(1) Synthetic carbon film potentiometer is a kind of potentiometer which is widely used at present. The resistor is a mixture of carbon black, graphite, quartz powder and organic binder, which is coated on bakelite or glass fiberboard.
Advantages: high resolution and wide resistance range.
Disadvantages: large sliding noise, poor heat and moisture resistance.
Types: General synthetic carbon film potentiometer, small synthetic carbon film potentiometer with switch, single-link switch-free potentiometer, double coaxial switch-free potentiometer, double off-axis non-switch potentiometer.
Switch (with switch) potentiometer, small precision synthetic carbon film potentiometer, push-pull switch synthetic carbon film potentiometer, direct sliding synthetic carbon film potentiometer, precision multi-loop synthetic carbon film potentiometer, etc.

(2) Wire-wound potentiometer: Its resistor body is made of a resistance wire wound on a metal or non-metal plate coated with insulating material.
Advantages: high power, low noise, high precision and good stability.
Disadvantages: poor high-frequency characteristics.

(3) Metal film potentiometer: Its resistor body is made of metal alloy film, metal oxide film, metal composite film and tantalum oxide film material deposited on ceramic matrix by vacuum technology.
Advantages: high resolution, sliding noise less than synthetic carbon film potentiometer.
Disadvantages: small resistance range and poor wear resistance.

(4) linear slide potentiometer: linear slide potentiometer's resistor body is rectangular bar, which changes the resistance value by linear motion of the sliding handle connected with the sliding seat.
Application: linear slide potentiometer is generally used for volume control or equalization control in TV and stereo.

(5) Single coil potentiometer and multi ring potentiometer:
Single loop potentiometer: its sliding arm can only rotate within less than 3600, which is generally used for volume control.
Multi-loop potentiometer: The sliding arm contacts only change a very small distance on the resistor in each turn of its rotating shaft. When the sliding arm moves from one end to another, the rotating shaft needs to rotate many times. Generally used in precision adjustment circuit.

(6) Solid potentiometer: It is made of carbon black, graphite, quartz powder, organic binder and other materials mixed and heated, pressed on the plastic matrix, and then heated and polymerized.
Advantages: high resolution, good abrasion resistance, wide resistance range, high reliability and small volume.
Disadvantages: large noise and poor heat resistance.
Types: they can be divided into small solid potentiometers, linear solid potentiometers and logarithmic solid potentiometers.

(7) Single potentiometers and dual potentiometers:
Single potentiometers: a set of potentiometers is controlled by an independent rotating shaft.
Duplex potentiometer: usually two potentiometers of the same specifications are installed on the same rotating shaft. When adjusting the rotating shaft, the sliding contacts of the two potentiometers rotate synchronously. Some of the dual potentiometers are asynchronous.

(8) Stepping potentiometer: composed of stepping motor, rotating shaft resistor body and moving contact point. The movable contacts can be manually adjusted through the rotating shaft or by stepper motors.
Purpose: audio frequency power amplifier for volume control.

(9) The dual gang potentiometer with switch: there is a switch device attached to the potentiometer. The dual gang potentiometer with switch are coaxial, and the movement and control modes of switches are divided into two types: rotary type and push pull type.
Purpose: dual gang potentiometer with switch is used for volume control and power switch in black and white TV sets. Small rotary switched potentiometer is mainly used for volume control (or current and voltage regulation) and power switch in semiconductor radio or other small electronic products.
Types: single digit single throw, single throw double throw and double throw single throw.