Method of staking a wave crimp for flat power cable termination

A transition adapter for terminating flat power cable includes a stamped and formed member having opposed plate sections between which an end or an edge portion of the cable is receivable to be terminated where the plate sections have opposing cooperating terminating regions comprised of a plurality of alternating wave shapes and relief recesses, with each wave shape aligned with a recess of the opposing terminating region so that when the plate sections are urged together under sufficient force, the wave crests deflect integral strips of conductor out of the plane of the cable, exposing sheared conductor edges for electrical connection therewith. Softer metal insert members are secured to and along outer surfaces of the plate sections and are then staked to deform the metal against the shared conductor edges to engage and form gas-tight electrical connections of substantial surface area therewith. The terminating method can also include staking the wave joints to split them and force the split wave portions laterally, creating strong spring members against which the insert members can be staked for an improved electrical connection.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to electrical terminals and more particularly to the 
termination of terminals to flat power cable. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
U.S. patent application Ser. No 07/050,793 discloses a transition adapter 
which is secured onto a flat power cable by being crimped thereto, and the 
adapter includes one or more contact sections to be engaged with 
corresponding contacts of an electrical connector to transmit power from 
the cable to the connector. The cable is of the type entering commercial 
use for transmitting electrical power of for example 75 amperes nominal, 
and includes a flat conductor one inch wide and about 0.020 inches thick 
with an extruded insulated coating of about 0.004 to 0.008 inches thick 
over each surface with the cable having a total thickness averaging about 
0.034 inches. The metal of the flat conductor is for example of Copper 
Alloy 110 and the insulation is for example TEFZEL thermoplastic resin 
known as polyethylene-co-tetrafluoro-ethylene copolymer (trademark of the 
E. I. DuPont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, Del.). 
The transition adapter of Ser. No. 07/050,793 includes a pair of plate 
sections hinged together at the forward or terminal end of the adapter, 
and a still-insulated end or edge portion of the cable is to be crimped 
therebetween. At a selected location forwardly of the cable-crimping 
region at least one of the plate sections is bent at an angle away from 
each other so that the plate sections are facing each other at an angle 
and are thus spaced apart to receive the cable end or edge therebetween. A 
plurality of lances extend from one plate section toward corresponding 
apertures in the other so that upon pressing the plate sections together 
the lances penetrate through the cable. The lances are then received 
through the apertures and the ends thereof are bent over and against the 
outer surface of the other plate section, being bent over by tool means or 
by being curled around by integral arcuate guides at each aperture. By 
penetrating the cable a plurality of electrical connections are formed 
between the adapter and sheared conductor edges of the cable. By being 
stamped from sheet metal of an appropriate alloy, the lances are 
preferably defined by shear edges and penetrate through the insulation and 
also the conductor of the cable in cooperation with the lance-receiving 
apertures which preferably include at least one shear edge against which 
the cable is pressed during penetration by the lances. Additional 
electrical connections are made by a plurality of barbs which penetrate 
the cable insulation to engage and bite into the cable conductor. 
It is desirable to provide an adapter having means for shearing through a 
flat power cable conductor at a plurality of locations and for providing a 
plurality of electrical connections between the adapter and the cable 
conductor wherein the connections are and remain gas-tight by reason of 
stored energy. 
It is also desirable to provide each gas-tight connection with substantial 
surface area of engagement between the adapter and the cable's conductor. 
It is still further desirable to provide an adapter with a portion being of 
a metal alloy capable of assuming a shape upon termination to the cable 
which maximizes surface area engagement with the sheared edges of the 
cable conductor while retaining stored energy to maintain the gas-tight 
nature of the connections during long-term in-service use. 
