The annual Optical Fiber Communications Conference continues to grow, and ProLab’s Giacomo Losio reports on the top five technologies that everyone was talking about.   OFC 2015 was a very busy show. Sometimes you go to a two-day event and think it could have been condensed into one, but in OFC’s case it could have been three andRead More

Bishop & Associates examined 10 years of connector industry balance sheets, which revealed consistent performance that rewarded investors.   The connector industry grew to almost $53 billion in 2014. It is an industry with a good balance sheet and not a lot of long-term debt. Let’s take a look at some of the stats that supportRead More

Plastic optical fiber is an option for applications as diverse as residential wiring and avionics. Here’s a short guide to plastic optical fiber to help you determine if it’s what you need.   Installing plastic optical fiber (POF) cabling may be the better choice for networking with infrastructure runs of up to 80 meters that connect toRead More

Restrictive connector terminal solutions can be an issue when specifying aluminum wires for automotive applications.   In light of time-to-market issues in the automotive industry, aluminum is the best option for reducing the weight of the electrical distribution system and harnesses. Aluminum has been used in battery and power applications in premium cars for some time.Read More

While secondary sourcing can be a viable option to mitigate supply chain interruptions, many connectors for today’s automobiles are so specialized that finding a second source can mean a whole new set of challenges. The “supply chain” is the process by which a company creates and distributes its products and services to the end users. The execution begins whenRead More

When every penny counts, manufacturers look to wire processing equipment suppliers to help cut production costs and improve the cost per lead. To assist in your next equipment purchase, Komax offers five things to know about automatic crimping machines.   In today’s competitive business environment, wire harness manufacturers are winning contracts by the penny. WhenRead More

Poor crimps can slow down a production line. Schleuniger explains how to improve crimp quality to increase productivity.   A high quality crimp termination will usually exceed the service life of the product in which it is installed. On the other hand, a marginal quality crimp termination can cause electrical failures early in a product’sRead More

Inside Connection highlights the technologies, innovations, special services, and unique products from connector suppliers like Amphenol Sine Systems. Headquarters: Clinton Township, Mich., US About the Company Industrial@Amphenol is a subsidiary of the Amphenol Corporation and is a leader in industrial interconnect products. The company designs, manufactures, and supplies high-performance interconnect systems for a broad rangeRead More

Electric terminal manufacturers utilize a good portion of their engineering resources to develop new products or improve existing terminals for the automotive industry. Sam Francois of ETCO examines the keys to choosing heavy-duty terminals for automotive applications.   Problems within a vehicle’s electrical system have long plagued the automotive industry. One of the most common areas forRead More

To weigh in on the Star Wars versus Star Trek debate, as well as to read the latest industry updates, check out the news briefs for May 12, 2015. AMETEK Electronic Components and Packaging (ECP) launched a new global website that provides a single, easy-to-use web portal for AMETEK ECP’s three principal businesses: ECP-Packaging, whichRead More

Which is the better option – copper of fiber – in commercial aircraft? Earle Olson of TE Connectivity discusses the benefits of fiber in today’s increasingly sophisticated commercial airplanes.   Commercial aircraft run on information. As aircraft designers embrace the concept of MEA (more electric aircraft) to replace mechanical control systems, embedded computers are evolving to handle increasedRead More

Choosing the right material combinations for a specific application can mean the difference between success and failure. Richard Orstad of Fralock presents a primer on how to specify electrical insulating material.   There are hundreds of decisions required when designing mission-critical electromechanical components. In each of these decisions, choosing the right material combinations for a specificRead More