Analysis of Material Performance of Automotive Connectors

The sheath refers to a connector made of engineering plastics, PVC materials or metal materials by injection molding and stamping, which protects the connection point and connects various electrical appliances. Supports and protects the terminals to ensure firm contact, accurate positioning, dust-proof, anti-fouling, moisture-proof, insulation protection, etc. Commonly used sheath materials mainly include PA6, PA66, ABS, PBT, PP, PVC, etc. When designing the plug-in, different materials can be selected according to different needs, and flame-retardant or reinforced materials can be added to the plastic according to the actual situation to achieve the purpose of reinforcement or flame-retardant, such as adding glass fiber reinforcement.

Terminals play an important role in connecting wires and electrical equipment, transmitting current and electrical signals. The material and performance of commonly used terminals are as follows: Brass (copper-zinc alloy) has the characteristics of cheap, good elasticity and good forming quality, but it is easy to crack when stressed and corroded. Phosphor bronze (copper-tin alloy) has good elasticity, It is relatively strong, but has lower conductivity than brass and higher price. Cover copper (copper cover alloy) has excellent electrical conductivity, strength, elasticity and good corrosion resistance and wear resistance. The price and hardness are very high. The material code and performance refer to QC/T417 "Automotive Harness Connector Standard".

Commonly used plating layers for terminals are tin, tin-lead alloy, silver, and gold. Tin and tin-lead alloy terminals have corrosion resistance and good solderability, gold-plated terminals have excellent corrosion resistance and good electrical conductivity, and nickel-plated terminals also have excellent corrosion resistance. Electroplating is to improve conductivity, corrosion resistance and abrasion resistance, and weldability. When choosing the terminal, generally choose the chain strap tinned terminal. The airbag, wheel speed and other terminals should be gold-plated, and the hole-type connector should be equipped with a fixed hook to prevent rotation.