Cold forming miniature metal components provides cost savings, waste reduction, faster processing, and superior finished component quality compared to traditional machining and cutting processes. Cold forming, also known as cold heading or cold forging, is a manufacturing and metalworking process that forms miniature metal components such as connector pins without the use of heat orRead More
For special installations like the Winter Olympics, as well as applications such as vehicles and devices that routinely operate in cold climates, electronics must be ruggedized against low temperatures. The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics showcased human endurance in the most extreme cold conditions as athletes performed on ice, in snow, and in frigid air. TheRead More
Route or fleet vehicles operate near continuously under harsh environment conditions. As electrification expands in this market, it’s critical that connectors can endure the influence of high voltages as well as the rigors of the road. Commercial vehicles operate in uncontrolled environments, subject to heat, moisture, vibration, and dust. For fleet or route vehicles, suchRead More
See Bishop & Associates 2024 ranking of connector suppliers for more recent data on Top 10 companies. Bishop & Associates has completed its 2021 North American customer survey, which evaluated 37 connector manufacturers. A total of 221 customers answered 18 questions relating to important issues such as quality, pricing, delivery, lead times, technical support, website usefulness, andRead More
From miniaturization to new cable standards to bold new materials, cables are evolving in tandem with connectors to enable fast, powerful, efficient design. Innovation in digital technologies is supported by parallel advancements in cable trends. From faster, smaller cables in the consumer space to heavy subsea cables that carry massive volumes of data from oneRead More
CAN bus interfaces and modules, with a range of corresponding cable types and connector combinations, serve as the backbone of the CAN communications system. When chosen properly, they deliver performance, cost savings, and reliability. Controller Area Network (CAN) technology first appeared in European luxury vehicles 30 years ago. Since then, CAN technology has become prevalentRead More
See Bishop & Associates 2024 ranking of connector suppliers for more recent data on Top 10 companies. Bishop & Associates has completed its 2021 North American customer survey, which evaluated 37 connector manufacturers. A total of 221 customers answered 18 questions relating to important issues such as quality, pricing, delivery, lead times, technical support, and moreRead More
As droughts, fires, extreme weather events, and rising seas become harder to ignore, researchers are accelerating the development of more powerful technologies to harvest energy from renewable energy sources. Interconnects will play a key role. Renewable Energy There are still a few skeptics who deny global climate change, but over the past year the discussionRead More
Harsh operating conditions and challenging installation scenarios make it important to specify rugged, reliable, and application-specific interconnects for industrial equipment. Industrial Connectors The extreme temperatures and humidity often present in industrial settings place considerable strain on electronic components and can cause equipment to malfunction. Interconnects used in industrial equipment and systems are also subjected toRead More
Do we need yet another single-pair Ethernet interface? Advocates say twisted-pair technology in an M8 or M12 interface would bring huge benefits to autonomous systems. Single-pair Ethernet (SPE) will greatly improve the flexibility of automation within the connected industrial environment. Previously, Ethernet connections allowed the cloud to talk to the main control room (where software controls the entireRead More
A new high-density MT-based optical interconnect is coming soon. With up to four MT ferrules accommodating up to 96 optical channels, VITA 87 brings big bandwidth in a small footprint. The addition of complex embedded systems to the next generation of multi-functional military equipment is driving a new wave of development in associated components. More speed, greater density, and higher levelsRead More
Connectors are making inroads into every corner of our lives as digital influencers. We exist in a connected world of products, services, communication tools, and transportation networks that are designed to increase our standard of living, make us smarter, and bring us closer to the people and places we care about. Fundamental to this isRead More
