits. Each set of contacts can be in one of two states: either "closed" meaning the contacts are touching and electricity can flow between them, or "open", meaning the contacts are separated and the switch is nonconducting. The mechanism actuating the transition between these two states (open or closed) can be either a "toggle" (flip switch for continuous "on" or "off") or "momentary" (push-for "on" or push-for "off") type.
A switch may be directly manipulated by a human as a control signal to a system, such as a computer keyboard button, or to control power flow in a circuit, such as a light switch. Automatically operated switches can be used to control the motions of machines, for example, to indicate that a garage door has reached its full open position or that a machine tool is in a position to accept another workpiece. Switches may be operated by process variables such as pressure, temperature, flow, current, voltage, and force, acting as sensors in a process and used to automatically control a system. ... A switch that is operated by another electrical circuit is called a relay. Large switches may be remotely operated by a motor drive mechanism. Some switches are used to isolate electric power from a system, providing a visible point of isolation that can be padlocked if necessary to prevent accidental operation of a machine during maintenance, or to prevent electric shock." [Switch. Wikipedia]
"A relay is an electrically operated switch. Many relays use an electromagnet to mechanically operate a switch, but other operating principles are also used, such as solid-state relays. Relays are used where it is necessary to control a circuit by a low-power signal (with complete electrical isolation between control and controlled circuits), or where several circuits must be controlled by one signal. The first relays were used in long distance telegraph circuits as amplifiers: they repeated the signal coming in from one circuit and re-transmitted it on another circuit. Relays were used extensively in telephone exchanges and early computers to perform logical operations.
A type of relay that can handle the high power required to directly control an electric motor or other loads is called a contactor. Solid-state relays control power circuits with no moving parts, instead using a semiconductor device to perform switching. Relays with calibrated operating characteristics and sometimes multiple operating coils are used to protect electrical circuits from overload or faults; in modern electric power systems these functions are performed by digital instruments still called "protective relays"." [Relay. Wikipedia]
The shapes example "Design elements - Switches and relays" was drawn using the ConceptDraw PRO diagramming and vector drawing software extended with the Electrical Engineering solution from the Engineering area of ConceptDraw Solution Park.
Switch and relay symbols
Switch and relay symbols, two way contact, time delay make, open switch, time-delay closing, TDC, time delay make, normally open, time delay break, normally closed, time delay break, closed switch, time-delay opening, TDO, thermostat, temperature switch, temperature sensitive switch, temperature actuated switch, switch disconnector, isolating-switch, stay put, contact without spring return, spring return, make, spring return, break, spring return, shorting selector, make-before-break, shorting, bridging,  contact transfer, selector switch, break-before-make, nonshorting, nonbridging, contact transfer, safety interlock, circuit opening, relay contacts, relay coil, relay, pushbutton, make, circuit closing, mushroom head, push-pull head, pushbutton, break, circuit opening, mushroom head, push-pull head, pushbutton, 2-circuit, circuit opening, break, proximity limit switch, directly actuated, spring returned, normally closed, pressure actuated switch, pilot light, passing make-contact, mercury switch, manual switch, manually operated switch, make contact, liquid level actuated switch, limit switch, directly actuated, spring returned, normally open, limit switch, directly actuated, spring returned, normally closed, limit switch, isolator, inertia switch, gas flow actuated switch, fuse, flow actuated, circuit breaker, change-over contact, break contact, SPST, single-pole, single-throw, switch, SPDT, single-pole, double-throw, switch, DPST, double-pole, single-throw, switch, DPDT, double-pole, double-throw, switch, 4 position, switch, 3 position, three-position, switch, 2 position, switch,

Electrical Symbols — Electrical Circuits

A circuit diagram or wiring diagram uses symbols to represent parts of a circuit. Electrical and electronic circuits can be complicated. Making a drawing of the connections to all the component parts in the circuit's load makes it easier to understand how circuit components are connected. Drawings for electronic circuits are called "circuit diagrams". Drawings for electrical circuits are called "wiring diagrams". 26 libraries of the Electrical Engineering Solution of ConceptDraw DIAGRAM make your electrical diagramming simple, efficient, and effective. You can simply and quickly drop the ready-to-use objects from libraries into your document to create the electrical diagram.

Electrical Symbols — Qualifying

A qualifying symbol is graphics or text added to the basic outline of a device’s logic symbol to describe the physical or logical characteristics of the device. 26 libraries of the Electrical Engineering Solution of ConceptDraw DIAGRAM make your electrical diagramming simple, efficient, and effective. You can simply and quickly drop the ready-to-use objects from libraries into your document to create the electrical diagram.

Electrical Symbols — IGFET

There are several types of insulated gate field-effect transistors (IGFETs) in common use. The early term metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) is still in use, and MOSFET is usually acceptable as a generic term for IGFETs. The metal oxide, and the insulation in the IGFET, is the insulating material between the gate terminal and the substrate between the source and drain terminals. This insulator must have very low leakage, of course, but another requirement for good performance of the transistor is that the dielectric constant of the material must be very high. 26 libraries of the Electrical Engineering Solution of ConceptDraw DIAGRAM make your electrical diagramming simple, efficient, and effective. You can simply and quickly drop the ready-to-use objects from libraries into your document to create the electrical diagram.

