Terminal Design Tips

1. Prioritize you needs.
Most terminal designs embody some compromise, so ask yourself: What's most important? Deflection of beams, contact force, corrosion, life cycles, temperature, electrical conductivity, or cost?

2. Consider formability early in the design process.
Can your terminal be manufactured without fracturing? Fracturing can occur if the piece is bent below a minimum radius that varies with the thickness of the alloy strip and the orientation of the bending. ETCO Engineers can offer you assistance in this area.

3. Plating Cost-Savers
(1) pre-plated material can save money since it eliminates an operation; (2) hot dip plating doesn't have the uniform thickness of electroplating, but it can offer a formable coating that's free from porosity, and it is less expensive.

4. Tolerance analysis can pay large dividence.
Unneccessarily tight tolerance increase costs.

5. Shelf-life solderability.
If this is a requirement, a copper or nickel diffusion barrier should be used on many copper alloys. Ask ETCO if you're not sure.

6. Know the application thoroughly.
This is key for reliability and economy.

7. Get your suppliers involved early in your design.
Their experience will help you shorten your product launch times; reduce tooling, material and labor costs; and improve overall quality.

We're here to help you! So, please call your ETCO representative today at (401) 467-2400.