| 摘要 |
Spring elements (540) for use as electrical contacts are fabricated by shaping a relatively soft core (112, 122) and overcoating the shaped core (702) with a relatively hard material (114, 124). Additional overcoat layers may be applied to enhance the electrical characteristics of the resulting spring element (540). The spring elements (540) are fabricated from an elongate element (602) which is shaped to exhibit a plurality of spring element cores linked end-to-end, which are then overcoated. The resulting spring elements (540) may then be attached to electronic components (708) by automated machinery (620). An external shaping tool is disclosed, which is particularly useful for shaping a plurality of linked and separable spring elements (540) which are inherently springy (i.e., formed of a relatively hard material). |
