Using commonly available standard metal strips (copper or brass), which are supplied in large quantities in the market, means that the material can be acquired at a relatively low cost.
In addition, press working is a relatively high-speed manufacturing process suited for mass production.
Furthermore, press working can also be used to make high-precision items, as is shown by the fact that this method is used to manufacture terminals for narrow-pitch connectors that require high-precision processing, such as board-to-board connectors used within smartphones and other mobile devices.
On the other hand, this process involves the generation of punching slugs as a result of blanking the metal, which leads to material loss and can be a cost-increasing factor.
Our conventional use of stamping mode is the use of stamping die with punch.
As for plating to press-formed terminals, if a plated metal strip, to which plating has been applied in advance, is used, the cut-off surfaces will not be plated, and bare metal will be exposed after the press-forming process.
Therefore, if plating is necessary for the purpose of preventing oxidation or corrosion, non-plated metal strips should be used, and the plating should be applied after the press-forming process.
With regard to the shapes and surface conditions, the cut-off surface by press working is apt to have fractured sections with rough surface conditions and tiny burrs on the edges.
With respect to the initial costs for the equipment, the press work requires relatively strong and rigid dies, and high-precision dies depending on the products to be formed.
These dies tend to be significantly more expensive than wire heading dies (for headed terminals) and machining tools and fixtures (for machined terminals), which constitutes a negative factor for manufacturing products that have a short life cycle, products with uncertain demand, and low-volume production items.
In addition, press working involves relatively large force applied to the metal strips for shearing (punching) them, causing the profiles of the connector terminals to become somewhat deformed.
