Bent Electric Contact Element with Chamfered Edges
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current manufacturing processes for electric contact elements result in deviations from the desired orientation after bending, leading to inconsistent positioning of contact sections, which is not tolerable in miniaturized electric connections.
Innovation Solution
The electric contact element features a bent portion with a chamfered cross-section, where the chamfer is formed in the fracture section to improve bending accuracy, and a flattened side is created opposite the chamfer to maintain precise orientation during the bending process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If current manufacturing processes are used to bend electric contact elements, then the bending process can be completed, but the contact elements do not maintain their exact orientation and the actual location of contact portions differs from the desired location
Solution Approach 1:
A chamfer is created at the corner of the cross-section in the bent portion before or during the bending process. This preliminary geometric modification prevents material springback and deformation irregularities, ensuring that the contact elements maintain their exact orientation and the contact portions achieve their desired locations after bending.
Solution Approach 2:
The chamfer is applied locally at the corner of the cross-section in the bent portion, creating a localized geometric feature that specifically addresses the deformation issue in the bent region without affecting other parts of the contact element. This localized modification enables precise positioning of contact portions while maintaining the overall structure.
2Productivity
If multiple parallel electric contact elements are manufactured from a strip, then production efficiency is improved, but a pairing effect occurs where adjacent elements lean towards each other creating inconsistent gaps
Solution Approach 1:
Chamfers are created at the corners of all contact elements in the strip before bending. This preliminary action ensures that when multiple elements are bent simultaneously, they all experience the same geometric constraint, preventing the pairing effect where adjacent elements lean towards each other and maintaining consistent gaps between contact portions.
Solution Approach 2:
The corner geometry of the cross-section is changed from a sharp corner to a chamfered edge. This parameter change in the geometric structure of the contact elements prevents material deformation during bending, ensuring that multiple parallel elements maintain their relative positions and produce consistent gaps after bending.
Data Source
AI summary
An electric contact element comprises a bent portion. The bent portion has a cross-section including at least one of a plastically flattened side in the bent portion or a corner that has a chamfer in the bent portion for maintaining accuracy of a bending process used to form the bent portion.