METHOD OF MANUFACTURING A CONTACT ELEMENT FOR MODELLING ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS

Abstract

A method of manufacturing a contact element for modelling electrical circuits, in which a sheet metal blank is stamped to obtain a hollow formed workpiece (1) having an inner hollow body (2) with a bottom (3), a shoulder (4), a support platform (5) for connecting wire, said support platform having sides (7) and (8), wherein an electroplated metal coating is applied onto the hollow formed workpiece (1), said hollow formed workpiece (1) is placed in an injection mold, an outer casing (9) is formed by filling the mold with a polymer material under pressure creating the outer casing (9) on the outside of the hollow body (2), and a permanent magnet (10) is pressed into the hollow (11) of the body (2).

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a contact element for modelling of electrical circuits comprising the following steps: providing a sheet metal blank; stamping said sheet metal blank to obtain a hollow formed workpiece (1), having an inner hollow body (2) with a bottom (3), a shoulder (4), a support platform (5) for connecting wire (6), said support platform having sides (7) and (8); providing electrical connection of the connecting wire (6) to the inner hollow body (2), wherein an electroplated metal coating is applied onto the said hollow formed workpiece (1); a hollow formed workpiece (1) is placed in an injection mold; an outer casing (9) is formed by filling the mold with a polymer material under pressure creating the outer casing (9) outside the hollow body (2) with a shoulder and a support platform (5) with connecting wire (6); a permanent magnet (10) is pressed into the hollow (11) of the body (2).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein sheet metal (1) with a thickness of 0.1-2 mm is used.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the formed workpiece (1) is obtained having a hollow body (2) in the form of a cylinder.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the said hollow formed workpiece (1) is coated with nickel or chromium or copper or zinc or tin or silver.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein an insulated wire is used as the connecting wire (6).

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the connection of the connecting wire (6) to the inner hollow body (2) in the form of a cylinder is provided by pressing, with simultaneous bending of the sides (7) and (8).

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the permanent magnet (10) with overall dimensions varying from 0.5 to 50 mm in height, width and length is used.

Description

[0024] The proposed invention is illustrated by the drawings, where

[0025] FIG. 1 schematically shows the formed workpiece for a contact element (general view),

[0026] FIG. 2 illustrates the formed workpiece with connecting wire (general view), and

[0027] FIG. 3 shows the contact element manufactured according to the proposed method (general view).

[0028] The proposed method is carried out as follows.

[0029] A workpiece to be further stamped is cut out of sheet metal, for example, with a thickness of 0.3-0.4 mm. After stamping, the workpiece 1 (as illustrated in FIG. 1) is obtained having the inner hollow body 2 shaped as a cylinder with the bottom 3 and the shoulder 4. The shoulder 4 is necessary in order to create the support platform 5; said shoulder provides a larger contact area of the workpiece metal surface with the further produced outer casing 9.

[0030] The workpiece 1 is also stamped with the support platform 5, on which the connecting wire 6 to be laid. It is clear that the connecting wire 6 will be firmly and reliably fixed on the said support platform 5 by sides 7 and 8. The connecting wire (6) can be connected to the inner hollow body 2 in the form of a cylinder by soldering the contacts 12 of the connecting wire 6 to the support platform 5 of the inner hollow body 2 in the form of a cylinder.

[0031] The workpiece 1 is further electroplated with a thin layer of, for example, nickel. Such coating prevents metal corrosion, making it possible to solder the wire to the surface, and giving it a more attractive appearance.

[0032] The workpiece 1, with the connecting wire 6 being connected to it, is further inserted into the mold installed in the injection molding machine. The mold is filled with liquid plastic and the outer casing 9 is formed, said outer casing covering the hollow body 2 in the form of a cylinder, the shoulder 4 and the support platform 5 with the connecting wire 6. This results in a finished contact element in which the bottom 3 will not be covered by the protective casing 9.

[0033] The final operation is pressing the cylindrical magnet 10 into the hollow 11 of the body 2 in the form of cylinder. For example, the permanent magnet 10 with a diameter of 5 mm and a height of 3 mm can have a pull off force of 700 grams. FIGS. 3 and 4 show the finished contact element made according to the proposed method.

[0034] The manufactured contact element has a wide range of applications. It can be used in schools for teaching during lab sessions aimed at building electrical circuits, or it can be used as part of construction kits for schoolchildren or preschoolers. The contact element is safe to use since it has no protruding sharp edges compared to known contact elements; it is easy to attach and remove, which makes it impossible to get injured when working with it, and therefore the contact element can be recommended for use by children. The contact element can be used with any magnetic surface, including surfaces with specially adapted connection points; it improves the reliability of contact connection and provides the possibility of joining several contacts in one point, allowing their rotation of 360°.

[0035] Also, the created contact element can be widely used in microelectronics for quick assembly of test circuits and connection of modules, which does not require their preliminary assembly on breadboards.