L. FOSHANSKY, K. Nash, Autosplice Inc., SAN DIEGO, CA
SMA wires do not lend themselves to termination by many standard joining techniques. Welding, soldering, and mechanical methods are often not practical due to the metallurgy of the wire, the small sizes typically employed in state of the art actuation applications and the need to terminate the SMA wire under tension. These connections must endure a variety of electrical, mechanical and environmental conditions demanded by the application. This paper illustrates how Crimping technology solves these challenges to provide highly reliable and repeatable assemblies in high volume manufacturing environments. It also demonstrates how these difficult to handle assemblies can be efficiently packaged for further automation to integrate them into final assemblies. In addition, examples of practical applications of this technology are presented.
Summary: Several joining technologies are presented to attach Shape Memory Alloy Wires to conductive terminal connectors for SMA actuator assemblies. Automatic termination of SMA wires and unique packaging techniques are described.
