Contact Assembly Production

Contact assembly production at ECL typically requires the brazing process. There are 4 main types of brazing used at ECL. Other attachment processes are subcontracted when required.

Where the design permits and the volume of parts is sufficient, furnace brazing is an excellent technique to produce contact assemblies. Radiant heating from the furnace elements provides the necessary energy to melt the brazing alloy. The close proximity of contact and contact support surfaces that is provided by ECL designed fixtures, when coupled with the radiant heating, creates the braze joint. A key advantage of furnace brazing is the elimination of post-brazing deoxidation as the furnace atmosphere is typically reducing in nature.

Where the design permits, medium volume contact assembly production allows ECL to use resistance brazing to provide high quality attachments for economical contact assemblies. The design of the components and the application of the electric current creates resistive heating of the contact support and contact at the brazing interface. Fixturing and weld setups are regularly monitored to ensure consistent shipments of high quality contact assemblies.

By using an induction heating system, contact assemblies with unique designs can be created cost effectively. Induction brazing provides local and uniform heating of the base metal to ensure physical properties of the contact supports can be maintained. ECL's engineering staff provides fixture design and heating profiles which create high quality and economical attachments of contacts to their supports.

Where volumes are low or the design of the part is unusually difficult to fixture properly, torch brazing techniques can be applied to produce high quality brazed assemblies. Torch brazing with a rotary table fixturing, or with less complex fixturing is available at ECL. A wide range of base metals and contact materials can be joined successfully. Attention to the brazing alloy and brazing flux selected ensures a consistent high quality assembly.