1.

Electrical Material is basically the parts or elements used in the making of any
electrical construction project. This can vary from a small house circuit to as big
as a large industrial plant. D & F Liquidators supply large inventory of
construction electrical products & materials including:

Electrical Conduit and Conduit Fitting

Electrical Conduit is a tube that carries electrical wire for power or communications.
Conduit is made in rigid steel; lighter steel called IMC or intermediate conduit; EMT or
thin wall conduit; PVC or plastic; aluminum; or PVC coated; which is rigid covered with
40 mil PVC jacket. Conduit for electrical ranges in sizes from 3/8″ to 6″

A Conduit Fitting is a part that is used to join or adapt other parts or conduit carrying
electrical power, or communication wire. Conduit fittings can be indoor, set screw or
outdoor, water tight. They can be bushings, locknuts, connectors, couplings, and
Condulets, etc. They come in all sizes from 3/8″ to 6″. They can be corrosive protect by
PVC coating, or explosion protected by design.

Electrical Wire and Cable

Electrical Wire is drawn metal, copper or aluminum that carries electricity through an
electrical circuit. Wire may be run overhead, under ground, through conduit or flex or
open. Wire is protected by design with a jacket depending on usage. It can also be
flexible as in the use of extension cords. It can be very small in size as 26 gauge to as
large as 2000 MCM.

Explosion Proof Enclosures

Explosion Proof is a product design to contain an electrical short so that it doesn’t ignite
a hazardous atmosphere causing an explosion. Refineries, gas stations, paint booths
are examples of where these products would be used. They are heavy duty steel or
aluminum by design, or can be fiberglass as well.

Circuit Breakers

Circuit Breakers are devices that automatically interrupt the follow of an electric current
to protect against a short or overload. Circuit Breakers are made by several
manufacturers including Cutler Hammer/ Westinghouse, General Electric, Square D,
ITE Sieonans, and Federal Pacific. Circuit Breakers protect the smallest house circuit to
the largest industrial requirements.

Electrical Connectors
Electrical Connector is a part that will join or adapt one part to another. Connector range
in size from 3/8″ to 6″. They can be indoor, outdoor, corrosive protected or explosion
proof.

Electrical Box

Electrical Box is an enclosure used for many purposes such as pulling, connecting or
terminated an electrical circuit. Electrical box can be set screw or indoor; it can be rain
tight, or outdoor. They can be made of steel, aluminum, plastic, stainless steel, or cast
iron. Requirement can include corrosive protected or explosion protected by design.

Lugs

Lugs are the electrical connectors that terminate the electrical circuit. Lugs are made of
copper, aluminum, or bronze. They are made for the smallest wire size, 26 gauge to the
largest 2000 MCM. Lugs can be mechanical or set screw; compression or crimp, solder
or weld; or clamp type. T&B, Burndy, Penn Union, Panduit, and 3M are some different
manufacturers of lugs.

Motor Control

Motor Control is an apparatus used to regulate a motor or mechanism. It can control the
smallest mechanism to the largest power turbines. There are several manufacturers of
motor control including Allen Bradley, Square D, Cutler Hammer, ITE Siemens, General
Electric and Westinghouse.

2. Basic Electrical Symbols

Let's go over some sample electrical symbols and what they represent.

Ground or Earth
A ground symbol (IEC symbol 5017) identifies a ground terminal. It can be used for a zero
potential reference point from where current is measured. It is also for electrical shock
protection. There are a few different ground symbols. The one we're showing here is "Earth", but
there's also a Chassis and Digital/Common ground with slight variations to this symbol.
Resistor
A resistor reduces current flow. In a schematic, this is represented with a few zig zag squiggles.
We're showing the US/Japan version of this symbol (IEEE). The UK uses a simple box over a
straight line (IEC). There are also symbols for variable and adjustable resistors as well as thermal
and preset resistors.

Switch
Disconnects the current when open. We're showing a simple SPST (single-pole single-throw)
toggle switch, but there are variations for SPDT, pushbutton, dip, relay, and more. For a
complete list of switch symbols, check out SmartDraw's electrical symbol library.

Capacitor
A capacitor symbol shows two terminals running into plates. The curved plate indicates that the
capacitor is polarized. The curved side has lower voltage. A small plus sign can be added to the
straight side indicated the positive pin.

Fuse
A fuse protects electrical circuits by stopping the flow of current when the intensity of current
exceed a set value. It does this by melting a special wire.
Antenna
Marks a device, rod, or wire designed to capture radio and electromagnetic waves into electrical
signals and vice versa.

Inductor
An inductor is also called a coil or reactor. The coils store energy in a magnetic field or flux. An
inductor symbol looks like a series of looped coils.

Transformer
A transformer is two or more coils coupled by magnetic induction. It helps keep the frequency
and reduce tension in an AC circuit.

Motor
A motor is a device that can transform electric energy into mechanical energy.

Source
Represents the power source for your electronics. This symbol represent a direct current (DC).
To represent AC current, you'd replace the plus and minus sign with a wave.
Battery
Batteries are represented on a schematic with a pair of disproportionate, parallel lines. The
number of lines indicates the number of series cells in the battery.

