Contacts Product Roundup

By AJ Born | July 18, 2023

This week’s Product Roundup highlights contacts from leading suppliers.

Contacts

Avnet offers precision A Series connector contacts from Amphenol Sine Systems designed for increased reliability and reduced cost. Contacts are readily available in a wide variety of materials and plating combinations and can be supplied with a number of different contact types. Amphenol Sine Systems can design, engineer, and manufacture contacts to exact customer specifications and produce large or small quantities.

HYPER Series from Smiths Interconnect offers the original superior performing hyperboloid contact technology designed for use in all applications and in harsh and demanding environments where high reliability and safety are critical. The inherent electrical and mechanical characteristics of the Hypertac HYPERboloid conTACt ensures unrivalled performance in terms of reliability, number of mating cycles, low contact force, and minimal contact resistance. The shape of the contact sleeve is formed by hyperbolically arranged contact wires, which align themselves elastically as contact lines around the pin, providing multiple linear contact paths.

EDAC’s hermaphroditic contact design has forked blades. The contacts align in the male and female insulators at 90° to one another. When mated together, they provide four points of contact, creating a gas-tight connection that is very high quality with high continuity. The contacts have chamfered or beveled edges that float in the insulator. With the large number of connections and to compensate for stacked tolerances, this float allows for some movement of the contacts to help in the ease of mating.

Open bottom contacts from PRECI-DIP have many advantages. They are easy to customize, composed of a fully customizable turned barrel and a standard multifinger clip. PRECI-Dip has 50 types of clip to fit with mating pin from 0.36 mm to 2.45 mm. These contacts compensate for tolerance on pin length; with an open barrel, the pin length is not an issue and can easily overtake on open side. A stacking design is possible, depending on customer needs. They feature a low profile and small form factor on a PCB board.

Split-Pair Quadrax Contacts from Amphenol Aerospace have overall higher bandwidth than standard CAT5E quadrax and support up to 6.5 Gb/s per pair. These contacts for CAT6A type cable have enhanced crosstalk performance (compared to standard quadrax) due to compatibility with a shielded twisted pair of cables. They can be used for a variety of high-speed applications beyond the current star quadrax design. The outer contact has a rugged wall section for durability.

Smiths Interconnect Dovetail Connector, supplied by Kensington Electronics Inc., is available with two compressed heights, 4 mm and 6 mm. The symmetrical blocks interlock to allow for simple configuration into any imaginable X-Y pattern. A multitude of probe options permit the benefits of a custom connector design, such as intermixing of power and ground functions within the same array. Dovetail connectors, because of their configurable nature, allow designers to solve problems with an innovative contact technology packaged in a field-configurable, commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) solution, instantly, easily, and securely. Available for immediate delivery with no tooling required, the Dovetail Connector eliminates the time and expense associated with typical prototypes and low- to medium-volume manufacturing activities.

PEI-Genesis supplies Carlisle IT/Tri-Star MIL-C-39029/AS39029 electrical contacts. Tri-Star contacts are designed for harsh environments, meet strict military specifications and are suitable for connectors used in a wide range of applications, including military and commercial aerospace, satellite, telecom, navigation, avionics, and oil and gas exploration. Available AS39029 styles include crimp, PC tail, thermocouple, solder cup & wire wrap, and coax/twinax/triax contacts.

Amphenol SV Microwave offers DC to 40 GHz high frequency size 8, 12, and 16 coaxial contacts for the D38999 Series III housing and standard inserts. These contacts allow any application to continue to use the D38999 connector and expand the use to include microwave transmission lines.

 

KYOCERA AVX’s 9296-100 series of single, vertical wire-to-board contacts provide cost-effective yet robust discrete wire termination without insulator and assembly costs. This family of top- and bottom-entry contacts compliments the existing vertical poke home connectors already on the market, providing a lower cost solution without jeopardizing performance. These contacts support both solid and stranded wires ranging from 26 AWG down to 18 AWG and current ratings as high as 12 amps. The set of four contacts provide both top and bottom entry for FR4 and metal core printed circuit boards.

The DF59M series from Hirose Electric is a compact, low-profile connector series ideal for LED lighting applications and is a single-pole connector. The mated height on the PCB board is 1.2 mm, which excludes the height of the wire. Mating style is horizontal, and a tactile snap and auditory click indicates when fully engaged. The DF59M series offers a high current capacity of 6 A using 22 AWG cable and has a strong 16N mated retention force. The rated voltage is 350 VAC/DC and the operating temperature ranges from -40 °C to +105 °C. Applicate cable is 22 AWG to 28 AWG.

Able to withstand extremely high current ratings, ept’s press-fit contacts reduce costs while only requiring the smallest of installation spaces. Rugged and test-proven, ept’s specialty T-Com press-fit pins are asked for by name in the automotive sector. A variety of materials, such as copper, brass, bronze, and high-performance alloys, are available, as well as many options for surface coatings, including tin, silver, gold, palladium, indium, nickel phosphate, and tin lead. Strip thicknesses can be custom-made from 0.4 up to 1.2 mm. With in-house electroplating lines, ept can offer efficient, cost-effective manufacturing with no soldering defects or flux residues. Our stamped contacts are part of our zero-defect strategy, and all contacts undergo electronic and optical testing to meet the highest requirements for consistency and quality.

Weidmuller Crimp contacts HE provide an electrical and mechanical connection between wire and contact that is both secure and reliable. The optimal crimp connection is gas-tight and corrosion-resistant.

 

ALTW Terminal ProductionAmphenol LTW offers a wide range of contacts. Industrial waterproof connectors rely on contacts to ensure uninterrupted power transmission and signal integrity in challenging environments. They are typically made from corrosion-resistant materials like phosphor bronze, copper, or brass, with different materials impacting ductility, durability, and wear resistance. The two common manufacturing types for contacts are “Machined (CNC) Contact” and “Stamped and Formed Contact.” Machined contacts are precisely manufactured using machining processes, while stamped and formed contacts are produced by stamping and forming metal sheets. Termination processing styles include solder, screw-in, PCB, crimp, IDC, and push-in, each with its own advantages based on application requirements. Plating the contacts is important for electrical performance and corrosion protection. Common options include gold plating, silver plating, and other materials selected based on application needs, environmental conditions, and budget considerations.

 

Learn more about connector materials.

Connector Materials: Platings and Housing Product Roundup

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AJ Born
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