What is the name of this piece? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Alx
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 14, 2019, 05:57:20 pm
content: Hi, I want a piece I want to order in China for me. But I do not know the technical name. I have put a piece of the picture. Those who know the technical name please tell me

author: Ampera
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 14, 2019, 05:59:32 pm
content: It's called a piece of metal.

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 14, 2019, 06:03:48 pm
content: It looks like the sort of thing that is fitted to the range switch of a multimeter, I would call it a spring contact but there may be a better name. If you want half a million made then the Chinese are the right people to see, if you want one then good luck!Send them the CAD files and see what they say.Edit, if you want one making then go speak to someone who repairs watches, it's surprising what you can achieve with skill and the right tools.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 14, 2019, 08:38:27 pm
content: Send them the photo and explain, what its contacting with or plating requirements, I'm sure they will know what you are talking about?https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/China-Tin-plated-copper-electrical-contact_60331473364.htmlhttps://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Customized-Stamping-Brass-Battery-Leaf-Spring_60527862017.html

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 14, 2019, 09:10:11 pm
content: A wiper contact or contact wiper, whichever way arround you like.

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 14, 2019, 09:34:49 pm
content: You are aware that, if you want this exact geometry and dimensions, it will be a custom-made part, right? You are extremely unlikely to find this off the shelf.

author: windsmurf
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 14, 2019, 11:44:05 pm
content: Quote from: Alx on May 14, 2019, 05:57:20 pmI'd call it a spring contact.https://www.harwin.com/videos/multidirectional-spring-contacts/

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 15, 2019, 04:12:22 am
content: As everyone has said - it's a spring contact ... but please read this post again:Quote from: ebastler on May 14, 2019, 09:34:49 pmThere are literally tens of thousands (or more) variations on this sort of thing and each will have been designed for a particular mechanism. I, too, would not expect you to find this as a separate part.The only high probability means of obtaining such a contact would be to find out what switch, potentiometer or other mechanism it came from and buy another. I say "high probability" rather than guaranteed because there's always the chance that the manufacturer may have changed the design.

author: Richard Crowley
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2019, 05:48:38 am
content: If you need 100,000 of them, you can send them the sample (or the dimensions) and they will make some for you. That is a full-custom part made for an OEM product and you will never find anyone to sell you "a piece".Absent any context or details or motivation, we really can't know where to begin any possible suggestions. If you want to tell us what you are trying to do, there may be some useful suggestions here.If you are trying to repair something with this in it, you are likely approaching the process from the wrong premise.

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2019, 05:46:56 pm
content: Quote from: Alx on May 14, 2019, 05:57:20 pmJust send the photo to my uncle, Xi Jinping (you might have heard of him) and tell him I sent you. He'll take care of everything for you.Just be a little patient if you don't get a reply right away because he's kind of busy these days with a tariff war he has going on with some other country or other.

author: Alx
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 15, 2019, 06:16:21 pm
content: Thanks all the friends for the answerI need a lot of this piece

author: Richard Crowley
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2019, 09:37:58 pm
content: I would call it a "spring contact". Typically made of phosphor-bronze, etc.Beyond the obvious specifications (dimensions, thickness, tolerances, material, etc.)There are dozens of variable factors depending on your application. Like:How "springy" does it need to be? (metal alloy, thickness, etc.)What is it going to be bearing against? (copper on fiberglass PC board?, contact points molded into some custom plastic part?)How many cycles do you expect for its life-span?Does it need to be low-resistance? (like gold contact surfaces)I'm sure there are dozens of other factors that I didn't think of at the moment.

author: Wendy_Preston
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 24, 2019, 10:06:26 am
content: Quote from: windsmurf on May 14, 2019, 11:44:05 pmAppreciate the link, thanks, windsmurf. However this particular spring contact defiinitely looks designed to be part of a mechanism or connector of some sort. Our spring contacts relating to that link are useable as stand-alone items - surface mount to your PCB and bingo, one spring contact ready to make contact with another surface.Definitely agree with the other contributors that this is incredibly unlikely to be off-the-shelf anywhere. It will almost certainly be made to specific requirements - which, as Richard Crowley lists, there are many performance factors that need to be considered. Just copying the shape is only half the story.Depending on your volumes will depend on how you get it made, too. Lower volumes, you can get the profile chemically etched and individually formed and plated. Higher volumes, you could get the thing done in a stamping press, keep it with adjoining tabs so it tis reeled, and run it through a reel plating line. Typically this would be for volumes of hundreds of thousands minimum though. But the manufacturers that you approach can advise your best route and if the volumes fall within their remit. Target price will help them evaluate too. Good luck!

author: Cubdriver
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 26, 2019, 08:56:39 am
content: As a potentially helpful suggestion for questions like this in the future, it would be a good idea to include something else in the photo along with the object in question to allow us to grasp the size. Perhaps a commonly known coin, or, even better, a ruler or scale positioned next to the part. It's difficult to assess the size of the part with nothing but a blank background for reference.-Pat

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2019, 01:26:24 am
content: something you hire a electromechanical design engineer for