I have a need to make a low resistance electrical connection. The wire is 25.5 AWG 1350 aluminum wire milled to a flat dim of .022"(w) X .0097"(thick). The joining surface is a pad of .002" copper approximately .250" x .050". (Current specification of the contact DCR is 10% of the total DCR of the wound coil. Coil resistance typical = 8 ohms) I would like to make this connection in a production environment with consistent results. Questions:

1. Can I make an acceptable electrical contact of these materials using a resistance weld? 2. Mechanical strength would require surviving a typical 300° F ambient environment during its qualification test. 3. If so, what model welder would you recommend? 4. What contact pressure would be required?

Please contact above e-mail address with any and all help Mike

-- Michael J. Elliott (melliott@harman.com), January 10, 2002

Answers

Good luck with this one. Al melts @ ~660 C. Cu melts @ ~1080 C. What you have going for you is the Al is thicker than the Cu, so you may be able to achieve some form of solid state bond with acceptable pull strength. This link will give you an overview of the process: http://www.unitekequipment.com/Tech_Tree_View.asp?id=63

-- Kurt Tolliver (kurt@unitekequipment.com), January 10, 2002.