The manufacturing method of micro-coils requires building the connection between electrical conductors or wires. Apart from joining the wires, the connectivity solution is also essential for placing the micro-coils into the medical and other devices. The most significant challenge for the connectivity solution is connecting the ultra-fine wires.
Conversely, ultra-fine wires are necessary to prepare the miniaturized micro-coils. It has been found that the application of traditional methods for joining the ultra-fine wires is not effective because of numerous drawbacks. Therefore, when it comes to providing connection between two ultra-fine wires, the most competent method is thermal compression bonding technology. Besides helping to join two similar wires, this method is also convenient to build a connection between a wire with another twelve times thinner wire and even if they are made of different materials.
Due to the tiny diameters (8 to 9 microns) of the ultra-fine wires, traditional welding and soldering methods can not provide convenient connections. On the other hand, you can not avoid using ultra-fine wires as there is a necessity to manufacture the microscopic parts for the sensors and transducers. For that, building connections between ultra-fine wires is essential. There are also an enormous number of physical and environmental constraints and the necessity to meet ultra-strict tolerance features. Thus, the manufacturers have to depend on thermal compression bonding technology.
Joints from Thermal Compression Bonding Technology:
In order to build different types of joints, manufacturers use this technology, such as
- To build a joint or bonding between an ultra-fine wire and a miniature thermocouple
- To develop a bonding or connection between separate metals where an intermediary thick wire connects a micro-coil with a printed circuit board
- To prepare a bonding or connection between a support system and a micro-coil with the assistance of metal-plated terminals.
The Advantages:
Manufacturers can receive multiple advantages from thermal compression bonding technology, such as
- This technology helps the manufacturers to release strain at the junctions.
- This method is quite safe for the production of the components of medical devices and micro-coils. This method also helps to avoid any type of damage to the components.
- Besides offering high reliability, this technology also helps manufacturers to have corrosion-free connections.
- Manufacturers can diminish the noise level with this technology.
- Due to easy integration into mass production, this method is useful to reduce production costs.
- In particular, as this method involves automated machinery, manufacturers can evade human errors.
Traditional Methods and Constraints:
In the case of the traditional welding method, an electric current is used to melt and join two metals. Whereas, in the case of the traditional soldering method, a filler metal is melted with the assistance of an external heat source for joining two metal wires. However, when it comes to ultra-fine wire connectivity solutions, these two methods can create multiple issues, such as destruction of the wires because of uncontrolled heat spread, oxidization, degradation, and physical strain at the junctions. Therefore, to overcome these issues, the thermal compression method is the most convenient method