Snap-action basic switch for position and travel feedback
The Omron Z-15HW400 sits in the Z-series general-purpose basic switch family, a snap-action SPDT unit rated 15 A at 250 VAC that shows up most often as the position-detection element on machine guarding doors, conveyor end-of-travel stops, and packaging-line cam actuators where a mechanical lever or plunger needs to translate travel into a clean dry-contact signal. The 15 A resistive rating at 250 VAC covers standard control-panel switching duty, and the asymmetric inrush envelope — up to 30 A on the NC contact versus up to 15 A on the NO contact — is the figure that matters when the switch lands on a solenoid, transformer, or incandescent lamp load rather than a resistive heater.
Contact life and mechanical duty envelope
The 20 operations/minute minimum figure published for the series is the floor below which the snap-action mechanism can stick on lightly oiled or sluggish actuators; it is a sizing constraint on slow-moving damped cams, not a rating to design toward.
Panel mounting and solder termination
The switch drops into a 4.2 mm mounting hole and ships with solder terminals, which fits the traditional back-of-panel wiring pattern on machine frames and junction boxes rather than the plug-in quick-disconnect bodies used on modular conveyor sections.