ETCO’s Engineering Guides provide important electrical terminal performance and quality information for manufacturers. Click through for answers to your engineering and manufacturing questions.

UL 310 Terminal Testing Procedure Video

Ul 310 is a safety standard developed to evaluate performance of quick connect electrical terminals. ETCO engineers simulate UL 310 testing to qualify terminal performances to industry requirements. The test outlined here exposes mated sets of terminals forming a circuit to cyclical periods of energization.

TERMINAL CROSS SECTIONS -- ACCEPTABLE AND UNACCEPTABLE

Stud Hole Sizes

Cross Sections of Acceptable and Unacceptable Crimps

When it comes to wiring and providing an acceptable crimp for connectors ETCO always comes out on top. Our connectors are engineered with efficiency, safety, quality and durability in mind. There’s nothing worse than a crimp with wires jutting out causing possible fire hazards and connectivity losses. ETCO has never comprised on quality. The gallery below illustrates the differences between our crimps and competitor crimps.

The Good

The Bad and The Ugly

Reference Information for Test Currents Per UL 486 UL 486 UL 1659 UL 310

Test Current Per UL 486 for Connectors Intended for Single Conductor, Amperes

Conductor Size Assigned maximum Static-heating
AWG or kcmil mm2 ampere rating test current
28 0.08 – 3.5
26 0.13 3.5
24 0.2 7
22 0.324 9
20 0.519 – 12
18 0.823 17
16 1.31 – 18
14 2.08 15 [20]30
12 3.31 20 [25]35
10 5.261 30 [40]50
8 8.367 50 70
6 13.3 65 95
4 21.15 85 125

Static Heating & Heat-Cycling Test Currents Per UL 1659 for Conductors

Wire Size Static Heating Test Heat-Cycling Test
Wire Size mm2 current amperes current amperes
AWG
18 0.82 10 20
16 1.3 13 25
14 2.1 18 32
12 3.3 25 37
10 5.3 30 45

Test Current Per UL 310 for Connectors Intended for Internal Wiring

Wire Size Temperature Heat-Cycling
AWG mm2 0.110, 0.125 inch All others 0.110, 0.125 inch terminals All other
(2.8mm), (3.2mm) terminals (2.8mm), (3.2mm)
22 0.32 2 3 4 6
20 0.52 3 4 6 8
8 0.82 4 7 8 14
16 1.3 5 10 10 20
14 2.1 15 30
12 3.3 20 40
10 5.3 24 48

Insert / Extract Values

Male/Female Disconnect Insertion/Extraction Forces

The typical average force observed when inserting/extracting a standard NEMA DC2 male test tab into a standard ETCO disconnect while using an ETCO insertion/extraction force gauge to standard operating procedures is shown below:

Male Size First Insertion First Extraction Sixth Extraction
Width (mm) lbs. (N) lbs. (N) Ibs. (N)
* .250″ (6.35) 8.5 (37.81) 7.5 (33.36) 5.5 (24.47)
.187″ (4.75) 6.0 (26.78) 10.0 (44.64) 6.0 (26.78)
.110″ (2.79) 6.0 (26.98) 7.0 (31.25) 4.0 (17.85)

*Male test tab with recessed dimple for the detend feature, versus through hole on all others.

Wire/Crimp Ear Pullout Test Values

The minimum force required to separate the wire from the wire crimp ear with the insulation ear, if present, rendered inoperative will be as follows:

In some cases ETCO will recommend higher pullout forces to increase conductivity. ETCO will recommend crimp height to accomplish best all around crimp performance.

Size Of Conductor Pullout Force Pounds Newtons
AWG mm2
28 0.08 2 8.9
26 0.13 3 13.4
24 0.2 5 22.3
22 0.324 8 35.6
20 0.507 13 57.7
18 0.823 20 89
16 1.31 30 133.5
14 2.08 50 222.5
12 3.31 70 311.5
10 5.261 80 356
8 8.367 90 400.5
6 13.3 100 455
4 21.15 140 623

Acceptable Measurement Areas

Measuring Crimp Height: Crimp height must be measured with the spindle and anvil of a micrometer, centered against the bottom and the top of the crimp respectively and between the ribs on the bottom of the crimp, if applicable.

Request Our White Papers

ETCO continually test products for quality, reliability, and manufacturing efficiency. Our engineering team often publishe\s their results in White Papers. Topics include:

  • Product Consideration for Progressive Die Manufacture
  • ETCO Appliance Teardown
  • Coil on Plug Testing
  • The New Standard for Appliance Connections

You can request your copies here.

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