I didn't want to sound to direct or harsh at the beginning (as we Dutch people can be) but now I'm interested what do you think as an electro-mechanical engineer that amber is? Cause I can't think of any structural application in industrial design were amber could be applied other than for pure esthetic value.
Semantics, and irrelevant to the issue. Mixing materials of different harnesses in a manner where friction is a factor is, well to be blunt, amateur. Amber has a harness similar to nylon. The rubber coating over the "Glass fiber reinforced polyamide" hardness much less. Plain and simple.
FYI, I design transformer substations not micro switches. If a customer complains about a control component, I scrap it and get a better one.
I suppose you mean an amber colored rod?!? Besides I suppose that it is not a question of saving money to use these switches, otherwise they would have used this type of switch for on/off as well. Other brands like Ray Samuels Audio use similar switches for products in higher price ranges.
They would still be saving money. This ones basic math. Switch A costs 5$ switch B costs 10$. X= B+B = 20$, Y = B+A = 15$. X > Y.
In order to change the switch they would most likely have to redesign the PCB in order to fit the larger metal IO switch into further revisions, but I think its worth it.
My other gripe, one day I was using my C5 and there was a rattling inside. I opened it up and out fell a 1/4" x 1/4" x 1/8" thk. piece of plastic. It was a part associated with the PCB mounting.
I have bought plenty of "premium products" and many of them have failed. Just because everyone uses it and it has become an industry standard does not mean better options do not exist.
Additionally the aluminum end plates are inconsistent on both sides of my C5. One of them overhangs, the entire plate is offset. The other side is fine.
Also, almost all of the labels (such as IO, + -) are faded, some of them totally gone.
I was not going to rip the product like this but I felt no other choice now that my legitimacy is being questioned. These issues are much more relevant then knowing the difference between tree resin and synthetic tree resin, in my humble opinion.
The saying "they don't build them like they use to" is a bit of an understatement on this one.