Cold-Drawn Metal Contact Bar for Power Connector Yield
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for manufacturing electrical power connectors using solid or hollow metal contacts result in low structural strength, low product yield rate, excessive material waste, and high manufacturing costs due to inefficient processing techniques.
Innovation Solution
A method employing cold drawing, stamping, cutting, electroplating, and insert molding techniques to produce high-strength metal contacts with a shoulder feature, allowing for efficient assembly into insulative terminal blocks, which are then securely integrated into housings, enhancing stability and reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If hollow metal contact is made by curving shaped copper sheet material into cylindrical configuration, then material usage is improved, but structural strength deteriorates and product yield rate deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of curving sheet material into a hollow cylinder (conventional method), the invention inverts the approach by using a solid metal rod and drawing it into a hollow cylindrical shape through punching and forming operations. This inversion of the manufacturing sequence enables the creation of hollow contacts with superior structural strength while maintaining material efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical state and dimensional parameters of the metal material throughout the processing sequence. The metal rod undergoes progressive transformation: cold drawing to reduce diameter, punching to create hollow structure, and forming to shape the contact portions. These parameter changes enable the transition from solid to hollow structure with controlled wall thickness and optimized strength characteristics.
2Manufacturing precision
If solid contact is made with locating flange having larger outer diameter, then manufacturing precision is improved, but material waste deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the metal contact into functionally distinct portions: a narrow body portion for electrical conduction and a separately formed locating flange for positioning. This segmentation allows the locating flange to be optimized for positioning accuracy while the body portion minimizes material usage, eliminating the need to oversized the entire contact component.
Solution Approach 2:
The locating flange is formed as an integral part of the contact during the shaping process, before final assembly. This preliminary formation ensures precise positioning geometry is built-in during manufacturing, eliminating the need for additional material to compensate for positioning requirements.
3Ease of manufacture
If solid contact and mounting contact are riveted together, then ease of manufacture is improved, but reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the solid contact and mounting contact into a single monolithic component formed from one continuous metal rod through cold drawing and shaping operations. This integration eliminates the riveted joint entirely, removing the source of loosening and electrical resistance while maintaining manufacturing efficiency through progressive forming operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a composite structure within the single metal component by forming different geometric portions (cylindrical contact portion, flat mounting portion, locating flange) from the same metal material. This internal composite geometry provides both electrical conduction and mechanical mounting functions without requiring separate components or joints.
4Productivity
If cold drawing and stamping techniques are used to produce metal contacts, then productivity is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The metal rod undergoes cold drawing to achieve precise dimensional control and surface finish before the stamping operations. This preliminary precision forming creates a high-quality blank that is easier to subsequently stamp and form, maintaining overall dimensional accuracy while enabling high-speed batch production through the efficiency of cold drawing technology.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method significantly increases the yield rate and reduces manufacturing time and costs while ensuring high structural strength and reliability of electrical power connectors.
Implementation Method 1
employs a cold drawing procedure to draw a metal round rod into a conducting contact bar
Implementation Method 2
stamping and cutting and electroplating techniques to process conducting contact bar into metal contacts
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical power connector preparation method including employing a cold drawing technique to draw a metal round rod into a thin thickness conducting contact bar, stamping the thin thickness conducting contact bar to form a mating contact portion and a mounting portion, attaching the thin thickness conducting contact bar to a contact material strip, cutting off the thin thickness conducting contact bar, repeating the aforesaid steps to obtain a large amount of metal contacts at the contact material strip and then shaping the metal contacts, removing the shaped metal contacts from the contact materials trip and electroplating the shaped metal contacts, and then using an insert molding technique to mold electrically insulative terminal blocks on metal contacts so as to obtain electrical power connectors directly, or assembling electrically insulative terminal block and the respective metal contacts with one respective electrically insulative housing to form a respective electrical power connector.