Excessive electrical noise in variable frequency drive installations can wreak havoc on the precision electronic components, network cabling, and other sensitive wiring found in most modern industrial facilities. Belden’s Peter Cox explains how to select cable for variable frequency drive systems. Many existing variable frequency drive (VFD) installations use cross-linked high heat water resistant insulated wire (XHHW); thermoplasticRead More

Representatives from TE Connectivity’s Automotive Cable Assembly Product Team answer your questions about cable and assemblies for transportation applications. Q: What are the key areas of transportation that are driving the development of new cable products? A: Infotainment systems, hybrid and electric mobility, driver assistance, driver safety, and human machine interfaces (HMI) are all contributing toRead More

Soaring air travel and aging fleets will continue to drive demand for narrow body and regional jets, continuing the boom in commercial aircraft. Bishop tracks 13 companies in the transportation market sector. This market has been growing, as measured by these 13 company’s revenues, in the last three quarters. In 1Q14, the combined revenues ofRead More

In an excerpt from a recent white paper, the folks at Switchcraft offer helpful tips for choosing between overmolded and field-assembled cables for your next design. Cable assemblies are the core components for your most critical connections. In many instances, you’ll have the option of choosing between field-assembled cables or overmolded cables. For some designsRead More

The extraordinary success of “wearables” has helped forge opportunities for medical device manufacturers to better serve healthcare providers and patients. Hank Mancini of Molex subsidiary Affinity Medical explains how and why mobile health monitoring technologies go viral. Wearable devices, including smart watches, smart glasses, smart clothing, even upscale smart jewelry, with even more products inRead More

Positronic offers insight into medical connectors’ characteristics and regulations to follow to ensure safety in critical applications. Just as doctors need to pass the medical boards, medical connectors are required to pass many tests to ensure that they meet the stringent standards of safety, performance, and reliability required to work in the medical field. They mustRead More

The development of modular medical devices, such as pluggable or wearable drug dispensing and patient monitoring equipment, poses several engineering challenges. AVX’s Tom Anderson offers tips on how to specify medical connectors. The development of modular medical devices, such as pluggable or wearable drug dispensing and patient monitoring equipment, poses several engineering challenges. Although electronicRead More

How you source your connectors can be just as important as which connectors you specify. Here, TTI shares five things to know about sourcing medical connectors through distributors. Who you work with to provide connector solutions for your medical device can be just as important as the connectors themselves. Here are five things to know toRead More

Bishop & Associates’ 2014 Connector Industry Forecast shows major changes in the marketplace, including stronger performance in the industrial, automotive, and telecom/datacom equipment sectors. The connector industry’s performance for the first five months of the year has been very strong. Year-to-date May, the industry has grown revenues by +9.5% over the same period in 2013.Read More

John MacWilliams wonders if, with the evolutions and revolutions we’ve seen over the last few years in consumer electronics, has innovation peaked? The consumer electronics industry (CE) has gone from also-ran to shining star – and back to a more subdued posture unless some exciting things happen by this fall. The transition goes like this:Read More

People with imagination and the will to manifest it are behind every development from fire-starting to cell phones. That’s why we offer an ode to engineers who think BIG. Engineering is how people turn technology into solutions, and, like any other tool, is only as good as those who wield it and their imaginations. WithoutRead More

Don’t blush! It’s time to get down and dirty as AVX shares five things to know about “naked” connectors. If you’re not sure your design could benefit from a connector solution that has shed its plastic insulator, here are some considerations for utilizing “naked” connectors, according to AVX‘s Tom Anderson. Naked connectors are single contactsRead More