The adapter of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/193,458 filed May 13, 
1988, is crimpable to a flat power cable by penetrating the insulation 
covering the cable's conductor and also shearing through the conductor at 
a plurality of locations. The adapter has a body member stamped and formed 
of sheet metal and has a pair of opposed plate sections each having at 
least one terminating region transversely thereacross, with the 
terminating regions of the opposed plate sections being associated in 
opposing pairs. Each terminating region of the pair is formed of 
alternating wave shapes and relief recesses, and the plurality of wave 
shapes of one plate section extend toward the other plate section and are 
spaced from each other by the relief recesses, with the wave shapes of one 
plate section corresponding with the relief recesses of the other. Each 
wave shape includes a transverse radiussed crest extending between 
parallel axially aligned shearing edges which are perpendicular with 
respect to the crest. Essentially the wave shapes of one plate section 
would intermesh with those of the other if urged toward each other, but 
preferably essentially with zero clearance. 
The transition adapter is terminated to a cable disposed between the plate 
sections, by the preferably hingedly joined plate sections being pressed 
tightly together with the cable therebetween. Each wave shape will be 
forced against an adjacent surface portion of the cable and its crest will 
deflect that adjacent surface portion of the cable out of the plane of the 
cable and will stretch the conductor portion thus deflected. 
Simultaneously, the shearing edges of that wave shape cooperate with the 
shearing edges of the adjacent wave shapes of the opposed plate section: 
the shearing edges are aligned under zero clearance and pair up so that 
when the wave shapes are forced against the opposite surface of the cable, 
the paired shearing edges penetrate and tear the insulating layers and 
shear the conductor perpendicularly to the wave crest. Preferably an 
arcuate relief shape is formed at each relief recess extending away from 
the other plate section, and each wave shape is received into a 
corresponding opposed relief recess with the crest-deflection cable 
portion disposed between the wave's crest and the inner surface of the 
opposed arcuate relief shape. Portions of each shearing edge of the wave 
shapes of one plate section of the adapter engage newly formed edges of 
the cable conductor sheared by the adjacent wave shapes of the other plate 
section. The cable conductor is sheared at a plurality of locations for 
axial shear lengths of for example 0.25 inches and substantially without 
great bulk deformation of the metal thereof during the shearing process. 
Also since the shearing is axial with respect to the cable when the 
adapter is terminated on an end of the cable, the cable is not materially 
weakened. Essentially the intermeshing adapter wave shapes form a 
plurality of interlocking wave joints with the cable conductor thus 
defining a strong termination transversely across the cable, with the 
opposing plate sections acting as a zero clearance tool and die which will 
resist opening thereafter. 
In the first embodiment of the adapter of U.S. Ser. No. 07/193,458 a pair 
of malleable, high copper content insert members are affixed to and 
predisposed against the outwardly facing surfaces of the respective plate 
sections of the stamped and formed adapter body member, along and across 
the terminating or wave regions thereof. Each insert member is shaped to 
conform to the wave region of the associated plate section by having 
conforming wave shapes and by having apertures within which the arcuate 
relief shapes are disposed. The insert members are adapted to establish 
the primary electrical connections to the cable conductor, while the 
transition adapter body member provides the strong mechanical means of 
attachment to the cable. 
It is desirable to provide a method for assuring the integrity of the 
electrical connections between the insert members and the exposed sheared 
conductor edges. 
It is also desirable to provide a method for assuring the securing of the 
insert members to completed termination. 
It is further desirable to provide a method for affixing the insert members 
to the transition adapter body member prior to cable termination. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is a method of deforming the insert members during 
cable termination by a transition adapter of the type disclosed in U.S. 
Ser. No. 07/193,458 by staking the insert members after the cable has been 
sheared by the adapter body member and sheared integral strips of 
conductor have been deflected out of the plane of the cable exposing 
sheared conductor edges beside side surfaces of the insert members. Each 
wave shape of the insert member is staked by a pointed chisel blade from 
the outwardly facing surface to expand the wave shape tightly and fully 
against the sheared conductor edges beside that wave shape on both sides, 
and also against the adjacent shearing edges of the adjacent wave shapes 
of the adapter body member. 
