Systems designers must keep up with ever-evolving next-generation device standards, as well as with standards not yet set.   Systems design engineers need to keep several considerations in mind when designing to meet codes and standards. But what about when design or product standards don’t yet exist, are in flux, or when technology convergence blursRead More

$1.2 billion of electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) are already selling each year, and they are becoming increasingly common to replace solders in a variety of functions, applications, and industries.   Materials are needed to replace the estimated 50,000 metric tons of tin-lead solder currently used each year, but there are no “drop-in” replacements for eutecticRead More

From wet silk thread to modern superconducting ribbon, interconnect technology has advanced along with the related electronic technology as it is critical to an electrical system’s operation. Add to that the realm of optical fiber, and you have a huge marketplace of mixed applications, technologies, and services.   With wireless technologies – both signal- andRead More

Chicklets revolutionized automation by increasing the overall speed and efficiency of designing in backplane connectors. The Germans are renowned for developing and enforcing mechanical standards that are used worldwide. German companies developed the DIN 41612 connector family and the Eurocard chassis standards, which remain the basis for many other standards, such as VME architectures usedRead More

The FIA Formula E Series has attracted connector companies as sponsors and highlights the role of electronics in the future of auto racing. Along with the rest of the car industry, motorsport has taken a turn for the green and the high tech. The FIA Formula E Series is the first to feature exclusively electricRead More

Racing engineers always request solutions that bend the laws of physics, but that’s what makes working in the industry such a challenge. By its very nature, autosport is not an industry that stands still; just when you think you know what’s happening, a new technology appears and it all moves forward again. Autosport has broughtRead More

Vehicles talk to each other to improve efficiency and safety.   It’s now possible for vehicles to communicate with each other – and not by drivers rolling down their windows to shout at each other. Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications systems can improve the safety, efficiency, and productivity of a wide range of commercial vehicles. Multiple SystemsRead More

In the coming decades the choice of land-vehicle powertrain will mainly be dictated by emissions conformance in addition to the best cost/performance compromise. This will result in a move to pure electric vehicles as laws tighten and technology improves.   The main powertrain options for land vehicles over the next 20 years, according to aRead More

At IMS 2016, 5G and microwave applications dominated, according to our man on the floor, Bishop & Associates’ David Shaff. IMS 2016 or, more appropriately, “Microwave Week,” continues to reflect the growth of wireless technology. Organized by the IEEE Microwave Theory and Technique Society (MTT-S), this year’s IMS began with the RFIC Symposium, continued withRead More

Whether it’s ordering a hot snack or using a personal inflight entertainment system, unique connector designs make it possible.   The next generation of aircraft cabin connectors are designed for quick-change/latching, blind-mate, modular application needs, with gasket sealing and multiple contact arrangements ranging from 20 size-22 power contacts to one size-8 power contact. Options includeRead More