Product Description & Technical Details
Product Description
The 12V Sugar Cube Relay is a compact, high-performance electromechanical switch designed for direct mounting on Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs). Its small "sugar cube" form factor makes it an industry standard for space-constrained designs. It features a Single Pole Double Throw (SPDT) configuration, allowing it to switch between two different output paths. This relay is widely used in home appliances, office equipment, smart home devices, and industrial control systems, where a 12V signal is used to toggle higher voltage AC or DC loads.
Key Highlights
Compact "Sugar Cube" Design: Standard 5-pin layout that fits easily into breadboards (via adapters) or custom PCB footprints, optimising board space.
Versatile Switching: Rated for up to 10A at 250V AC, making it robust enough to control lights, fans, solenoid valves, and small heating elements.
SPDT Configuration: Provides both Normally Open (NO) and Normally Closed (NC) contacts, giving designers flexibility in fail-safe circuit logic.
High Reliability: Features silver alloy contacts designed for high conductivity and resistance to contact welding or arcing under load.
Sealed Construction: Typically features a dust-proof or wash-tight plastic casing, protecting the internal coil and contacts from environmental contaminants.
Technical Specifications
Coil Resistance: ~400 $\Omega$
Coil Power Consumption: Approx. 0.36W
Operate / Release Time: 10ms / 5ms
Dielectric Strength: 750V AC (between open contacts)
Life Expectancy: 100,000 operations (Electrical) / 10,000,000 operations (Mechanical)
Dimensions: ~19mm x 15mm x 15.5mm
Prototyping & Installation Tip
To use this relay with a 5V microcontroller like an Arduino, you cannot drive it directly from a GPIO pin. You must use a 12V power source for the coil and a transistor (such as a BC547 or 2N2222) as a switch. Always remember to place a flyback diode (1N4007) across the relay coil pins to protect your electronics from the high-voltage spike generated when the relay coil is de-energised.
Note: This product is the 12V Relay component ONLY. Driver components like transistors, diodes, and PCBs are sold separately. Product images are for illustration purposes only.