According to a further aspect of the present invention, preferably prior to 
staking the wave shapes of the insert members, an operation is performed 
on the adapter to stake the waves of each wave joint opposed from an 
insert member wave shape. A pointed chisel blade having an axially 
oriented tip enters each relief aperture of each insert member and engages 
and splits axially the arcuate relief shape of the nearer plate section. 
By splitting the arcuate relief shape the blade creates a pair of spring 
members having free ends which are forced into the cable conductor tending 
to at least deform portions of the conductor laterally outwardly against 
side surfaces of the relief apertures of the nearer insert member and 
thereafter trap or hold the deformed conductor portions under substantial 
permanent spring bias against the adjacent insert member surfaces, and 
also prevents the deflected conductor strip from bulging outwardly along 
the center where the insert member wave shapes are staked. 
According to another aspect of the present invention, the insert members 
are hermaphroditic, each one having an elongated boss at one end and an 
elongated aperture at the opposite end, so that during the crimping and 
staking operation the elongated boss of each insert member enters the 
elongated apertures of the other. The apertures are appropriately 
dimensioned and preferably undercut so that upon full entry of the 
elongated bosses, the bosses are able to be deformed to enlarge the heads 
thereof to fill the undercut apertures and form joints at the ends of the 
insert members. Thus each insert member is joined to the other at a 
gas-tight joint to create a good electrical connection therewith, for 
transmission of electricity from one insert member to the other and thus 
between the plate sections of the adapter body member engaged by the 
insert member surfaces for equalization, without reliance on the hinge 
joint between the plate sections or incidental engagement of portions of 
adjacent shearing edges at the wave shapes. 
It is an objective of the present invention to provide an adapter for 
terminating to flat power cable which is easily applied without cable 
preparation, which results in an assured electrical and mechanical 
connection to the cable. 
It is another objective to provide gas-tight joints between the adapter and 
the cable conductor which retain substantial stored energy thereat for 
long-term in-service use and do not relax due to heat and vibration over 
time. 
It is yet another objective to provide an adapter which includes a metal 
portion capable of being formed to conform tightly against substantially 
the entire surface area of exposed sheared conductor edges with stored 
energy after cable penetration. 
An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference 
to the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
FIG. 1 illustrates the connector assembly 10 in which the transition 
adapter 40 of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/193,458. Transition 
adapter 40 is used to terminate an end 12 of flat power cable 14 for a 
power distribution system for within electronic devices such as computers, 
copying machines and the like, and also for card cage systems such as that 
disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/127,992 filed Dec. 2, 
1987 and assigned to the assignee hereof. Cable 14 is of the type 
comprising a flat conductor 16 such as 0.020 inches thick copper or 
aluminum with an insulative coating 18 extruded therearound, such as four 
to eight mils thickness of TEFZEL thermoplastic resin (trademark of E. I. 
DuPont de Nemours and Company) along each surface. After application of 
transition adapter 40 onto cable end 12, the terminated end is secured 
within a dielectric housing assembly 22 comprising first and second cover 
members 24,26 for example. Cover members 24,26 can be hinged to facilitate 
being rotated together and latched to enclose the terminated cable end. 
Passageways 28 extend inward from mating face 30 to contain the contact 
sections of the adapter for mating to corresponding contacts (not shown). 
The housing assembly can be configured in accordance with the type of 
contact section or sections 42 desired to be formed on the adapter 40, and 
also the particular use to which the connector is to be put. A variety of 
contact sections for the transition adapter is disclosed in U.S. patent 
application Ser. No. 07/050,793 filed May 14, 1987 and assigned to the 
assignee hereof. 
