# Schwenktaster



## oostnic

I am translating a fairly technical piece and have got to a section on security switches, where Schwenktaster (as well as  Druck-, Schlag-, Schlüssel-, Leucht- und Pilztaster) and I am struggling to find an English match. I have checked out pictures of rotary switches, pivoting switches, spring return switches and non-latching buttons and am at a loss as to which - if any - of these is the correct translation. Anyone have any idea?


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## Frank78

"Rotary switches" are "Drehschalter"

A google search for "Schwenktaster" seems only to display "Drehschalter". The first thing which came to my mind when I read the word was a combination of rotary switch and push-button switches like the ones you use as "rotary dimmer" (push=on/off, rotate=brightness)


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## ayuda?

*schwenken* =  swivling, pivoting, moving back and forth
*tasten* =  [something like] àtouch, feel for, grab
*Taster* = button, switch, dial

Is this what you mean?  . I would be good if you had a picture of what you are referreing to.
*Maybe this will help:*
switch - Google Search  knob
switch - Google Search switch [see on/off switch, wall switch
Schwenktaster - English translation – Linguee entries from linguee.com
schwenkscheibe [rotary switch], schwenktaster [pushbutton] [pivotswitch]  etc….

It all seems to depend on how it looks since there could be several variations of that in English.
switch - Google Search dial, dial switch


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## oostnic

I don't have a picture, only the word itself, and I've been on Linguee, Google and done loads of image searches - was sort of hoping a German electrician would pop up and say "Oh I know exactly what you mean, it's this ...!"


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## ayuda?

I just think it could mean several things, and without a definite picture it might be hard to say what the exact word would be in English; however, you probably would be able to convey the general meaning.
Good luck.


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## oostnic

Thanks! And thanks for all your investigations...


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## exgerman

here's a Schwenktaste (ohne R):


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## oostnic

Hmm. That is coming up as a 'selector switch' (see: Schlegel | OKTRON-JUWEL | OKJSTB Selector Head, momentary) - which also gets a lot of hits on Google. Might be a winner! But wait: isn't a 'Wahlschalter' a selector switch?


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## manfy

'Wahlschalter' is too generic. Almost any switch could be a 'Wahlschalter'.
I'd call that thing a 'non-latching rotary switch'. That's quite a mouthful, but at least it's descriptive and unambiguous -- even more so than the German term!


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## exgerman

Reading manfy's link, the key element of this switch seems to be that you can turn it 40 degrees, either right or left, but the switch indicator immediately returns to the resting position. It has a "spring return". So the position of the switch does not indicate the state of the switch.

So maybe it's a "momentary selector switch" in Schlegel's terminology, as opposed to a "maintained selector switch". "Momentary selector switch" seems to be a thing, judging by google.


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## Demiurg

exgerman said:


> the key element of this switch seems to be that you can turn it 40 degrees, either right or left, ...


That's the "Schwenk" part ...


exgerman said:


> It has a "spring return". So the position of the switch does not indicate the state of the switch.


... and that's the "Taster" / "Taste" part.


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## oostnic

Thank you everybody. From the above, I would guess that 'non-latching' roughly = 'momentary', which can also be described as 'spring return' - i.e. in each case the switch returns to its initial position when you let go of it. So that seems to be what a Schwenktaster is - just need to choose between one of these terms now! Will spend some time on Google checking the prevalence of each


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## Kajjo

Schalter = switch > remains in new position after handling it
Taster = button > returns to neutral position after handling it; activates only during handling

_Schwenktaster_ are buttons, which have a neutral position and can be handled into at least one other or several other positions by rotating or sviwelling. 

A translation like "_rotary switch" _does not convey the important "Taster" feature. Maybe "button with rotary knob"?


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## oostnic

I currently have "non-latching button"


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## manfy

oostnic said:


> I currently have "non-latching button"


I'd rather not!
I work in the field of electronics and whenever I hear "button" in the context of electronics, I think of a push button...at least in 99.9% of the cases...


> Schalter = switch
> Taster = button


It's not quite that simple. "Taster" is always understood as a momentary switch in German, "button" in English is not. "Switch" as well as "Schalter" is a general term for any device that makes or breaks the flow of electric current; a "Taster" is just a specific subcategory thereof.  

For example, I wouldn't call a rocker switch a "rocker button" just because of its design feature of momentary contact. It's still a rocker switch, but with momentary function.
Come to think of it, I'd probably never call a momentary rocker switch "Kipptaster" in German either. "Kippschalter" is just too much of a set term.


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## oostnic

Ah ok, then "non-latching rotary switch" it is then


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## Demiurg

oostnic said:


> Ah ok, then "non-latching rotary switch" it is then



I think a rotary switch (_Drehschalter_) is something different.


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## oostnic

Can we all agree on 'non-latching switch'?


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## manfy

Demiurg said:


> I think a rotary switch (_Drehschalter_) is something different.



Not really, actually.
The terms "rotary switch" and "Drehschalter" emphasize the required action of operation ('turning the knob') -- and that's exactly what needs to be done to operate that "Schwenktaster" (as a side note: "Schwenktaster" is a strange term and I wouldn't know what is meant without context. In context and with picture, it's very clear though!).
The problem in the translation boils down to the function of the word. If the physical design of the switch is to be identified, then momentary/non-latching rotary switch is a good choice; if the description of a distinct function among many other switches is desired, then a more generic term like 'XYZ selector switch' might be preferrable.