Diode
A diode only allows current to flow in one direction. It's always polarized with an anode (A,
positive) and cathode side (C, negative).

Diode LED
A diede LED is a standard diode symbol with two small arrows showing the emission of light

3. TYPES OF SWITCHES AND USES

1. ONE-WAY (SINGLE-POLE) ELECTRICAL SWITCH

A one-way or single-pole electrical switch is the most common one in use. They are
used to control lights, fans, or other devices from a single location. It has a simple ON
and OFF marking. This is something you may not find on three-way or four-way
switches. A single-pole or one-way electrical switch generally comes with two brass-
colored screw terminals and is connected to the “hot” (current-carrying) wire, which is
usually black. One of the brass terminals is for the incoming hot (current-carrying) wire,
and the other terminal is for the outgoing hot (current-carrying) wire to the device. Most
of the one-way switches also include a ground terminal for connecting the circuit’s
ground wire. A one-way switch basically operates as a make or break switch. When it is
turned ON, the two terminals are connected, and when it is turned OFF, the contact
between the two is broken.

2. TWO-WAY (DOUBLE-POLE) ELECTRICAL SWITCH

A two-way or double-pole electrical switch is generally used in industrial applications but

can also be found in some home wiring systems. Like the single-pole switch, a two-way
or a double-pole electrical switch may also have the ON and OFF markings on them.
These switches control a device or equipment from more than one location. A double-
pole switch has four hot brass terminals (instead of two terminals like a one-way). It also
has a ground terminal, allowing you to connect it to two pairs of hot wires. A two-way or
double-pole switch is basically two, one-way switches combined into one. One of the
terminals can be connected to either of the remaining two but both the terminals cannot
be connected at the same time. When you want to make a connection with one
terminal, the connection with the other is broken. The Double-Pole or the Two-way
switches are generally used for 30 amps (in comparison to the 15 or 20 amps in case of
standard switches), so they are able to control higher-demand appliances, like motors,
and machinery.
 Image Source : www.finolex.com

TYPES OF SWITCHES DEPENDING ON USAGE

1. DO NOT DISTURB SWITCH

Entirely different from the regular switches available in the market, this soft touch
operating switch is generally used in places like hospitals and hotels. Do Not Disturb
Switch is generally used to ensure privacy and silence.
 Image Source : www.finolex.com

2. LIGHT DIMMER / STEPLESS REGULATOR

A light dimmer/stepless regulator is used to control or change the speed of a fan or

sometimes to change the intensity of a light between bright and dim. The regulators
available earlier used to rotate in steps, each step representing a definite level of fan
speed, but the Light Dimmer/Stepless Regulator allows you to rotate it freely without
any steps or levels.
3. BELL PUSH SWITCH

A Bell Push switch is connected to a doorbell. So, when the switch is pushed, it rings
the bell connected to it. It can be used at homes, offices or at any other place wherever
required. A Bell Push switch always maintains a broken circuit, unless the button is
pressed.

These are the types of switches generally available in the market. Apart from these,
there is a wide range of durable and designer electrical switches made by FINOLEX.
Switches from Finolex include durable products like Finolex Premium Plus Switches,
which can last for years and they also have a range of designer switches like Feriha.
For best result and durability, use FINOLEX WIRES & CABLES

4. What are Conductors?

Conductors are the materials or substances which allow electricity to flow through them. They are
able to conduct electricity because they allow electrons to flow inside them very easily. Conductors
have this property of allowing the transition of heat or light from one source to another.
Metals, humans, earth, and animal bodies are all conductors. This is the reason we get electric
shocks! The main reason is that being a good conductor, our human body allows a resistance-free
path for the current to flow from wire to our body.

Conductors have free electrons on its surface which allows current to pass through. This is the
reason why conductors are able to conduct electricity.

Examples of Conductors

 Silver is the best conductor of electricity. However, it is costly and so, we don’t use silver in
industries and transmission of electricity.

 Copper, Brass, Steel, Gold, and Aluminium are good conductors of electricity. We use them
mostly in electric circuits and systems in the form of wires.

 Mercury is an excellent liquid conductor that finds use in many instruments.

 Gases are not good conductors of electricity as the particles of matter are quite far away
and thus, they are unable to conduct electrons.

Explore more about Electric Charges and Fields

 Dipole in a Uniform External Field

 Electric Dipole

 Applications of Gauss’s Law

 Gauss’s Law

 Electric Flux

 Electric Field Lines

  Electric Field

 Coulomb’s Law

 Basic Properties of Electric Charge

 Electric Charge

Applications of Conductors

Conductors are quite useful in many ways. They find used in many real-life applications like:

 Mercury is a common ingredient in thermometer to check the temperature of the body.

 Aluminium finds use in making foils to store food and also in the production of fry pans to
store heat quickly.

 Iron is common in vehicle engine manufacturing to conduct heat.

 The plate of an iron is made up of steel to absorb heat briskly.

 Conductors find their use in car radiators to eradicate heat away from the engine.