In FIGS. 2 and 3, transition adapter 40 of the present invention includes a 
body member 44 to which the one or more contact sections 42 are joined or 
are an integral part, at mating end 46. Body member 44 also includes a 
cable-receiving end 48 which may be at the opposite end from mating end 
46. Body member 44 also includes a pair of plate sections 50,52 preferably 
integrally joined at hinge 54 so that the plate sections after termination 
will be disposed in parallel along opposed major side surfaces of cable 
end 12 and clamped onto cable 14. Preferably and as shown, hinge 54 is 
located at cable-receiving end 48 although the hinge can also be located 
proximate mating end 46 as seen in FIGS. 11 and 12. 
Plate sections 50,52 have respective opposed terminating regions 56,58 
extending tranversely thereacross, each comprising a row of spaced wave 
shapes 60 (see FIG. 6A) alternating with relief recesses formed by arcuate 
relief shapes 62. Each of the wave shapes of each of the plate sections is 
located opposed from an arcuate relief shape of the other of the plate 
sections. The wave shapes of each plate section extend outwardly of the 
cable-proximate surface 64 thereof and toward the other plate section to 
radiussed crests 66 (FIG. 6A); the arcuate relief shapes extend outwardly 
of the cable-remote surface 68 thereof and away from the other plate 
section. Essentially wave shapes 60 of each of plate sections 50,52 
present a cooperating pattern with wave shapes 60 of the other which are 
offset, and the wave shapes would intermesh if the plate sections were to 
be urged against each other about hinge 54. 
Transition adapter 40 includes insert members 100,102 to establish assured 
electrical connections to cable conductor 16 affixed to cable-remote 
surfaces 68 of respective plate sections 50,52 of body member 44 across 
termination regions 56,58 thereof. Each insert member 100,102 has a 
pattern of wave shapes 104 alternating with relief apertures 106 likewise 
presenting a cooperating pattern with those of the other insert member 
after being secured appropriately to body member 44. Wave shapes 104 
include crests 108 and are shaped to conform to the adjacent surfaces of 
corresponding wave shapes 60 of the plate section to which the insert 
member is affixed. Preferably each of insert members 100,102 includes a 
shaped boss 110 at one end 112 and a shaped boss-receiving aperture 114 at 
the other end 116 so that upon termination the shaped boss of one insert 
member is received into the boss-receiving aperture of the other. 
In FIGS. 2 and 6A cable end 12 is insertable into cable-receiving end 48 of 
transition adapter 40 which preferably comprises a slot 70 (FIG. 4) 
extending between a pair of hinge sections 72 of body member 44 joining 
plate sections 50,52 as is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 
07/194,063 filed May 13, 1988 and assigned to the assignee hereof. It is 
preferable that plate sections 50,52 be previously bent almost together 
about hinge sections 72 prior to cable insertion, with crests 66 of wave 
shapes 60 close enough together so that the spacing therebetween has a 
dimension smaller than the thickness of cable 14, so that cable end 12 
deflects plate sections 50,52 slightly outwardly against spring bias 
generated at hinge sections 72 so that transition adapter 44 self-retains 
onto cable end 12 to facilitate handling prior to the crimping step to 
follow. Hinge sections 72 should be formed to have a radius about equal to 
one half of the cable thickness. Outwardly extending flanges 74 along both 
sides of elongated slot 70 provide strength after termination to provide 
resistance to plate sections 50,52 being deflected apart resulting from 
torque which may be applied to the transition adapter due to stresses on 
the relatively wide, relatively stiff cable. 
FIG. 4 shows the metal blank of body member 44 prior to application of 
insert members 100,102 thereto, and prior to being bent at hinge sections 
72. Blade type contact sections 42a are shown at mating end 46; plate 
sections 50,52 are shown on either side of slot 70 and flanges 74; and 
terminating regions 56,58 are seen to have a width across body member 44 
about equal to that of a cable, with recesses 76 on either side of hinge 
sections 72 providing clearance for the bosses 110 of each of insert 
members 100,102 (FIG. 3) to extend beside body member 44 upon termination 
to be received in boss-receiving apertures 114 of the opposed insert 
member. Terminating regions 56,58 are slit at equally spaced, precisely 
opposed locations during the formation of the wave shapes 60 and arcuate 
relief shapes 62 in a manner not creating gaps laterally between the 
formerly joined shearing edges at slits 61. Plate sections 50,52 also 
include integral portions 78 forwardly and rearwardly of the ends of slits 
61. Flanges 74 can be comprised of the metal formed from creating slot 70 
and are bent 90.degree. about small radii. 
