10 Types of Potentiometer: How to choose & Applications
A potentiometer is an electronic device that is meant to vary the potential difference between the desired terminals of a circuit. Depending on their application, there are different types of potentiometer viz, linear, rotary, analog, and digital potentiometer. Before diving a bit deep into their classification, let us see how they work.Get more news about rotary potentiometer,you can vist our website!
How does a potentiometer work?
The variation of potential difference is achieved by gradually changing the resistance with a moving contact. Thus a potentiometer is also used as a variable resistance in some applications. Potentiometers are available in many types across the market. The suitable type is chosen based on its requirement in the circuit.
In all these types, the uniform resistance strip is the heart of the potentiometer. And they all follow a similar working principle. The rotary potentiometer is the most widely used among these and is a necessary component in the audio and stereo systems in the portion of volume control.
Linear potentiometers are commonly used to measure the internal resistance of a battery cell. Digital potentiometers are employed in situations that demand high precision.
A rotary potentiometer has a rotational knob that controls the position of the wiper arm. The uniform resistance is in a semicircular structure, in which the wiper moves in a circular motion to vary the resistance. So in this way, the rotary motion of these potentiometers is converted into varying resistance.
The above figure shows a rotary potentiometer with a circular structure and a rotating shaft that controls the supply voltage. This mechanism enables it to deliver adjustable supply voltage in the circuits.
The single-turn pot can be rotated at its knob in a single direction. The rotation is possible at approximately up to 270 degrees, which is the 3/4th of a complete rotation. The figure below shows a single-turn potentiometer.
Multi-Turn Pot
The major difference between a multi-turn and a single-turn potentiometer is that multiple rotations are possible in this model(5,10 or 20). This results in an enhanced precision as compared to the other type. Multi-turn pots are constructed using a wiper followed by a spiral or helix form.
Their construction is also achieved with worm gear. Bourns is the most popular manufacturer of multi-turn pots. We can see an example of a multi-turn pot in the following figure.
Dual-Gang Pot
Dual-gang pots consist of two single-turn potentiometers combined on a single shaft, which is shown in the following figure. These pots use two parallel channels to achieve dual functionality. Potentiometers with more than two gangs are available in the market but they are not very common.
Applications
Since these potentiometers can serve parallelly for two channels, they are used in the applications where the potential difference between two channels should be parallelly adjusted. Thus the dual-gang pots are largely used for audio volume control in stereo systems.
Concentric Pot
A concentric pot is another type of dual potentiometer with two potentiometers. Unlike dual-gang pots that have single shafts, the resistance in concentric pots is individually adjusted using two concentric shafts. Thus this pot has two controls in a single unit. An example of a concentric pot is shown in the figure.
A potentiometer is an electronic device that is meant to vary the potential difference between the desired terminals of a circuit. Depending on their application, there are different types of potentiometer viz, linear, rotary, analog, and digital potentiometer. Before diving a bit deep into their classification, let us see how they work.Get more news about rotary potentiometer,you can vist our website!
How does a potentiometer work?
The variation of potential difference is achieved by gradually changing the resistance with a moving contact. Thus a potentiometer is also used as a variable resistance in some applications. Potentiometers are available in many types across the market. The suitable type is chosen based on its requirement in the circuit.
In all these types, the uniform resistance strip is the heart of the potentiometer. And they all follow a similar working principle. The rotary potentiometer is the most widely used among these and is a necessary component in the audio and stereo systems in the portion of volume control.
Linear potentiometers are commonly used to measure the internal resistance of a battery cell. Digital potentiometers are employed in situations that demand high precision.
A rotary potentiometer has a rotational knob that controls the position of the wiper arm. The uniform resistance is in a semicircular structure, in which the wiper moves in a circular motion to vary the resistance. So in this way, the rotary motion of these potentiometers is converted into varying resistance.
The above figure shows a rotary potentiometer with a circular structure and a rotating shaft that controls the supply voltage. This mechanism enables it to deliver adjustable supply voltage in the circuits.
The single-turn pot can be rotated at its knob in a single direction. The rotation is possible at approximately up to 270 degrees, which is the 3/4th of a complete rotation. The figure below shows a single-turn potentiometer.
Multi-Turn Pot
The major difference between a multi-turn and a single-turn potentiometer is that multiple rotations are possible in this model(5,10 or 20). This results in an enhanced precision as compared to the other type. Multi-turn pots are constructed using a wiper followed by a spiral or helix form.
Their construction is also achieved with worm gear. Bourns is the most popular manufacturer of multi-turn pots. We can see an example of a multi-turn pot in the following figure.
Dual-Gang Pot
Dual-gang pots consist of two single-turn potentiometers combined on a single shaft, which is shown in the following figure. These pots use two parallel channels to achieve dual functionality. Potentiometers with more than two gangs are available in the market but they are not very common.
Applications
Since these potentiometers can serve parallelly for two channels, they are used in the applications where the potential difference between two channels should be parallelly adjusted. Thus the dual-gang pots are largely used for audio volume control in stereo systems.
Concentric Pot
A concentric pot is another type of dual potentiometer with two potentiometers. Unlike dual-gang pots that have single shafts, the resistance in concentric pots is individually adjusted using two concentric shafts. Thus this pot has two controls in a single unit. An example of a concentric pot is shown in the figure.