524 THE BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOURNAL, MAY 1953 



spaced wire terminals.t It was soon found that similar tools could be 

 used to advantage on existing types of terminals, and the Western 

 Electric Company is now making extensive use of wrapping tools. Con- 

 nections made with these tools are being soldered after wrapping. 



In the meantime, further development work indicated the possibility 

 that by wrapping the wire under tension around a properly shaped 

 terminal, the need for soldering might be eliminated. Major economies 

 appeared possible if such a solderless wrapped connection were applied 

 extensively in wiring communication equipment. In addition, there 

 would be freedom from trouble due to solder splashes in equipment and 

 there would be an appreciable reduction in the consumption of tin for 

 use in solder. 



Three papers in this issue of the Journal describe the present status 

 of the program undertaken to exploit these possibilities. The paper on 

 design indicates that practical tools for making solderless wrapped 

 connections can be designed, built and used; the paper on analysis 

 describes the basis for belief that the method is fundamentally sound; 

 and the paper on evaluation indicates that the resulting connections are 

 satisfactory for use in the telephone plant. 



Other types of tools capable of cutting, skinning and wrapping the 

 wire in one operation are under development, and the problems pre- 

 sented in adapting the basic techniques to other conductors, such as 

 aluminum wire and stranded copper wire are being studied. In fact, a 

 whole new area of development effort has been opened up. 



Thus the work reported in the following papers is of interest from 

 two points of view. On the one hand it is a record of progress in the 

 continual quest for less expensive and more reliable equipment. On the 

 other hand, it is an example of the broad effects which are often the 

 result of development aimed at a specific problem. The search for a 

 solution to the problem of making connections to a new type terminal 

 has led to a new approach to the whole problem of wire-terminal con- 

 nections. 



t Miloche, H. A., Mechanically Wrapped Connectors. Bell Labs. Record, 29, 

 pp. 307-311, July, 1951. 



