Continuous carrier web member and method of fabricating sheet metal components for electrical connectors.

摘要

A carrier web (80) of sheet metal material joining stamped and formed components (24) of an electrical connector is disclosed. The component is carried through the stamping and forming process by the carrier web of the sheet metal material. The component is stamped and formed from the material such that at least a portion (48, 50, 58, 60) of the component projects from one side of the original plane of the sheet metal material. The carrier web is formed into a three-dimensional configuration (90, 102) to reduce the spacing between adjacent components. A portion of the web may project a sufficient distance from the one side of the original plane of the sheet metal material to protect the projecting portion of the component during subsequent manufacturing operations on the component. A retaining structure (120, 122, 124) may also be provided to retain the components at a predetermined spacing on the carrier web. A method of manufacturing the carrier web is also disclosed.