Contact termination

Contact Termination

SOURIAU - SUNBANK Connection Technologies offers a complete contacts portfolio for specialized applications including PC tail contacts, power contacts, signal contacts, industrial contacts and standard contacts. 

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Contacts termination

When connectors were first developed, the common practice for joining the wire terminations to the contacts was to use a tin-lead alloy solder, which had a very low melting temperature of 180° Celsius. The shape of the contact at its connection part looks like a whistle with a more or less rounded shape.

High temperature applications

For many years, the temperature resistance requirement on connectors did not exceed 85° Celsius. With the evolution of technologies, mainly in aeronautics in the 50’s, the requirements over a short period of time went from 85° Celsius to 125° Celsius and finally to 200 ° Celsius.

It quickly became apparent that the 180° Celsius limitation of tin was no longer suitable for certain applications. The principle of crimping thus became the primary connection method for the aviation industry. Other industries also adopted this principle of connection as it is clean, fast and repeatable.

Printed circuits

The first printed circuit board was connected and welded by wires on connectors. This quickly led to the development of the PC tail contacts that can be soldered directly to the circuit board.

 Wire wrapped connection technology has also been used form many years in the telephone industry. At that time there were huge terminals that required a very important number of connections.  A single contact could withstand 2 or 3 wrappings. Once again the evolution of technology has made this technique obsolete.

However, an old principle from the past in this same area of telephony has come back to the front of the stage, the connection called "press fit". This connection uses the spring characteristics of the base material of the contact to allow binding on the printed circuit which may be established and interrupted several times, without any need for soldering.