Body member 44 can be formed for example from strip stock of 0.025 inches 
thick copper alloy such as sold by Olin Corporation under Alloy No. 7025 
half hard copper alloy, or such as Alloy No. 151 tempered hard alloy, 
Temper No. H05 with annealing for good stress relaxation properties. 
Insert members 100,102 can be formed for example of dead soft Copper CDA 
110 generally about 0.066 inches thick with a height at the wave crest 108 
of about 0.132 inches, and can have a length in the axial direction of 
about 0.326 inches. Both the insert members and the body member can be 
silver plated, if desired, to assure the integrity of the electrical 
connection for long-term in-service use. 
Referring to FIGS. 5 and 5A, each insert member 100,102 can be affixed to a 
respective plate section 50,52 by a slight staking operation in accordance 
with the present invention wherein the insert members are tapped by blades 
148 centered on the outwardly facing surface of each raised wave shape, 
which slightly deforms the insert wave shape laterally against the edges 
of the adjacent arcuate relief shapes of the particular adapter plate 
section to which the insert member is being secured. 
In FIG. 6A the assembled transition adapter 40 is ready to receive cable 
end 12 into cable-receiving end 48, and wave shapes 60 are almost together 
at upper and lower crests 66a,66b. The cable end is inserted into slot 70 
and deflects plate sections 50,52 apart in FIG. 6B and is moved forwardly 
until leading edge 12 is appropriately located at a small distance in 
front of the terminating regions 56,58 but rearwardly of contact sections 
42a. Spring bias at hinge sections 72 creates a gripping of the cable by 
the crests 66a, 66b against insulated upper and lower surfaces 32,34 of 
cable 14. In FIG. 6C the transition adapter 40 has been pressed together 
by tooling 150 (FIG. 7A) such an an arbor press. Shearing edges created by 
slits 61 along the sides of wave shapes 60 of each plate section have 
acted in cooperation with those of the offset wave shapes of the opposing 
plate section and have first punctured and torn the tough, ductile 
insulative coating 18 of cable 14 and have sheared the cable conductor 16 
lengthwise for distances of about 0.25 inches. Crests 66a,66b have 
deflected outwardly and elongated the thus sheared portions of cable 
conductor 16 forming alternatingly upward and downward arcuate conductor 
loops within the opposed arcuate relief shapes of the opposing plate 
section. At each wave shape 60 has been formed a wave joint 80. In the 
present embodiment there are shown six wave joints 80 transversely 
entirely across cable 14, and the transition adapter of the present 
invention can easily be modified to create four such wave joints leaving 
integral adapter straps along lateral ends of the termination regions. 
It is believed that the wave shapes assist the shearing of the cable by 
initiating the outward deflection of the cable in opposite directions 
first at a single point along the cable axis (by the wave crest) and then 
gradually axially forwardly and rearwardly therefrom and also by 
initiating the shearing first at that single point simultaneously with the 
deflection from both surfaces of the cable by paired shearing edges having 
zero clearance. The deflected conductor strips remain integrally joined to 
the cable and the cable is not materially weakened. The termination is 
considered to be controlled and precise and is performed by shearing edges 
of the adapter itself and without any prior preparation of the cable 
required. Another benefit of the present invention is that since the 
transition adapter grips the cable after cable insertion, handling to 
place the cable end into the application tooling is simplified since the 
stiff cable itself is used for manipulation. 
The method of the present invention is illustrated with reference to FIGS. 
7A to 7C. 
