The dimensional change with time of a material under load, following the initial instantaneous elastic deformation. Creep at room temperature is sometimes called cold flow.
Shortest distance on the surface of an insulator separating two electrically conductive surfaces.
Tests on soldered joints performed by stressing the joint at a specific load to determine the rate of strain obtained.
Conduction of electricity across the surface of a dielectric.
A controlled-dynamic process and method of mechanical bonding, i.e., a connector-to-conductor termination where one end of the connector (containing the conductor or wire positioned in a crimp barrel) is highly compressed and deformed (connector + conductor together) in order to create an interface that "bonds" the two dissimilar metals (usually different materials for the connector and conductor, respectively) intimately together.
On crimped terminal, a second crimp is often added to the insulation area for added strain relief.
The back end portion of a contact that terminates the conductor and sometimes secures the insulation of a crimped terminal.
The tooling system or setup involving the following: crimp applicator, both its crimp specific anvil (nest or crimp chamber) and its companion die set (indentor or crimper), the connector (with its crimp barrel) and the conductor (wire), and the (programmable) crimp machine that correctly allows a dynamic repeatable crimp operation or process that in turn creates a reliable crimp bond or joint between connector and conductor.
See also Crimp, Crimp Barrel, Crimper, Crimping Chamber, Indentor, Nest.
See Crimp Termination.
Basic tongue type Premium line, Etc. terminal.
A Premium line connector in which a spring like tongue snaps around a screw.
Open-ended type of terminal. At Premium line, these are manufactured by Premium line ETC.
Connection in which a metal sleeve is secured to a conductor by mechanically crimping the sleeve with pliers, presses, or automated crimping machines. Splices, terminals, and multi-contact connectors are typical terminating devices attached by crimping. Suitable for all wire types.
Known also as solderless terminal and compression terminal.
Premium line blade/tab terminal .110", .187" amd .250" tabs. These are pre-insulated terminals.
Premium line blade/tab non-insulated terminals .110", .187", 250" tabs
See also Qik Connect.
Premium line terminal having parallel sides for securing between barriers.
That part of the crimping die, usually the moving part, which indents or compresses the terminal barrels. Also called indentor.
Area of a crimping tool, formed by mating the anvil (nest) and crimper (indenter) in which a contact or terminal is crimped.
Portion of the crimping tool that shapes the crimp.
Various tools for crimping terminals to wire, including hand crimpers to fully automated cable harness equipment.
The effective area of contact between two mating surfaces of a male/female connector system. The critical area relates directly to the current and inversely to the contact resistance there. The latter resistance, and the overall contact reliability, is controlled via selective plating of noble-like metals there.
A method of connecting copper or fiber transmission plant to achieve desired configurations using two interface points.
Connector which joins two branch conductors to the main conductor. The branch conductors are opposite to each other and perpendicular to the main conductor.
A crimp that shapes the terminal by pressing the top and bottom of the terminal barrel without confining the sides.
Technique of measuring contact resistance that eliminates all resistances but the resistance of the contact point.
The breaking of large conductive areas by the use of a pattern of voids in the conductive material.
A chemical reaction which provides chemical bonds between polymer molecules creating in turn a coherent molecular network or matrix. The polymer molecules are molecularly and chemically structured for this reaction to occur.
See also Cure.
Point at which two conductors that are insulated from each other cross.
Cross Sectional Area (of a Conductor)
The sum of the cross-sectional areas of a conductor's component wires. Each wire is measured perpendicular to its individual axis.
A type of interference caused when the signal on one conductor interfers with the signal on an adjacent conductor. This is similar to the kind of interference you experience on a cordless or cellular phone when you can hear someone else's conversation. Basically, it occurs when a signal traveling through one line can be heard on an adjacent line.
Note that in a system crosstalk is cumulative: chip, PCB, connector, backplane, etc. It is caused by reflections, which distort the pulse.
Crosstalk is measured by mating both halves of a connector, applying a test signal to one signal path in the connector, and measuring or "listening" for the presence of that test signal on adjacent pins/lines. The "louder" the test signal on the adjacent pins/lines, the higher the level of crosstalk. The lower the level of crosstalk, the better the connector crosstalk performance.
Crosstalk can be measured in two ways: Near End, also called NEXT, or Far End, also called FEXT. NEXT and FEXT differ in where we measure for crosstalk.
In Near End testing, a test signal is applied on one line/pin (the active) and the other (passive) lines of the connectors are monitored for the "test signal" presence near the point where it was generated.
In Far End testing, the point of testing on the passive line/pin is away from the point of generation but toward the load or far end of the line.
How much crosstalk is OK? Less than 5% is considered good. For connectors, less than 8% is considered acceptable.
Cathode Ray Tube
A machine to crush runners into regrind pallets.
A quartz device which produces a highly stable, highly selective and resonant frequency oscillation when placed within an appropriate circuit. Also called a piezoelectric crystal.
An oscillator whose output frequency is controlled by a piezoelectric crystal, usually for the purpose of improved frequency, stability, and accuracy.
Canadian Standards Association
Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection. The basic access algorithm of Ethernet.
Crimp Technology
Cordless Telephony 2 Standard. Preferred by Northern Telecom and GPT.
See competing standard called DECT.
Cable-to-Board. The cable connector, is mated to its header on the printed circuit board.
To change the phase (usually from a liquid to a solid) and properties of a material by chemical reaction aided by heat and/or pressure to create a molecularly cross-linked material, i.e., a material with an internal molecular matrix or network of chemically-bonded molecules.
See also Cross-link, Thermoset, Thermoplastic.
A movement of electrons, positive ions, negative ions, or holes; the rate of transfer of electricity from one point to another. Current is usually measured in amperes.
An electric current that periodically reverses direction of electron flow. The rate at which a full cycle occurs in a given unit of time (generally a second) is called the frequency of the current.
One element of a clamping system which is designed for maximum contact area. Some current bars contain longitudinal grooves that cut through the oxide skin of the conductor to provide linear contact lines.
See also Yoke.
See Clamping Screw.
The maximum current an insulated conductor can safely carry without exceeding its insulation and jacket temperature limitations.
Electrical current whose electrons flow in one direction only. It may be constant or pulsating as long as their movement is in the same direction.
A two wire transmit/receive interface.
The depth a current of a given frequency will penetrate into the surface of a conductor carrying the current.
See Skin Effect.
Maximum current which a device is designed to conduct for a specified time at a specified operating temperature.
A switch that is actuated by the presence of, or a change in the value of, an electric current.
The ability of a material to withstand mechanical pressure without damage.
The hole, usually round or rectangular, cut in a metal panel for mounting a connector. May include holes for mounting screws or bolts.
Two-conductor, 18 AWG, plastic insulated, twisted cord. 300 in, 60º C.
One complete positive and one complete negative alternation of a repetitive quantity such as voltage, current, etc.
See Hertz.
See also Clock.
See Circular Connector.
