Small, lightweight connectors designed to withstand harsh industrial environments provide critical support for the advanced robotic systems behind today’s precision manufacturing systems. By Bob Stanton, Omnetics Connector Corporation New Robotic Connectors Industrial robotics are an important element of next-generation automated manufacturing machinery. The development of new end-of-arm-tooling (EOAT) equipment has led to the development ofRead More

Major advances in connection techniques have expanded the role of fiber optic cables. It’s becoming easier to connect several fibers in one fell swoop, saving time and money on installations that use fiber. By David Kiel and David Kozischek, specialists at Corning Optical Communications, and Mike Hughes, project manager at US Conec Optical Connectors SeasonedRead More

LED lighting, along with innovative cooling and irrigation systems, are inspiring the greatest agricultural transformation since the advent of the tractor. Chances are good that the tomato on your salad or the basil on your pizza didn’t grow outside under the sun. Instead, it may have come from an indoor growing facility, nurtured by theRead More

Making the choice between circular and rectangular connectors for the energy industry. Presented by HARTING, Inc. of North America Will Stewart, Industry Segment Manager, Energy Sometimes tradition, rather than functionality, dictates the type of connectors designers specify for an application. That’s the case with circular connectors in the energy industry. Despite their historical employment in thisRead More

Check out this week’s product roundup for information about some of the latest and greatest terminal block solutions available. Terminal Block Product Roundup TTI offers the SPTAF 1 connector family from Phoenix Contact, which features low-profile housings, quick and easy push-in spring-wire terminations, an 8A and 300V UL rating, and a choice of three user-friendlyRead More

Power over Ethernet brings a wealth of efficiencies to smart building initiatives. by Giovanni Frezza, Group Product Manager, Molex Power over Ethernet (PoE) lighting and automation systems help make highly innovative building concepts possible. These distributed networks deliver electrical power and transmit communications signals over standard low-voltage category cabling to various endpoints, including LED lighting,Read More

Check out this week’s product roundup for information about some of the industry’s latest and greatest insulation displacement connector (IDC) solutions.   IDC Roundup Rated for 15A and 600V, AVX’s new STRIPT™ 9177-500 Series single IDC contacts quickly, easily, reliably, and cost-effectively deliver UL-certified, impregnable, cold-welded, and gas-tight wire-to-board connections for large gauge, discrete, solidRead More

The petroleum industry relies on rugged, high-temperature connectors to control down-hole drills. By Bob Stanton, Omnetics Connector Corp.   Electronic sensor and detector systems in the gas and oil industry have become more versatile and capable than ever before. However, their use in down-hole applications has been limited because temperatures in many new producing regionsRead More

Cables and connectors in wind turbines must withstand harsh environments and EMI. Wind power is the leading form of renewable energy in the United States. In 2016, wind supplied 5.5% of the U.S. electricity supply, according to the American Wind Energy Association, which expects that number to climb to 10% by 2020. At the heartRead More

Cord grip add-ons offer increased protection and reliability in harsh industrial conditions By Mark Sweeney, President/COO, Remke Industries   Add-ons for standard cord grips allow designers to quickly and easily improve the performance of industrial electrical connectors in a broad range of applications. Add-ons can address application demands including environmental protection from problems such asRead More

Connector platings made from environmentally friendly materials are protecting today’s applications. By Achim Raad, Senior Product Manager, ITT Cannon   Throughout many industries and environments, interconnect components play an integral role in ensuring the safe, reliable flow of data, signal, and power. While aluminum is currently the market standard material used to manufacture metal shellRead More

Connector technologies are evolving with the reliability requirements for harsh environment applications. By Adrian Green, Director of Engineering, Amphenol ICC   Harsh environment applications present many challenges for electronics systems designers. Reliable operation in industrial and specialized commercial operations subject the connector and the overall system to a range of extreme temperatures, shock, vibration, andRead More