Following the application of compressive force by planar surfaces of a 
first pair of dies 152 of tooling 150 to shear the cable, preferably dies 
152 remain locked together continually pressing most of the outer surfaces 
of the upper and lower portions of the transition adapter 40 against the 
upper and lower cable surfaces 32,34. Dies 152 may preferably have limited 
apertures 154 at each location of wave joint 80 and insert wave shape 104 
and at both insert ends 112,116 to expose bosses 110 and the wave joints 
and insert wave shapes for subsequent staking operations. A second step is 
then performed by a second pair of dies 156 in FIG. 7B. Pointed chisel 
blades 158 have axially oriented tips (FIG. 8A) and simultaneously strike 
the transition adapter 40 from both above and below at each wave joint 80 
first along the outer surfaces 82 of arcuate relief shapes 62. Referring 
to FIGS. 7B and 10, blades 158 penetrate into each wave joint 80 a 
selected depth and split the arcuate relief shapes 62 and also bend the 
split portions 84 down along the inside of the resultant V-shape of a 
staked wave joint 86 at the axial center of the wave. Split portions 84 
act as paired spring members having free ends 88 which are permanently 
deformed by blades 158 into cable 14. With the wave crest 66 of the 
opposing wave 60 acting as a die, free ends 88 act on softer conductor 16 
to urge portions 90 thereof laterally outwardly even though conductor 
portions 90 may usually remain integrally joined to each other. Spring 
members 84 thereafter trap conductor portions 90 against side surfaces 120 
of insert member relief apertures 106 and retain them against surface 120 
under spring bias, acting as stiffly compliant structures. At the same 
time an additional set of blades 160 (FIG. 8B) stake bosses 110 into 
boss-receiving apertures 114 of insert members 100,102, thereby deforming 
the bosses into enlarged shapes within the undercut apertures and firmly 
joining the inserts together at assured electrical and mechanical joints 
122. 
Then as is shown in FIG. 7C, as blades 158,160 are withdrawn but dies 152 
remain closed, a third step is performed by a third pair of dies 162 of 
tooling 150. Pointed chisel blades 164 have axially oriented tips (FIG. 
8A) and simultaneously strike the transition adapter 40 from above and 
below along the outer surfaces 124 of each insert member 100,102 at each 
wave shape 104 and between the now-staked wave joints 86. Blades 164 thus 
are struck into the wave shapes 104 of insert members 100,102 and deform 
the softer copper material laterally and load the contact interface 
between the freshly sheared edges of the cable conductor portions 90 along 
each staked wave joint 86 and the relief apertures side surfaces 120 of 
the insert members. Free ends 88 of spring members 84 also prevent the 
deflected conductor strips from bulging outwardly at the center during 
staking of the insert member wave shapes 104. Blades 158,160,164 may 
optionally be separate members urged into blade-receiving apertures 154 by 
a separate comb member (not shown). 
FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view transversely through an actual 
termination 92 and represents the type of termination resulting from the 
transition adapter described with respect to FIGS. 7A to 7C. Four of the 
six staked wave joints 86 are seen. In FIG. 10 which is an enlargement of 
one of the staked wave joints 86 of FIG. 9, sheared conductor edges 94 are 
clearly shown tightly against adjacent side surfaces 120 of adjacent 
insert wave shapes forming the primary electrical connections 96 between 
the transition adapter and the conductor of the cable. Near the axial 
center of each staked wave joint 86, the conductor 16 consists of two 
portions 90 which have been urged laterally outwardly with sheared 
conductor edges 94 being impacted against surfaces 120; the curvature at 
96 indicates the existence of substantial column strength creating stored 
energy cooperating with the adjacent staked insert portions to form an 
assured electrical connection. Dark layered areas 98 within staked wave 
joints 86 comprise portions of insulative cable covering 18 which have 
become lodged within available spaces and do not affect the assured 
mechanical and electrical connections. Measurement of resistance levels of 
terminations formed in this manner indicate acceptably small levels of 
voltage drop, indicating good electrical connections after aging at 
elevated temperatures. Conventional thermal shock tests indicate excellent 
mechanical stability in the terminations. 
