Wire Terminal Crimping for Balanced Strand Contact
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional terminated wires experience high electrical resistance between the wire terminal and the conductor due to uneven contact of strands with the wire barrel portion, which worsens with an increased number of strands in the electric wire.
Innovation Solution
The electric wire terminal design features a wire barrel portion with a bottom plate and side plates that change the number of strands contacting directly along the conductor's length, ensuring a balanced contact distribution by adjusting the curvature and orientation of the side plates to maintain consistent electrical connection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the number of strands in the conductor is increased, then the current carrying capacity is improved, but the electrical resistance between the wire terminal and the conductor increases
Solution Approach 1:
The wire barrel portion is designed with non-uniform thickness along its longitudinal direction, creating different local contact qualities. The thicker portion provides enhanced contact area for strands that directly contact the wire barrel, while the thinner portion allows strands to contact through the wire barrel wall. This local variation in thickness optimizes the electrical connection for each strand based on its position, resolving the contradiction between having multiple strands and maintaining low electrical resistance.
2Reliability
If strands contact directly with the wire barrel portion, then electrical connection is improved, but contact uniformity along the longitudinal direction deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The wire barrel portion has varying thickness along its longitudinal direction, creating different contact modes at different locations. Some strands contact directly through the thinner portions of the wire barrel, while others contact through the thicker portions. This deliberate non-uniform structure ensures that all strands contribute to the electrical connection in a balanced manner, improving both electrical connection and contact uniformity simultaneously.
Data Source
AI summary
An electric wire is terminated with a wire terminal. The electric wire includes a conductor composed of strands and a sheath. The wire terminal includes a wire barrel portion that composed of a bottom plate, a first side plate extending from one side edge of the bottom plate and a second side plate extending from another side edge of the bottom plate. The wire barrel portion holds the conductor exposed from the sheath to make an electrical connection with the strands. The number of the strands contacting directly with the first side plate gradually changes along a longitudinal direction of the conductor. The number of the strands contacting directly with the second side plate gradually changes along the longitudinal direction inversely with respect to the first side plate.