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## oostnic

In this case, it's just one switch in a list of switches/buttons that can be accommodated by a particular box, so the physical design doesn't have to be identified. I don't think it comes up in the text again - I just need to differentiate it from the other examples (see my list in the first entry)


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## berndf

To my knowledge the English electrical engineering term is _rotary momentary switch_. (_Momentary switch _is the English equivalent of _Taster_).


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## manfy

oostnic said:


> I just need to differentiate it from the other examples (see my list in the first entry)



I see. For the sake of brevity and distinction, I'd go with "selector switch" then. Linguistically it's not the same as a "Schwenktaster", but that probably doesn't matter in this case. I just browsed a page from Schneider Electric and they do identify all their rotary panel switches as 'selector switch'; other manufacturers might use a different term. 

*Schwenktaster (as well as Druck-, Schlag-, Schlüssel-, Leucht- und Pilztaster)*
=> selector switch, pushbutton switch, palm button, key switch, indicator button, mushroom-head button


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## berndf

manfy said:


> I'd go with "selector switch" then.


A _selector switch_ is not a type of _Taster_ but a type of _Schalter_.


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## manfy

For the German words that's correct, but English doesn't differentiate those terms as religiously.
Schneider Electric uses 'selector switch' for both the latching and the non-latching kind. You can browse through thousands of switches and their datasheets from Mouser and you'll probably find 10 different names for the same thing.
'Selector switch, rotary switch, rotary momentary switch' sound very sensible in English and in this context unless the function of momentary action needs to be emphasized for technical reasons.

Even in German I'd use Schalter, Taste, Taster interchangeably if the fact of latching/non-latching function is unimportant and if it aids clarity in that specific use. I'm inclined to use Taste and Taster almost exclusively for pushbutton style switches though.


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## Frieder

manfy said:


> Even in German I'd use Schalter, Taste, Taster interchangeably


I'd never do that! I was in the business of constucting and building electric control cabinets (Schaltschrankbau) and these terms were never (ever) used interchangeably. You have Schalter and Taster, were


oostnic said:


> Druck-, Schlag-, Schlüssel-, Leucht- und Pilztaster


just differ in the way they are operated. So it is essential whether they are latching or non-latching.

From Wikipedia:

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.​


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## Hutschi

Maybe a "momentary selector switch". I found examples for this in Google.

Or more special: "momentary rotary selector switch" - there are also examples.

The problem is: a "Schwenkschalter" always uses rotation, but the axis is not defined. (I checked lots of pictures, some have the axis parallel, some vertical to the surface like a centre stick Centre stick - Wikipedia .) So it may be a "Kippschalter" (rotation similar to a centre stick) or a "Drehschalter" (rotation similar to an old tuning knob of a radio.)

I do not know if it is the same in English.
Taster adds "momentary" to the concept. It goes automatically back to the standard position if you stop to press/to switch it.


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## manfy

Frieder said:


> I'd never do that!



Yes, but you're an insider, so you're predisposed. You're trained to pay attention to that detail but the general public is not.
From an English language point of view, a momentary switch is still a switch.
If the German language didn't know "Taster" as a distinct word, you wouldn't be inclined to religiously differentiate between the two. If it were Tastschalter vs. Schalter, you'd probably see it the same way as a native English speaker.


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## Hutschi

So it is necessary to have context.
Who shall read it? Who is the audience?
What is the purpose?

Example: If it is a description of a picture just for showing the picture and give it a title in a Photo exhibition, it is not necessary to describe whether it is a momentary switch or not.
If you want to sell it, it is essential for the customer to know it.


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## berndf

manfy said:


> Yes, but you're an insider, so you're predisposed. You're trained to pay attention to that detail but the general public is not.





oostnic said:


> I am translating a fairly technical piece


So much for "general" public.


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## Hutschi

Oostnics question suggests somehow that he translates a kind of technical document. And he wants a precise definition.
I can describe all of the switches, but in English it is rather difficult.

I even think that it is more essential that it is a momentary switch than that it is a rotary switch. But even this depends on purpose. If in doubt I prefer a precise translation, even if it sounds clumsy for general public.

So far I have "momentary rotary selector switch". (Please check if this is ok in English. You can also ask in the English forum, Oostnic.)


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## manfy

berndf said:


> So much for "general" public.



Touché! 

And yet, I maintain that even in technical documents it is often undesirable to confuse the reader with long and complex phrases that have no significance in that specific context.
So, even though "rotary momentary selector switch [with red actuator and black faceplate]" may be a very accurate description, it's just too long as a descriptive, distinctive term for general purpose.
It's up to the writer to decide which aspect is important within that context, and based on oostnic's description in post #20, I'd still go with "selector switch". (Omron, a big and well-known manufacturer of switchgear, is using 'selector switch' for momentary and maintained switches too, and most of them appear to be the rotary kind. [just click on the pdf-datasheet in this Mouser link to download the Omron catalogue])


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## Robocop

manfy said:


> If it were Tastschalter vs. Schalter ...


Strictly speaking, it is Tastschalter (non-latching switch) versus Rastschalter (latching switch).
A switch operated by hand, latching or non-latching, may be actuated by pressing (drücken) a button, rotating (drehen) a handle (?)(Knebel), flipping (umlegen, kippen) a rocker/lever.


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