IDC Contact Element for SMD Mounting Without Thermal Stress
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenges in surface-mounted technology (SMT) include precise alignment issues with miniaturized components, thermal loading during soldering or welding, additional cleaning processes, and increased manufacturing costs due to soldering or welding, which can affect the reliability and mechanical stability of electromechanical connections.
Innovation Solution
A contact element with a cutting clamp and a contact area designed for SMD assembly, allowing for IDC contact without thermal processes, providing a secure and gas-tight connection, reducing production complexity and costs by eliminating the need for soldering or welding, and ensuring reliable electrical and mechanical properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If soldering or welding is used to connect leads to SMD contacts, then electrical connections are established, but thermal stress impairs the reliability of connections and additional cleaning processes are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the thermal joining process (soldering/welding) with a mechanical cold-pressing process. The contact element is pressed into the housing with the conductor in place, creating a mechanical compression connection that avoids thermal stress entirely. This is achieved through the structural design where the contact element has a pressing direction perpendicular to the conductor axis, creating stable mechanical contact without heat generation.
2Reliability
If soldering or welding is used to create connections, then electrical connectivity is achieved, but energy consumption increases and production costs rise
Solution Approach 1:
The invention substitutes the energy-intensive thermal processes of soldering or welding with a low-energy mechanical pressing operation. The contact element is simply pressed into the housing using compression force, eliminating the need for heating equipment, temperature control systems, and associated energy consumption while achieving reliable electrical connection through mechanical contact.
3Reliability
If soldering or welding is performed during manufacturing, then connections are formed, but production time increases due to additional cleaning processes
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical pressing process eliminates the need for post-soldering cleaning operations. Since no flux, solder residue, or welding debris is generated during the cold-pressing operation, the connection is ready for use immediately after assembly, removing entire process steps from the manufacturing workflow and reducing production cycle time.
4Area of stationary object
If SMD components are miniaturized to increase density, then component placement density improves, but alignment precision becomes increasingly difficult to verify
Solution Approach 1:
The contact element structure provides self-alignment through its geometric design. The pressing direction is perpendicular to the conductor axis, and the contact surfaces are designed to automatically align during the pressing operation. This self-aligning mechanism eliminates the need for complex external alignment verification systems, allowing miniaturized components to be assembled with reliable precision through the structure's inherent geometric constraints rather than requiring advanced measurement equipment.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention provides, in illustrative embodiments, a contact element, an SMD component, and a method for manufacturing this SMD component. In one aspect, a contact element (240) comprises at least one insulation displacement connector (242; 243) and a contact surface configured for SMD mounting, wherein the at least one insulation displacement connector (242) and the contact surface are configured at opposite ends of the contact element (240) with respect to an insertion direction (E2) of an electrical conductor to be contacted into the insulation displacement connector (242; 243) for IDC contacting. Alternatively, the contact surface can be formed by an edge of the contact element (240) extending transversely to the insertion direction (E2).In another alternative, at least two insulation displacement connectors (242, 243) can be provided and furthermore the contact surface can be formed by a section of the contact element (240) which is bent away from the at least two insulation displacement connectors (242, 243) in a direction transverse to the insertion direction (E2) and extends away from the at least two insulation displacement connectors (242, 243).