Generally speaking, the connector production process is divided into four parts: stamping, electroplating, injection molding and assembly, as follows:
1. Stamping
The manufacturing process of electronic connector generally starts from the stamping pin. The electronic connector (contact pin) is punched by a thin metal strip through a large high-speed punch. One end of the large roll metal belt is fed into the front end of the punch, and the other end is wound into the belt reel through the hydraulic workbench of the punch. The belt reel pulls out the metal belt and rolls it to punch the finished product.
2. Electroplating
The connector pins shall be sent to the electroplating section after stamping. At this stage, the electronic contact surface of the connector will be coated with various metal coatings. A kind of problems similar to the stamping stage, such as the distortion, fragmentation or deformation of the contact pin, will also occur when the stamped contact pin is sent to the electroplating equipment. Through the technology described in this paper, such quality defects can be easily detected.
3. Injection molding
The plastic box seat of the electronic connector is made in the injection molding stage. The usual process is to inject molten plastic into the metal mold, and then rapidly cool to form. When the melted plastic is not completely filled with the mold membrane, the so-called "leak" (Short Shorts) occurs, which is a typical defect that needs to be detected in the injection molding stage. Other defects include the filling or partial blockage of connectors (these connectors must be kept clean and unblocked so that they can be correctly connected with the pins during the final assembly) 。 The machine vision system used for quality inspection after injection molding is relatively simple and easy to operate because the backlight can easily identify the box seat leakage and socket plug
4. Assembly
The final stage of electronic connector manufacturing is finished product assembly. There are two ways to connect the electroplated contact pin with the injection box base: separate or combined. Individual mating means inserting one pin at a time; For combined mating, multiple pins are connected to the box base at the same time. No matter what kind of connection mode is adopted, the manufacturer requires to detect whether all pins are missing and correctly positioned at the assembly stage; Another type of routine inspection task is related to the measurement of the spacing on the mating surface of the connector.
After reading the above, I believe you should have a basic understanding of the production process of electronic connectors.