FIGS. 11 and 12 show an alternate embodiment of transition adapter 200 in 
which plate sections 202,204 are integrally joined at bight sections 206 
at the forwardmost end of body member 208. Contact sections 210 comprise 
pin shapes and are formed of double thicknesses of the metal blank from 
which body member 208 is stamped, and extend rearwardly from bight 
sections 206 which constitute the leading ends of contact sections 210. 
Upper and lower plate sections 202,204 are bent upwardly at bends 212 
located just rearwardly of contact sections 210 so that they diverge 
extending rearwardly. Cable end 214 is inserted from cable-receiving end 
216 to be disposed between opposed termination regions 218,220 of upper 
and lower plate sections 202,204 respectively, When plate sections 202,204 
are crimped onto cable end 214, wave shapes 222 will then shear cable end 
214 at a region which is spaced rearwardly from the forwardmost portion of 
cable end 214, at a plurality of locations thereacross, and deform the 
thus-sheared axial strips against the inner surfaces of opposed arcuate 
relief shapes 224, as in the embodiment of FIGS. 2 to 7C. Four such wave 
shapes 222 are shown, with integral plate section straps 226 extending 
laterally beside the terminating regions to assist maintaining insert 
members 228 thereon which have been affixed to the outer surfaces of plate 
sections 202,204 of body member 208, although without bosses and 
boss-receiving apertures at ends thereof. The wave joints can then be 
staked and the insert member wave shapes 230 can then also be staked as in 
FIGS. 7A to 7C and according to the present invention. Cable strain relief 
can be provided by the connector assembly into which the terminated cable 
end is to be secured, as disclosed in Ser. No. 07/050,793. 
In FIGS. 13A and 13C a transition adapter 300 has only one plate section 
302, with one terminating region 304 thereacross although a plurality of 
spaced terminating regions may be desired. A die surface 306 of a die 
means 308 supports cable 310 while plate section 302 is applied under 
sufficient pressure by another die means 312 against cable 310. Crests 314 
of waves 316 deflect adjacent cable portions into relief recesses 318 of 
die surface 306 as edges of waves 316 shear the cable conductor. 
Additional cable-securing means such as tabs 320 of adapter 300 may be 
used, which are bent around side edges of cable 310 by recesses 322 of die 
surface 306. Also conventional cable-piercing lances (not shown) may be 
used for securing as in Ser. No. 07/050,793. By shearing the cable 
conductor at a plurality of locations across the terminating region 304 
and then deflecting the sheared conductor strips 328 out of the plane of 
the cable, edges of the conductor strips 328 are not exposed to be 
electrically connected. An insert member 330 having relief apertures 332 
can then be placed across the wave region so that sheared and deflected 
conductor strips 328 are received in respective relief apertures 332, and 
the cable-proximate surface of insert member 330 is planar. Insert member 
330 can then be secured to the termination by tabs 324 of adapter 300 
being bent upward and over ends of the insert member so that tab flange 
portions 326 can be secured around upstanding insert flange portions 334, 
as seen in FIG. 13C. Insert member 330 can now be staked beside its relief 
apertures 332 as shown in FIG. 7C, leaving impressions 336; also, the 
conductor strips 328 can be staked similarly to the wave joint staking 
shown in FIG. 7B, leaving impressions 338, forming an assured electrical 
connection. 
Insert members having a different configuration may be used in accordance 
with the present invention. The plate sections can have two terminating 
regions instead of one, if desired, and can be separate members. Further, 
it is easily seen that an embodiment of the transition adapter can be 
terminated to a side edge of a flat cable rather than an end portion. 
Other modifications to the embodiments described herein may be made 
without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the 
claims.