Abstract: A clamp mechanism (20) for holding and transporting parts such as wire (16) and terminals (18) to connector blocks (12) where transport paths require precision and limited space includes a scissors-like clamp (42,52) confined in a housing (24-28) with such clamp driven to move and close by toggle/cam (60,38) in a single sided movement by a single driving mechanism such as a pneumatic cylinder (22), and to open upon the reverse stroke by a spring (66) all defined by a single reciprocating stroke of the driving mechanism.

Abstract: Apparatus (30) includes means (28,29) to position a block (12) having multiple apertures (14) with a given aperture positioned along a loading axis (IA); a series of linear driving motors (32,40,56,112) are sequentially operated to grasp, hold and transport a terminal wire (24) and insert the terminal (16) thereof into a selected block aperture (14) in a sequence with an inverse cam (90) and roller mechanism (80,94) driven by a lever (96) to convert linear motion into a particular curvilinear movement to cause the terminal to clear the wires previously loaded in apertures in the block in a high speed insertion cycle.