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A spudger (also known as a spludger, non-marring nylon black stick tool or simply black stick[ citation needed ]) is a tool that has a wide flat-head screwdriver-like end that extends as a wedge, used to separate pressure-fit plastic components without causing damage during separation.
The flat end of the spudger is often used to loosen or release components inside electronics, for example during the replacement of batteries or touch screens for smartphones. The other end is often a point or a hook depending on application. When applied to separate pressure-fit panels, there is often a point to create an initial gap before the wedge end is utilized.
A spudger is also a wiring tool used for poking or adjusting small wires or components, generally in the electronics and telecommunications industries. A typical spudger is an insulating stick, made of either wood, plastic or a nylon fiberglass material. For instances where the spudger is used for prising it is commonly made of stainless steel or other metals. [1] [2] [3] Many electronics repair manuals recommend the tool for prising open certain laptops, audio file players, keyboards, LCDs and other tight fitting electronic enclosures and assemblies.[ citation needed ]
The most common modern spudger is a black or yellow nylon stick with a metal hook at one end. Various versions have blunt, sharpened, or insulated hooks. The hook can be used for pulling bridge clips from 66 blocks, manipulating wires in a crowded wire wrap block, or setting DIP switches. The body of a plastic spudger is usually contoured to offer a better grip. Some spudgers are made of orangewood, used in electronics assembly and soldering because of its heat tolerance and dense grain. The same orangewood sticks are commonly used in filmmaking, manicure and pedicure, but these industries do not use the term "spudger".
In telecom applications like punch-down terminal blocks and cell phone repair, the spudger is made of a non-conductive material to prevent transmission of a static shock or direct short to sensitive electrical components' inputs or outputs. This is critical with high density applications where uninsulated terminals are in close proximity, like a battery or with telephone patch junctions.
A resistor is a passive two-terminal electrical component that implements electrical resistance as a circuit element. In electronic circuits, resistors are used to reduce current flow, adjust signal levels, to divide voltages, bias active elements, and terminate transmission lines, among other uses. High-power resistors that can dissipate many watts of electrical power as heat may be used as part of motor controls, in power distribution systems, or as test loads for generators. Fixed resistors have resistances that only change slightly with temperature, time or operating voltage. Variable resistors can be used to adjust circuit elements, or as sensing devices for heat, light, humidity, force, or chemical activity.
A soldering iron is a hand tool used in soldering. It supplies heat to melt solder so that it can flow into the joint between two workpieces.
A wire is a flexible strand of metal.
Point-to-point construction is a non-automated method of construction of electronics circuits widely used before the use of printed circuit boards (PCBs) and automated assembly gradually became widespread following their introduction in the 1950s. Circuits using thermionic valves were relatively large, relatively simple, and used large sockets, all of which made the PCB less obviously advantageous than with later complex semiconductor circuits. Point-to-point construction is still widespread in power electronics where components are bulky and serviceability is a consideration, and to construct prototype equipment with few or heavy electronic components. A common practice, especially in older point-to-point construction, is to use the leads of components such as resistors and capacitors to bridge as much of the distance between connections as possible, reducing the need to add additional wire between the components.
Thousands of configurations of connectors are manufactured for power, data, and audiovisual applications. Electrical connectors can be divided into four basic categories, differentiated by their function:
Flexible electronics, also known as flex circuits, is a technology for assembling electronic circuits by mounting electronic devices on flexible plastic substrates, such as polyimide, PEEK or transparent conductive polyester film. Additionally, flex circuits can be screen printed silver circuits on polyester. Flexible electronic assemblies may be manufactured using identical components used for rigid printed circuit boards, allowing the board to conform to a desired shape, or to flex during its use.
A grommet is a ring or edge strip inserted into a hole through thin material, typically a sheet of textile fabric, sheet metal or composite of carbon fiber, wood or honeycomb. Grommets are generally flared or collared on each side to keep them in place, and are often made of metal, plastic, or rubber. They may be used to prevent tearing or abrasion of the pierced material or protection from abrasion of the insulation on the wire, cable, line being routed through the penetration, and to cover sharp edges of the piercing, or all of the above.
Pliers are a hand tool used to hold objects firmly, possibly developed from tongs used to handle hot metal in Bronze Age Europe. They are also useful for bending and physically compressing a wide range of materials. Generally, pliers consist of a pair of metal first-class levers joined at a fulcrum positioned closer to one end of the levers, creating short jaws on one side of the fulcrum, and longer handles on the other side. This arrangement creates a mechanical advantage, allowing the force of the grip strength to be amplified and focused on an object with precision. The jaws can also be used to manipulate objects too small or unwieldy to be manipulated with the fingers.
A circuit diagram is a graphical representation of an electrical circuit. A pictorial circuit diagram uses simple images of components, while a schematic diagram shows the components and interconnections of the circuit using standardized symbolic representations. The presentation of the interconnections between circuit components in the schematic diagram does not necessarily correspond to the physical arrangements in the finished device.
A cable tie is a type of fastener for holding items together, primarily electrical cables and wires. Because of their low cost, ease of use, and binding strength, cable ties are ubiquitous, finding use in a wide range of other applications. Cable ties were first manufactured by Thomas & Betts under the brand name Ty-Rap.
A punch-down block is a type of electrical connection often used in telephony. It is named because the solid copper wires are "punched down" into short open-ended slots which are a type of insulation-displacement connector. These slots, usually cut crosswise across an insulating plastic bar, contain two sharp metal blades which cut through the wire's insulation as it is punched down. These blades hold the wire in position and make the electrical contact with the wire as well.
A violin consists of a body or corpus, a neck, a finger board, a bridge, a soundpost, four strings, and various fittings. The fittings are the tuning pegs, tailpiece and tailgut, endpin, possibly one or more fine tuners on the tailpiece, and in the modern style of playing, usually a chinrest, either attached with the cup directly over the tailpiece or to the left of it. There are many variations of chinrests: center-mount types such as Flesch or Guarneri, clamped to the body on both sides of the tailpiece, and side-mount types clamped to the lower bout to the left of the tailpiece.
In ice hockey, players use specialized equipment both to facilitate the play of the game and for protection as this is a sport where injuries are common, therefore, all players are encouraged to protect their bodies from bruises and severe fractures.
A threaded insert, also known as a threaded bushing, is a fastener element that is inserted into an object to add a threaded hole. They may be used to repair a stripped threaded hole, provide a durable threaded hole in a soft material, place a thread on a material too thin to accept it, mold or cast threads into a work piece thereby eliminating a machining operation, or simplify changeover from unified to metric threads or vice versa.
A screw terminal is a type of electrical connection where a wire is held by the tightening of a screw.
A kitchen scraper is a kitchen implement made of metal, plastics, wood, rubber or silicone rubber. In practice, one type of scraper is often interchanged with another or with a spatula for some of the various uses.
A battery holder is one or more compartments or chambers for holding a battery. For dry cells, the holder must also make electrical contact with the battery terminals. For wet cells, cables are often connected to the battery terminals, as is found in automobiles or emergency lighting equipment.
An electrical crimp is a type of solderless electrical connection.
A Tamiya connector is a type of DC power connector, commonly used on radio-controlled model vehicle battery packs, drones and chargers. They are also commonly used on airsoft guns. The connector was designed by Japanese manufacturer Tamiya Corporation.
The dictionary definition of spudger at Wiktionary