Interconnect News: March 2016
To keep up on the latest partnerships, personnel changes, business decisions, and industry headlines, don’t miss the interconnect news for March 23, 2016.
Connector Manufacturers Interconnect News
Molex joined Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) members last week in a demonstration of multi-vendor interoperability at the OFC Conference and Exhibition. The OIF demonstrations included 56 Gb/s electrical interfaces over a range of channel reaches from “very short reach” (VSR) to “long reach” (LR) and a range of modulations including NRZ and PAM4. Molex’s zQSFP+ Interconnect System played a key role in this process. It adheres to a key OIF specification, the CEI-28G-VSR clause, and is currently positioned to meet the proposed draft OIF CEI-56G-VSR-NRZ and CEI-56G-PAM4 specifications. The high-density, high-speed zQSFP+ Interconnect System included in OIF demos transmits up to 56 Gb/s per-serial-lane data rates with excellent signal integrity, electromagnetic interference protection, and thermal cooling.
Harwin has designed and installed its largest-ever assembly line, built in partnership with Festo, the leading supplier of automation technology. The line was commissioned to service Harwin’s rapidly growing sales of its Gecko 1.25mm-pitch high-reliability connector family. Festo delivered a full range of pneumatics, PLCs, drives, motors, and electric axes that allowed Harwin to select the best-suited technology in each area of the machine. The new assembly line also includes laser marking and can automatically assemble the full range of Gecko products up to 50 contacts. This is the most ambitious machine Harwin ever produced, using more I/O than ever before – a total of 450 – which was made possible through the combination of the CANopen and Festo systems.
HARTING Technology Group provided a smart computer for the Rinspeed concept car “Etos” that was featured at CES in January as well as the Geneva Motor Show earlier this month. The HARTING MICA (Modular Industry Computing Architecture) carries out emissions and status monitoring on the vehicle. The HARTING MICA is a modular platform made up of open hardware and software components, which can be adapted quickly and cost-effectively to many industrial areas of application. Deployed in the Etos, the MICA continuously records and transmits drive and engine data, using sensors and RFID tags, which is then evaluated and processed by an independent and neutral body (Dekra) as agreed by the customer and contract partner beforehand. This enables specific statements to be made about the credibility of the mileage status.
Distributors
Mouser Electronics is teaming up with celebrity engineer Grant Imahara to unveil its next “Innovation Spotlight” interview as part of the Portable Power Series and Empowering Innovation Together program. Following up on his discussion with Dr. Richard Kaner about harnessing energy with micro-supercapacitors, Grant Imahara turns his attention to how component suppliers are focusing on energy management and storage with a special spotlight interview with Adam White, vice president of sales at Infineon Technologies. Imahara and White address the challenges of energy management and how new technologies and materials can improve energy efficiency.
Additionally, Mouser Electronics congratulated driver Jerome D’Ambrosio and the entire Dragon Racing team on a stunning victory at the inaugural Mexico City ePrix, the fifth leg of the world’s premier racing event for all-electric cars. Mouser is a major sponsor of the 2015-16 Dragon Racing Formula E Team in collaboration with valued supplier partners Molex and Panasonic. Loic Duval, D’Ambrosio’s partner on the Dragon Racing Team, finished fourth, helping lift the team to second place overall with a total of 102 points and significantly improving their chances for a championship title. Formula E is a new global racing series from Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the governing body for world motor sports that features cars powered exclusively by electric power and represents a vision for the future of the motor sports industry over the coming decades.
Digi-Key announced it experienced strong double-digit growth in China during 2015 as well as significant customer count gains. The company believes this was achieved through investments in infrastructure, expanded product offering, continued development of design tools, and localized customer service and RMB currency options, which have been the driving factors behind growth in the region. With offices located in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, the company offers in-country sales, customer service, and 24×7 technical support to meet the evolving needs of local design engineers and manufacturers.
TTI Inc. announced the winners of its prestigious 2015 Americas Supplier Excellence Awards. Among the winners were interconnect companies AVX, Bourns, Molex, and Phoenix Contact. Bourns and Phoenix Contact received the Platinum award, which requires five consecutive years of award recognition, while Molex received the Silver award for three years of recognition, and AVX the Bronze award for two consecutive years. Bourns also won the Global Operations Excellence Award, which recognizes the supplier who earns the award in all three TTI regions – Americas, Europe, and Asia – and who scored the highest total points globally.
Other News
The members of the microQSFP (micro Quad Small Form-Factor Pluggable) Multi-Source Agreement (MSA) group announced it has released the microQSFP Specification Version 2.0, which allows system designers, optical module manufacturers, and copper cable assembly providers across the industry to develop next-generation hardware based on the microQSFP definition. Click here for the full story.
Organizers of PCIM Asia, to be held from June 28 – 30 at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition Center, announced that nearly 90% of the fair’s total 5,500-plus square meters of exhibition space has already been booked. They expect to welcome more than 90 exhibitors from around the world, as well as more than 6,000 visitors. Currently, the conference has confirmed 57 speakers, two special sessions, two poster sessions, and two keynote topics. Highlighted topics include renewable energy technologies, advanced packages, motor drives and motion controls, high-frequency converter technologies, advanced power semiconductors, and automotive power electronics.
DuPont named Randy L. Stone as president of its Performance Materials business, succeeding Patrick E. Lindner who has resigned from the company to accept another position. Stone will report to DuPont Executive Vice President Marc Doyle. Stone joined DuPont in 2007 and has served in progressive leadership roles for the DuPont Dow Elastomers joint venture and DuPont Performance Elastomers business, the latter while located in Shanghai, China.
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