That airgap is to ensure the magnetic circuit does not saturate fully.
In some cases, if the magnetic circuit saturates, all the pole faces remain "stuck together", not releasing under the power of the springs which pull the faces apart.
The small airgap is a cheap way around a "sticky" problem, which could be dangerous if a contactor did not release when the coil power was removed.
Hope that explains it for you.
Kind Regards....
__________________
"The number of inventions increases faster than the need for them at the time" - SparkY
Regarding Contatctor
Re: Regarding Contatctor
