In this paper, the shear strength of small-area welded contacts was optimized. Using design of experiments (DoE) optimization techniques, copper power contacts with 4 mm2 feet were welded to both copper and nickel/gold-plated copper substrates where pressure, amplitude and deformation were the control factors. For the DoE, the setting combinations were chosen based on the concept of classical Screening Design. This design was best suited because it allowed an elementary exploration of interaction relationships for a wide range of factors. The pressure was varied from 1.4 to 1.8 bar, the amplitude from 90 to 100%, and the deformation from 0.06 to 0.1 mm. These limits were chosen based on prior welding experience with the equipment and similar parts. Each bond was optically inspected to confirm high-quality bonds. Using common shear techniques, over 200 bonds were sheared; strengths were recorded as the DoE dependent variable. The initial step found that pressure was the most significant factor. Pressure and deformation were also proven to affect strength inversely to each other. Interestingly, the planarity of the contacts had no measurable effect on the welding strength. Consistent bond strengths were achieved regardless of the bonds' place within the established bond order. For both copper-to-copper and copper-to-nickel/gold-plated bonds, the optimal settings were: pressure at 1.8 bar, amplitude at 90%, and deformation of 0.1 mm, while achieving shear strengths of 40.5 kgf and 39.1 kgf, respectively. This doubled the previous benchmark weld strengths.
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