Bimetallic electrical connector and method for making the same

Abstract

Abstract A one-piece bimetallic electrical connector comprises a cylindrical aluminum portion having a neck of reduced diameter extending therefrom and a cylindrical copper portion welded to the neck in a solid state bond. A wire receiving opening extends axially inwardly from the free end of the aluminum portion and electrical connection means, such as a threaded hole, are formed near the free end of the copper portion. Internal tool engaging recess means are provided within the opening in the aluminum portion for tool engagement purposes during welding and for accurately indexing the connector during other subsequent manufacturing operations such as machining and drilling of the threaded hole. External bosses are provided on the exterior of the aluminum portion near the neck for tool engagement purposes during welding. A method for making the connector broadly comprises the steps of providing a cylindrical copper blank and a cylindrical aluminum blank, impact extruding the cylindrical aluminum blank to simultaneously form the neck, the wire receiving opening and the internal and external bosses, heat treating the preformed aluminum blank, cleaning those faces of the two blanks which are to be welded, welding the two blanks together in a solid state bond as by an inertia welding process while gripping the preformed aluminum blank by its external boss and internal tool engaging recess means, removing flash from the weld while gripping the preformed connector by its internal tool engaging recess means, and performing successive machining operations on the preformed connector to provide a finished connector as it is successively rotated to desired positions by an indexing means while gripping the internal tool engaging recess means as to enable accurate orientation of the preformed connector with respect to tools employed during machining.

Inventors

• 👤 Richard B. Leachy

Bibliographic Details