White Papers

Fuse Clip Terminal Case Study

An ETCO customer makes wire harnesses subject to rough conditions for Construction, Agricultural, Heavy Truck and Off-Road Equipment. ETCO developed a fuse clip terminal that would eliminate overheating, connection separation, and loose fuses due to truck and motor vibration.

Locking Ring Terminal Evaluation

An ETCO customer had warranty issues with locking ring terminals on large appliance ground wires. ETCO’s research team evaluated existing products, and then developed a new locking terminal and tested it against the competition. ETCO’s new product proved to have superior performance.

Product Consideration for Progressive Die Manufacture

How do you manufacture products with ETCO for the lowest initial tooling costs, short lead times and the lowest overall production costs? The engineers at ETCO have prepared a guide that outlines all the considerations necessary in a concise 8 page pdf document.

Using these guidelines will get you optimal results when working with ETCO.

Product Considerations for Progressive Die Manufacture

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ETCO Appliance Teardown White Paper

As a manufacturer of connectors, the use of product teardowns is useful in reviewing one’s own product as well as the industry into which it fits. It is important in keeping appraised of the changes in industry and the trends in technology that directly affect one’s business. These teardowns, when performed for proactive reasons, are primarily used to check the performance of a given product or its component parts. When the results of the teardowns are recorded and reviewed together, however, they can also reveal a issues or improvements worthy of attention.

Coil on Plug Testing

R&D has been working on a Lab fixture that will trigger Coil On Plug type coils. It will use this tool to compare industry standard coil to plug connections (typically a spring) with each other, and with prototype ideas, seeking to offer a better connection. We hope to show an improved terminal design can eliminate the micro arcing that causes; noise, voltage spikes and silicone boot degradation, leading to a short. We are also building a vibration unit the Coil fixture will mount on. This will allow us to shake fixture for periods of time and evaluate effects on connections. In addition to vibration effects, we will testing for voltage drop, and resistance, between the coil and the plug.

The New Standard for Appliance Connections

ETCO’s Closed Back Insulated Connector was developed for use in appliance manufacturing. In conjunction with the closed back cover inserter applicator, this connector is top rated for safety and ease of use in appliance manufacturing applications.

Appliance Connector Insulator Retention

It was reported to ETCO R&D that in the appliance industry insulated terminals were having insulator retention failures in the field. Apparently these assemblies used on major appliance wire harnesses were having issues where insulators separate from their terminals. Using select conditioning methods of MIL-STD-202G / Method 103B, ETCO tested their products against those of a major competitor.