Terminal Pinching Arms Gap Reduction via Plastic Deformation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manufacturing terminals for small DC motors used in automotive components faces challenges in forming gaps between pinching arms that are smaller than the metal plate thickness, affecting connection reliability.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a two-step process: first, forming a initial gap between pinching parts by stamping, and second, plastically deforming the arms to reduce the gap further, allowing for precise adjustment and smaller gap sizes, enhancing connection reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a terminal is manufactured by stamping a metal plate into the shape of the terminal, then the manufacturing process is simple and cost-effective, but the gap between the arms at the tip cannot be formed smaller than the thickness of the metal plate
Solution Approach 1:
The manufacturing process is divided into two distinct stages: first, stamping the metal plate to form the basic terminal shape with an initial gap; second, applying plastic deformation to specific portions of the arms to reduce the gap further. This segmentation allows each process to optimize for its specific function, achieving both simplicity and precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The stamping process performs a preliminary action by forming the basic terminal structure and initial gap configuration. This preliminary shaping enables subsequent plastic deformation to focus specifically on reducing the gap between arms, rather than attempting to create the precise final gap in a single stamping operation.
2Ease of manufacture
If the gap between the arms is larger, then the terminal can be manufactured with standard stamping processes, but the connection reliability with thin terminals deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The gap parameter is changed in two stages: first established at a larger value during stamping for manufacturability, then reduced to a smaller value through plastic deformation to improve connection reliability. This parameter transformation allows the terminal to achieve both ease of manufacture and high reliability.
3Reliability
If the gap between the arms is reduced to improve connection reliability, then the terminal connection performance improves, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Plastic deformation is applied locally to specific portions of the arms rather than the entire terminal structure. This localized treatment reduces the gap between arms where needed while maintaining the overall terminal geometry and minimizing the complexity increase in the manufacturing process.
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
Enables the formation of smaller gaps between pinching parts, improving connection reliability even with thin components, and allowing for cost-effective manufacturing using simple processes.
Implementation Method 1
a second process of plastically deforming a part of the arms so as to make the gap between the pinching parts to be a second gap smaller than the first gap
Data Source
AI summary
A method for manufacturing a terminal that has electrical connection with a component by pinching and holding the component using a pinching part provided in a part of each of two arms. The method includes a first process of forming a first gap G1 between the two pinching parts, and a second process of plastically deforming a part of the arms so as to make the gap between the pinching parts to be a second gap G2 smaller than the first gap G1.