a switch spring vs. switch's spring

[ghoul]

I'd like to buy a pack of a particular kind of switch so I can harvest their springs for another set of switches I have. So, I ask the vendor, "what are the dimensions of the MMD VIVIAN RGB SMD LINEAR 28G switch spring?"
I suppose the variant without an apostrophe is correct because the switch is an inanimate object?

 

[emsr2d2]

I'd like to buy a pack of a particular kind of switch so I can harvest their springs for another set of switches I have. So, I ask the vendor, "What are the dimensions of the MMD VIVIAN RGB SMD LINEAR 28G switch spring?"
I suppose the variant without an apostrophe is correct because the switch is an inanimate object?

You're right that the apostrophe is not required. However, it doesn't really have anything to do with inanimate objects.

 

[tedmc]

I would write "What are the dimensions of the spring for MMD VIVIAN RGB SMD LINEAR 28G switch spring?" to focus on the spring.
While the apostrophe is sometimes used for inanimate objects, I think it's not preferred.

 

[ghoul]

You're right that the apostrophe is not required. However, it doesn't really have anything to do with inanimate objects.

Let me be more precise and quote what someone told me about when the variant without an apostrophe is usually used: (Engineering and so on) components - car door, switch spring, extractor housing, table leg.

Would you agree with that?

 

[Tarheel]

Refrigerator door
Apartment door
Apartment key
Door mat
Water bottle

And so on.

 

[Flask]

the MMD VIVIAN RGB SMD LINEAR 28G switch spring

Personally, I'd prefer switch's spring (or the alternative tedmc suggested) because I find switch spring ambiguous.

Not being mechanically inclined, I can't tell whether it refers to a spring for a switch or to a spring that is a switch.

 

[emsr2d2]

Not being mechanically inclined, I can't tell whether it refers to a spring for a switch or to a spring that is a switch.

I'd expect the latter to be called a "spring switch".

 

[probus]

As @Tarheel pointed out with his list of examples, most nouns can be co-opted to serve as adjectives. These used to be called substantive adjectives.

 

[Tarheel]

The list could have been much longer, but I get paid by the post and not by the word.