Knowledge of manufacturing process of electronic connector

An electronic connector is a device that bridges two conductors in a circuit so that current or signal can flow from one conductor to another. It is widely used in all kinds of electrical circuits, and plays the role of connecting or disconnecting current or signal. This connection may be convenient for plug-in at any time, or it may be a permanent node between electrical equipment or wires.

Electronic connector is a device (analog signal or digital signal) that transmits electronic signals. It can provide a separate interface to connect two secondary electronic systems. It is a component used to complete the electrical connection between circuits or electronic machines. Widely used in electronic industry, such as: power plug / socket, IC pin base, telephone line plug, etc.

Stamping

The manufacturing process of electronic connector generally starts from stamping pin. Through the large-scale high-speed stamping machine, the electronic connector is made of thin metal strip. One end of the large coil metal belt is fed into the front end of the press, the other end passes through the hydraulic workbench of the press and wraps into the winding pulley, which pulls out the metal belt and rolls it to punch the finished product. 

Electroplate

The connector shall be sent to the electroplating section after stamping.

Electroplating is the process of plating a thin layer of other metals or alloys on some metal surfaces based on the principle of electrolysis. It is a process of using electrolysis to attach a layer of metal film on the surface of metal or other materials, so as to prevent metal oxidation (such as corrosion), improve wear resistance, conductivity, reflectance, corrosion resistance and enhance aesthetics.

During electroplating, the plating metal or other insoluble materials are used as anode, the workpiece to be plated is used as cathode, and the cation of the plating metal is reduced to form coating on the surface of the workpiece to be plated. In order to eliminate the interference of other cations and make the coating uniform and firm, it is necessary to use the solution containing plating metal cations as plating solution to keep the concentration of plating metal cations unchanged. The purpose of electroplating is to coat the substrate with a metal coating to change the surface properties or dimensions of the substrate.

The electronic contact surface of the connector will be plated with different metals, such as gold, silver, nickel, tin, etc. according to the application requirements.

Injection molding

Injection molding is a method of production modeling of industrial products. Rubber injection and plastic injection are usually used for products. Injection molding can also be divided into injection molding and die-casting. Injection molding machine (injection machine or injection molding machine for short) is the main molding equipment which makes thermoplastics or thermosetting materials into various shapes of plastic products by using plastic molding mold. Injection molding is realized by injection molding machine and mold.

Common injection materials for connectors: polyester resin (PET, PBT), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), liquid crystal polymer (LCP), which materials should be selected according to product characteristics.

Assemble

The final stage of electronic connector manufacturing is finished product assembly. It is necessary to assemble all kinds of injection parts and stamping parts with special jigs or automata as required. In order to ensure the quality of products, different tests and inspections should be carried out during the assembly process.

Connector manufacturing process

In the manufacturing process, lathe processing, die making, stamping processing, plastic mold making, injection molding, die-casting mold making, die-casting injection molding and electroplating processing, in order to grasp the business opportunity, the manufacturer usually sets up a mold factory by itself or in a reliable way, and then makes the assembly assembly, testing and electronic connector products in the later stage, and supplies the relevant industries.

At present, the downstream assembly industry adopts vertical integration, so many small and medium-sized enterprises are bound to encounter considerable competitive pressure. Therefore, most connector manufacturers adopt the way of open market financing to expand the scale of competition, or strategic alliance cooperation mode to increase the overall competitiveness.