VARIABLE ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS INSTITUTE

BRIEF DEFINITION OF VARIABLE RESISTOR PRODUCTS


 
 
TRIMMING POTENTIOMETERS
 
Trimming potentiometers, or trimmers, are generally used to trim resistance in electronic circuits and are usually mounted on a printed circuit board. The resistance element may be wirewound, carbon, or cermet. Configuration may be multi-turn square, multi-turn rectangular, or single turn. The construction may be sealed, semi-sealed, or open. These units may be leaded or surface mount types.
 
 
PRECISION POTENTIOMETERS 
 
Precision potentiometers are those having linearity equal to or better than plus or minus 1%. The resistance element may be wirewound or non-wirewound. The configuration may be single turn, multi-turn, ganged, or translatory. 
 
 
PANEL POTENTIOMETERS - INDUSTRIAL GRADE
 
Industrial Grade Panel Potentiometers are normally mounted on a panel by means of a threaded bushing and mounting nut; however, they may also be mounted directly on a PC board by the terminals. Resistance Tolerance is typically plus or minus 5 to 30%. Independent Linearity is plus or minus 5% or greater. Rotation is typically 300 degrees, plus or minus 50 degrees; however, some units with vernier drives may have a greater rotation.