Barrel - (1) Conductor barrel: The section of the term inal, splice or contact that accommodates the stripped conductor, or (2) Insulation barrel: The section of the terminal splice or contact that accommodates the conductor insulation.

Barrel Chamber - The bevel at the end of the conductor barrel providing for easier entry.

Belled Mouth (bellmouth) - The flared or wide entrance of a terminal, splice or contact barrel to permit easier insertion of the conductor.

Bifurcated Contact - Describes lengthwise slotting of a flat spring contact as used in a printed circuit edge connector.

Circumferential Crimp - The type of crimp where the crimping dies completely surround a barrel resulting in symmetrical indentations in the barrel.

Closed Entry - A contact or a contact cavity design in the insert or body of the termination assembly which limits the size and position of the mating contact or printed circuit board to a predetermined dimension.

Contact - The conductive element in a termination assembly which mates with a corresponding element for the purpose of transferring electrical energy.

Contact, Bellows - A contact in which a multileaf spring is folded. This provides more uniform spring rate over the full tolerance range of the mating unit.

Contact, Button-Hook - A curved, hooklike contact often located at the rear of hermetic headers to facilitate soldering or desoldering of leads.

Contact, Crimp - A contact whose conductor barrel is a hollow

cylinder accepting the conductor. After a bared conductor is inserted, a crimping tool is applied to swage or form the contact metal firmly against the conductor. An excellent mechanical and electrical contact results. Often referred to as a solderless contact.

Contact, Dressed - A contact with a permanently attached contact retaining member.

Contact, Female - A contact into which the mating contact is inserted. Similar in function to a socket contact.

Contact, Fixed - A contact permanently included in the insert material. It is mechanically locked, cemented or embedded in the insert.

Contact, Insertable l Removable A contact that can be mechanically joined to or removed from an insert. Usually, special tools lock the contact in place or remove it for repair or replacement.

Contact, Male -A contact of design to make contact by insertion into a mating contact. Similar in function to a pin contact.

Contact, Nude - A contact with a contact retainer that remains in the insert at all times.

Contact, Open Entry - A socket whose engaging end is split and therefore vulnerable to distortion or damage from test probes or other wedging devices.

Contact, Pin - Male-type contact designed to slip inside the mating female contact member.

Contact, Sheet-Metal - Contacts

made by stamping and bending sheet metal rather than by the machining of metal stock.

Contact, Socket - A female-type contact (usually completely surrounded by insert material).

Contact, Solder - A contact which has a cup, hollow-cylinder eyelet or hook to accept a conductor and retain the applied solder.

Contact, Spade - A contact with fork-shaped female members designed to dovetail with spadeshaped male members. (Alignment in this type of connection is very critical if good conductivity is to be achieved.)

Contact, Two-Piece - A contact made of two or more separate parts joined by swaging or brazing to form a single contact. Provides the mechanical advantage of two metals but has the inherent electrical disadvantage of differences in conductivity.

Contact Area - The area in contact between two conductors, two contacts or a conductor and a contact permitting the flow of electricity.

Contact Arrangement - The number, spacing and arrangement of contacts in a termination assembly.

Contact Engaging and Separating Force - Force needed to either engage or separate mating contacts.

Contact Float - The overall side play and/or angular displacement of contacts within the insert cavity.

Contact Inspection Hole - A hole in the cylindrical rear portion of contact used to check the depth to which a conductor has been inserted. Crimp-type contacts usually have inspection holes; solder types seldom do, except larger sizes in which the hole's function is to allow solder and air to bleed out during soldering.

Contact Resistance - Electrical resistance of a pair of engaged contacts. Resistance may be measured in ohms or millivolt drop at a specified current over the engaged contacts.

Contact Retainer - A device either on the contact or in the insert to retain the contact in an insert or body.

Contact Retention - The axial load in either direction which a contact can withstand without being dislodged from its normal position within an insert or body.

Contact Shoulder - The flanged portion of the contact which limits its travel into the insert.

Contact Size - An assigned number denoting the size of the contact.

Contact Spacing - The spacing between the centers of contacts within an  insert.

Contact Spring - The spring placed inside the socket-type contact to force the pin into position of positive intimate contact. Depending on the application,  various types are used, including leaf, cantilever, napkin ring, squirrel cage and "Chinese-finger" springs. All perform the function of wiping and establishing good contact. Various metal alloys are used. For example, beryllium copper is used where high conductivity and long life are required. Stainless steel, while its conductivity is only about two percent, is used in high temperature applications.

Contact Wipe - The distance of travel (electrical engagement) made by one contact with another during its engagement or separation or during mating or unmating of the connector halves.

Crimp - The physical compression (deformation) of a contact barrel around a conductor to make an electrical and mechanical connection to the conductor.

Crimping - A pressure method of mechanically securing a terminal, splice or contact to a conductor.

Crimping Die - Portion of the crimping tool that shapes the crimp.

Crimp Tool - Mechanism used for crimping.

Engaging and Separating Force Force required to either engage or separate mating contacts or connectors.

Extraction Tool - A device used for extracting removable contacts from a termination assembly.

Flag Terminal - Terminal having a tongue protruding from the side of the  barrel.

Flange Spade Terminal - A terminal whose tongue edges are turned at an angle to the plane of the tongue.

Grid Spaced - The arrangement of contacts in a multiple contact termination assembly by spacing in a geometric pattern.

Hermaphroditic Contact - A contact design which is neither pin nor socket and which mates with another contact of the same design. The contacts may be arranged as male and female contacts as for pins and sockets. Hermaphroditic contacts may also be used in a manner such that one half of each contact mating surface protrudes beyond the connector interface and both mating connectors are identical.

