Contact Probe With Hard Insert For Wear Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing contact probes in testing heads often experience excessive retention within guide holes, leading to limited freedom of sliding and potential 'sticking,' which can cause operational failures and require frequent replacement, especially due to the fragility and limited thickness of high-hardness conductive materials used for improved contact.
Innovation Solution
The contact probe features an end portion with a conductive insert made of a harder material supported by a section of the same material, shaped complementarily to provide mechanical support and improve contact durability, along with a coating layer and adhesion film to enhance wear resistance and maintain the insert's position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If high-hardness conductive material is used for the end portion to improve contact durability, then wear resistance is improved, but the material becomes more fragile and prone to breakage
Solution Approach 1:
The contact probe is divided into two material sections: a softer body material and a harder end portion material. This segmentation allows each section to have optimized properties - the body provides flexibility and stress distribution, while the end portion provides wear resistance and contact durability.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact probe uses a composite structure combining two different conductive materials with different hardness values. The harder material is integrated into the softer material to create a composite probe that achieves both wear resistance at the contact point and overall structural reliability.
2Strength
If the end portion is made harder to improve contact quality, then contact durability is improved, but the freedom of sliding within guide holes is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The probe structure segments functionality between the body and end portion. The softer body material provides sliding freedom and flexibility within the guide holes, while the harder end portion material provides contact durability and quality, allowing both requirements to be satisfied simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The hardness property is applied locally only to the end portion that contacts the pads, rather than the entire probe. This local quality enhancement provides improved contact durability where needed while maintaining sliding freedom in the body portion.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If the end portion is made harder to reduce wear, then wear resistance is improved, but the risk of breakage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The probe is segmented into a durable but flexible body and a hard end portion. This segmentation extends the working life through wear resistance at the contact point while the softer body absorbs stresses and prevents catastrophic breakage.
Solution Approach 2:
The composite material structure combines the wear resistance of hard materials with the fracture toughness of softer materials, achieving extended working life without proportionally increasing breakage risk.
Data Source
AI summary
A contact probe of a testing head of a testing apparatus of electronic devices comprises respective end portions adapted to contact respective contact pads and a body essentially extended in a longitudinal direction between the end portions, at least one end portion comprising an insert made of a first conductive material having a hardness being greater than a second conductive material making the contact probe which is supported by a section of the end portion, the section being made of the second conductive material and being shaped in a complementary way with respect to the insert and having respective abutting surfaces facing and adhering to respective abutting surfaces of the insert.