Electrical Contact Rivets and Contact Assemblies
Electrical contacts consist of soft, high-conductivity, oxidation-resistant materials used as the makeup of electrical components. They are the materials in a system through which an electrical current flows; such as:
- Circuit breakers
- Relays
- Switches
- EDM applications
Electrical contacts rivets comes in a variety of sizes. You can find options both small to extremely large, depending on your voltage requirements and usage.
Electrical Contact Materials
Electrical contacts are typically made from any metal with high electrical conductivity. However, in applications such as high-power equipment where mechanical wear is expected, a conductive metal may be used.
Common electrical contact materials include:
- Silver
- Copper
- Gold
- Platinum
- Palladium
- Brass
Electrical Contact Material Properties
When choosing the best electrical contact for your application, it is important to keep in mind the six most important properties:
- Conductivity
- Corrosion Resistance
- Hardness
- Current Load
- Cycle Life
- Size
Electrical Contact Conductivity
Conductivity refers to the measure of a materials ability to conduct or carry an electric current. You will see this as a percent of a copper standard (ex: 100% International Annealed Copper Standard or IACS) Silver, which has the highest conductivity, has an IACS of 105.
Corrosion Resistance
Corrosion resistance of electrical contacts refers to a material’s ability to resist chemical decay. Any material with little corrosion resistance will decay faster than ones with high resistance.
Hardness
This measures how resistant materials are to various kinds of permanent deformations from an applied force. It is dependant on five factors:
- Ductility
- Elasticity
- Plasticity
- Tensile Strength
- Toughness
Current Load
This property refers to the maximum recommended current load that the material is capable of handling.
Form
As the name suggests, it refers to the shape an electrical material must fit in order to carry out its operation.
Size
The size relates to the thickness, length, and width or outer diameter of the form a material takes.
Norstan, Premier Electrical Contact Manufacturer
Norstan uses a variety of precious metal and metal alloys for our cold formed parts and electrical contacts. Our team works with each and every customer to sure that you’re kept in the loop on project status, schedule and deliverables are clearly defined, and all your technical and business requirements are met.
The cold heading and cold forming process have numerous advantages :
- low manufacturing cost
- part-to-part consistency
- efficient material usage
- good surface quality
- capable of achieving 3 CPK and greater.
Precision electrical contacts and rivets from silver, gold, palladium, copper, brass, and many other materials – with less waste than screw machined parts.
- Bimetallic machine composite contacts and rivets manufactured from precious metals and OFHC copper reduces the electrical contact cost.
- Electrical contact assemblies include contact rivets, contact tape, brazed contact or welded contacts.
Contact us today to learn how we can help your electrical contact assembles!
Electrical contacts rivets comes in a variety of sizes. You can find options both small to extremely large, depending on your voltage requirements and usage.
Electrical Contact Materials
Electrical contacts are typically made from any metal with high electrical conductivity. However, in applications such as high-power equipment where mechanical wear is expected, a conductive metal may be used.
Common electrical contact materials include:
- Silver
- Copper
- Gold
- Platinum
- Palladium
- Brass
Electrical Contact Material Properties
When choosing the best electrical contact for your application, it is important to keep in mind the six most important properties:
- Conductivity
- Corrosion Resistance
- Hardness
- Current Load
- Cycle Life
- Size
Electrical Contact Conductivity
Conductivity refers to the measure of a materials ability to conduct or carry an electric current. You will see this as a percent of a copper standard (ex: 100% International Annealed Copper Standard or IACS) Silver, which has the highest conductivity, has an IACS of 105.
Corrosion Resistance
Corrosion resistance of electrical contacts refers to a material’s ability to resist chemical decay. Any material with little corrosion resistance will decay faster than ones with high resistance.
Hardness
This measures how resistant materials are to various kinds of permanent deformations from an applied force. It is dependant on five factors:
- Ductility
- Elasticity
- Plasticity
- Tensile Strength
- Toughness
Current Load
This property refers to the maximum recommended current load that the material is capable of handling.
Form
As the name suggests, it refers to the shape an electrical material must fit in order to carry out its operation.
Size
The size relates to the thickness, length, and width or outer diameter of the form a material takes.
Norstan, Premier Electrical Contact Manufacturer
Norstan uses a variety of precious metal and metal alloys for our cold formed parts and electrical contacts. Our team works with each and every customer to sure that you’re kept in the loop on project status, schedule and deliverables are clearly defined, and all your technical and business requirements are met.
The cold heading and cold forming process have numerous advantages :
- low manufacturing cost
- part-to-part consistency
- efficient material usage
- good surface quality
- capable of achieving 3 CPK and greater.
Precision electrical contacts and rivets from silver, gold, palladium, copper, brass, and many other materials – with less waste than screw machined parts.
- Bimetallic machine composite contacts and rivets manufactured from precious metals and OFHC copper reduces the electrical contact cost.
- Electrical contact assemblies include contact rivets, contact tape, brazed contact or welded contacts.
Contact us today to learn how we can help your electrical contact assembles!
Our Promise
3 Things You Should Know About Us
Committed to the best quality and continuous improvement
We continually audit and review our processes to consistently improve, as well as mitigate risks.
We care about our environment
We are proud of our environment-conscious manufacturing practices. We are conflict mineral and RoHs compliant.
U.S. manufacturer of electrical contacts, rivets, metal stampings and contact assemblies in Pleasant Prairie, WI