MANUFACTURE OF FITTING CONNECTING TERMINAL

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To form an alloy layer having hardness higher than tin only in the sliding contact part at fitting time with a mating side connecting terminal by irradiating a laser beam in a focus dislocated state to the surface of the sliding contact part at fitting time with the mating side connecting terminal among a copper base material forming a tin plating layer. SOLUTION: A laser beam is irradiated to the sliding contact part 12a of a tab 12 of a male terminal forming tin plating on the plate-like strip material surface of copper or a copper alloy in a state of dislocating a focus from the surface of the sliding contact part 12a, and the laser beam is irradiated at plural places along the belt-like sliding contact part 12a. In dislocating the focus of the laser beam, the focus is dislocated upward in the direction orthogonal to the surface from the surface of the sliding contact part 12a or is dislocated downward. A focus dislocating distance of the laser beam is properly changed by a thickness of a copper base material and tin plating, but is desirably dislocated by about 1 mm to 2 mm. Thus, the tin plating layer is alloyed with copper in the vicinity of an interface with the copper base material to form a tin copper alloy layer having hardness higher than tin.