Hook Terminal - Terminal with a hook-shaped tongue.

Individual Contact Release (IRC)
A system whereby each contact in an assembly can be individually unlocked and removed without unlocking the other contacts. They are also locked individually.

Indentor - That part of a crimping die, usually the moving part, which indents or compresses the contact barrel.

Insertion Tool - (1) A device used to insert contacts into a connector or junction. (2) A device used to insert taper pins into taper pin receptacles.

Inspection Hole - A hole placed at one end of a barrel to permit visual inspection to see that the conductor has been inserted to the proper depth in the barrel prior to crimping. (See Contact Inspection Hole.)

Insulated Terminal - Terminal having its barrel and insulation support or grip, if used, covered with a dielectric material.

Insulation Crimp - (1) The physical deformation of an insulation sleeve covering a terminal or splice and the adjacent conductor insulation to hold the sleeve in place. (2) Shape combination of insulation sleeve to terminal or splice and conductor insulation after crimping.

Insulation Grip - The portion of the barrel which is closed or compressed around the conductor insulation.

Insulation Piercing Terminal - A terminal with a device which punctures the insulation of the conductor and makes contact with or enters into the conductor.

Insulation Support - The portion of the barrel corresponding to an insulation grip except that it is not compressed around the conductor insulation.

Maximum Conductor Operating Temperature (MCOT) - Ambient temperature plus temperature rise due to passage of electric current.

Metered Solder Cup - A term used when the cylindrical portion of the contact (in which the conductor is inserted) is partially filled with a specific amount of solder before assembly of the connector Thus the conductor can be soldered into the contact by the simple addition of heat and without additional solder.
Nest - The portion of a crimping die which supports the barrel during crimping.

Offset Terminal - Terminal whose tongue is forward of, and whose stud hole is offset from, centerline of terminal barrel.

Plating - The overlaying of a thin coating of metal on components to improve  conductivity, provide for easy soldering or prevent rusting or corrosion.

Pre-tinned Solder applied to either or both the contact and conductor prior to soldering.

Pre-tinned Solder Cup - Solder cups whose inner surfaces have been precoated with a small amount of tin-lead solder.

Pullout Force - Force necessary to separate a conductor from a contact or terminal, or a contact from a termination assembly, by exerting a pull along the axis of the conductor and the termination.

Range, Wire - The sizes of conductors accommodated by a particular barrel. Also the diameters of insulated conductors accommodated by a sealing grommet.

Ratchet Control - A device to ensure the full crimping cycle of a crimping tool.

Rectangular Terminal - Terminal whose tongue is rectangular in shape.

Ring-Toungue Terminal - Roundend tongue terminal with hole to accommodate screw or stud.

Sealing Plug - A plug which is inserted to fill an unoccupied contact aperture in a termination assembly. Its function is to seal all unoccupied apertures in the  assembly, especially in environmental connectors or junctions.

Seamless Terminal or Splice - Terminal or splice conductor barrel made without an open seam.

Serration - Deformation of the inside surface of a conductor barrel to provide better gripping of the conductor or on the outside of the connector body to provide better gripping of the connector.

Service Rating - The maximum voltage or current which a termination is designed to carry continuously.

Socket Contact Sleeve - A sleeve that holds the contact spring in the correct position within the socket contact and provides a smooth exterior surface.

Solder Cup - The end of a terminal or contact in which the conductor is inserted prior to being soldered.

Solder Eye - A solder type contact provided with a hole at its end through which a conductor can be inserted prior to being soldered.

Solderless Connection - The joining of two metals by pressure without the use of solder, braze or any method requiring heat.

Solderless Wrap - A technique of connecting stripped solid wire to a terminal post containing a series of sharp edges by winding the wire around the terminal.

Spade Tongue Terminal - Slotted tongue terminal designed to slip around a screw or stud without removing the nut.

Strand - A single uninsulated wire.

Strip - To remove insulation from a connector.

Stud - A post for connecting wire, similar to a binding post.

Stud Hole - The hole or opening in the tongue of a terminal to accommodate a screw or stud.

Swedging - A term for crimping.

Taper Pin - A pin-type terminal having a tapered end designed to be impacted into a tapered female terminal.

Taper Tab  - A flat terminal having tapered sides designed to receive a mating tapered female terminal.

Temperature Coefficient of Resistivity - The change in resistance (electrical ) per degree change in temperature. (It is usually signified by the symbol for alpha, )

Terminal - A device designed to terminate a conductor to be affixed usually to a post, stud, chassis or other conductor or the like in order to establish electrical connection.

Terminal Lug - A device designed to be affixed, usually at one end, to a post, stud, chassis or the like, and with provision for attachment of an electrical conductors) in order to establish an electrical connection.

Terminal Style - The tongue design of the terminal (flag, flanged spade, offset,  rectangular, ring, slotted, spade, etc.).

Thermocouple Contact - Contacts of special material used in connectors employed in thermocouple applications. Materials used are often iron, constantan, copper, chromel, alumel or others.

Tinning - The application of a thin coat of solder to the metallic surface to be soldered.

Wetting Action - The forming of a new alloy by intermolecular attraction between the solder and the base metal and plating.

Wicking - The flow of solder along the strands of multistrand conductors.

Wiping Action -(See Contact Wipe.) Action of two electrical contacts which come in contact by sliding against each other.

Terminal Glossary

ENGINEERED CONNECTING DEVICES