Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Is there a tool or trick for bending TO220 leads

+2
−0

Small-shop question here. Is there a convenient tool for making the bend shown below, other than a pair of pliers that happens to be just the right size, and is it worth it for qty low 100's?

to220-bent

Not a huge deal, it is an in-house operation so that the offset dimension vs the parallel pcb surface comes out correctly in the assembly. (The transistors are doing double-duty as heaters to prevent a solvent condensation issue, so it's a slightly goofy assembly).

Thanks!

History
Why does this post require moderator attention?
You might want to add some details to your flag.
Why should this post be closed?

1 comment thread

General comments (3 comments)

1 answer

+3
−0

There's lots of specialized tools for various through-hole components overall, all of them generally called "lead benders". For TO-220 it appears that the term is lead bending/forming pliers. And there exist lots of different versions, depending on how you want the legs to go.

This site (I'm not affiliated) has some nice illustrations of different examples: https://www.piergiacomi.com/piergiacomi/en/products/hand-tools/379-preformatori-to-dettaglio.html

That's for professional assembly lines. Otherwise, the general flat nose pliers that you use for most through-hole work will suffice for low volumes and prototype work.

History
Why does this post require moderator attention?
You might want to add some details to your flag.

0 comment threads

Sign up to answer this question »