Electrical Symbols — Integrated Circuit

An integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small plate ("chip") of semiconductor material, normally silicon. This can be made much smaller than a discrete circuit made from independent electronic components. ICs can be made very compact, having up to several billion transistors and other electronic components in an area the size of a human fingernail. 26 libraries of the Electrical Engineering Solution of ConceptDraw DIAGRAM make your electrical diagramming simple, efficient, and effective. You can simply and quickly drop the ready-to-use objects from libraries into your document to create the electrical diagram.

Electrical Symbols — Analog and Digital Logic

Digital electronics or digital (electronic) circuits are electronics that handle digital signals – discrete bands of analog levels – rather than by continuous ranges (as used in analogue electronics). All levels within a band of values represent the same numeric value. Because of this discretization, relatively small changes to the analog signal levels due to manufacturing tolerance, signal attenuation or parasitic noise do not leave the discrete envelope, and as a result are ignored by signal state sensing circuitry. 26 libraries of the Electrical Engineering Solution of ConceptDraw DIAGRAM make your electrical diagramming simple, efficient, and effective. You can simply and quickly drop the ready-to-use objects from libraries into your document to create the electrical diagram.

Electrical Symbols — Inductors

An inductor, also called a coil or reactor, is a passive two-terminal electrical component which resists changes in electric current passing through it. It consists of a conductor such as a wire, usually wound into a coil. Energy is stored in a magnetic field in the coil as long as current flows. When the current flowing through an inductor changes, the time-varying magnetic field induces a voltage in the conductor, according to Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction. 26 libraries of the Electrical Engineering Solution of ConceptDraw DIAGRAM make your electrical diagramming simple, efficient, and effective. You can simply and quickly drop the ready-to-use objects from libraries into your document to create the electrical diagram.

Wiring Diagrams with ConceptDraw DIAGRAM

A Wiring Diagram is a comprehensive schematic that depicts the electrical circuit system, shows all the connectors, wiring, signal connections (buses), terminal boards between electrical or electronic components and devices of the circuit. Wiring Diagram illustrates how the components are connected electrically and identifies the wires by colour coding or wire numbers. These diagrams are necessary and obligatory for identifying and fixing faults of electrical or electronic circuits, and their elimination. For designing Wiring Diagrams are used the standardized symbols representing electrical components and devices. ConceptDraw Solution Park offers the Electrical Engineering solution from the Engineering area with 26 libraries of graphics design elements and electrical schematic symbols for easy drawing various Wiring Diagrams, Electrical Circuit and Wiring Blueprints, Electrical and Telecom schematics of any complexity, Electrical Engineering Diagrams, Power Systems Diagrams, Repair Diagrams, Maintenance Schemes, etc. in ConceptDraw DIAGRAM software.

Electrical Symbols — Rotating Equipment

Electrical rotating machines, such as motors and generators, are vital assets for any power plant or large industrial company. An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. The reverse of this would be the conversion of mechanical energy into electrical energy and is done by an electric generator. In normal motoring mode, most electric motors operate through the interaction between an electric motor's magnetic field and winding currents to generate force within the motor. In certain applications, such as in the transportation industry with traction motors, electric motors can operate in both motoring and generating or braking modes to also produce electrical energy from mechanical energy. 26 libraries of the Electrical Engineering Solution of ConceptDraw DIAGRAM make your electrical diagramming simple, efficient, and effective. You can simply and quickly drop the ready-to-use objects from libraries into your document to create the electrical diagram.

Electrical Symbols — Semiconductor

Semiconductors are crystalline or amorphous solids with distinct electrical characteristics. They are of high resistance — higher than typical resistance materials, but still of much lower resistance than insulators. Their resistance decreases as their temperature increases, which is behavior opposite to that of a metal. Finally, their conducting properties may be altered in useful ways by the deliberate, controlled introduction of impurities into the crystal structure, which lowers its resistance but also permits the creation of semiconductor junctions between differently-doped regions of the extrinsic semiconductor crystal. The behavior of charge carriers which include electrons, ions and electron holes at these junctions is the basis of diodes, transistors and all modern electronics. 26 libraries of the Electrical Engineering Solution of ConceptDraw DIAGRAM make your electrical diagramming simple, efficient, and effective. You can simply and quickly drop the ready-to-use objects from libraries into your document to create the electrical diagram.

Electrical Symbols — Terminals and Connectors

An electrical connector, is an electro-mechanical device used to join electrical terminations and create an electrical circuit. Electrical connectors consist of plugs (male-ended) and jacks (female-ended). The connection may be temporary, as for portable equipment, require a tool for assembly and removal, or serve as a permanent electrical joint between two wires or devices. 26 libraries of the Electrical Engineering Solution of ConceptDraw DIAGRAM make your electrical diagramming simple, efficient, and effective. You can simply and quickly drop the ready-to-use objects from libraries into your document to create the electrical diagram.