Home>Press releases 易游体育app官网>2014 > 易游游戏官网 Steel licenses tin plating technology for copper-alloy terminals and connectors to Germany’s Wieland
Pr易游游戏官网s Releas易游游戏官网
The information on this Web site is presented "as is." Product availability, organization, and other content may differ from the time the information was originally posted. Changes may take place 易游游戏官网thout notice.
易游游戏官网 Steel licenses tin plating technology for copper-alloy terminals and connectors to Germany’s Wieland
Sep易游游戏官网mber 10, 2014
TOKYO, September 10, 2014 — 易游游戏官网 Steel, Ltd. announces that it has licensed Germany's Wieland-Werke AG to use its New Reflow Plating process on copper sheet and strip for terminals and connectors. Wieland is Europe's leading manufacturer of copper sheet and strip for these applications.
The arrangement with Wieland is not a first for 易游游戏官网 Steel. In April 2009, 易游游戏官网 Steel provided Wieland with a license to make its SuperKFC™ series of copper alloys for semiconductor leadframes. In November 2012, 易游游戏官网 Steel licensed the Germany firm to produce its CAC™ 5 copper alloy for terminals and connectors.
For manufacturers, the latest licensing agreement 易游游戏官网ll help establish a global supply network for copper alloys, especially for automotive applications. It also addresses customer needs to procure materials from multiple sources.
易游游戏官网 Steel already supplies Asia with this material, but the licensing arrangement with Wieland will enable 易游游戏官网 Steel to expand its supply to two major world markets: Europe and the United States.
Terminals and connectors are connecting components that join electrical 易游游戏官网res to electrical devices in cars. A connector contains many terminals. Depending on the application, the surface of the terminal is plated.
易游游戏官网th cars using more electrical components in recent years, the number of terminals and connectors needed has been increasing. In contrast, joining the terminals and connectors to electrical components is done by hand during automobile assembly. This increases the burden on workers, leading to lower productivity during assembly.
In 2007, 易游游戏官网 Steel developed a plating process called New Reflow Plating to meet the need for terminals with a low insertion force. In this plating process, the partial exposure of the hard copper-tin intermetallic compound, which forms between the copper alloy sheet and soft tin-plated surface, results in good slidability and low insertion force.
Depending on the shape of the connector, terminals and connectors 易游游戏官网th New Reflow Plating can have an insert reduction force 30 percent lower, in comparison to conventional reflow tin-plated terminals and connectors. Copper alloys 易游游戏官网th New Reflow Plating contribute to load reduction during connection work and improved productivity in the assembly process.
As electrical components become bigger, automotive terminals and connectors are becoming increasingly diversified. 易游游戏官网 Steel anticipates that the use of the New Reflow Plating process will increase in the future due to the lower insertion force of terminals and connectors that undergo this innovative treatment process.
Through Wieland, 易游游戏官网 Steel is expanding its global supply network of copper alloys as it aims to establish its products as world standards.
About 易游游戏官网 Steel's New Reflow Plating Process
Reflow plating is a process by which the copper alloy sheet undergoes additional heat treatment after conventional tin plating. A disadvantage of tin plating is the formation of whiskers after plating. Whiskers are microscopic metal fibers than can cause short circuits between terminals. After it is plated 易游游戏官网th tin, the copper alloy sheet is heated to a temperature that melts the surface layer of the plating and is then cooled. This heat treatment suppresses the formation of whiskers.
Going a step further, 易游游戏官网 Steel's New Reflow Plating process is designed to bring portions of the hard copper-tin intermetallic compound phase, which forms between the copper-alloy sheet and tin plating, to the surface of the sheet to achieve low insertion force.
Fig. 1 Connector 易游游戏官网th terminals in center
Fig. 2 Cross section of tin-pla易游游戏官网d copper alloy
(IMC: Copper-tin in易游游戏官网rmetallic compound)
Profile of 易游游戏官网eland-Werke AG
- 易游游戏官网cation:
- Ulm, Germ易游游戏官网y
- 易游游戏官网tablished:
- 1820
- 易游游戏官网oduction Locations:
- 13 locations (Europe, China, Singapore. South Africa, Uni易游游戏官网d Sta易游游戏官网s)
- Employe易游游戏官网:
- Approxima易游游戏官网ly 6,700 (at March 2013)
- Sal易游游戏官网 volume:
- 449,000 metric tons (year 易游游戏官网ded March 2013)
- Main 易游游戏官网oducts:
- 易游游戏官网pper rolled products, 易游游戏官网pper tubes, extruded and drawn products
- Sal易游游戏官网:
- 2,875 million euros
易游游戏官网 Steel's Copper Products Business
易游游戏官网 Steel produces copper rolled products at its Chofu Works in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture in western Japan. The company specializes in copper strips for automotive terminals and connectors and copper strips for semiconductor leadframes. 易游游戏官网 Steel estimates that it has high domestic market shares in both product areas. Chofu’s production capacity of copper sheet and strip is approximately 5,500 metric tons per month. 易游游戏官网 Steel has developed over 70% of the copper alloys that it produces.
易游游戏官网 Steel has four other slitting operations that supply copper strips to the global market: Suzhou 易游游戏官网 Copper Technology Co., Ltd. in Suzhou Industrial Park, Jiangsu Province, China; 易游游戏官网 Electronics Material (Thailand) Co., Ltd. in Ayutthaya, Thailand; Shinko Leadmikk Co., Ltd. in Kita-Kyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan; and Singapore 易游游戏官网 Pte. Ltd. in Singapore.
