Shorting vs Non Shorting on rotary switches

When we see the term shorting for rotary switches it may also be known as ‘make before break’. An example of this is if you are switching between positions 1 and 2, the rotary switch will momentarily ‘short’ position 1 and 2 together when you rotate the switch.

A non shorting switch is ‘break before make’ and the connection is temporarily broken when you switch between positions 1 and 2 giving a brief moment where nothing is connected.

An easy way to narrow the results for rotary switches by the version that you need is by selecting it from the filter titled “contact timing” from our page for rotary switches and hit apply filters to narrow down the results.

For a more complete breakdown of switches and switch terminology please visit;
Fundamentals of Switches: Series 1 | NKK SWITCHES