May 2023 Connector Industry News
Upcoming industry events, as well as recent award, partnership, promotion, personnel, facility, distribution, standards, association, and certification news from across the connector industry.
May 2023 Connector Industry News > Event News
The HARTING charging cable used in Volkswagen electric vehicles (EVs) contributed to driver Rainer Zietlow’s most recent record-breaking achievement. Zietlow, who holds multiple Guinness World Records, reached Deadhorse, on the northern coast of Alaska at the remote end of the Dalton Highway System, on April 2, 2023, in a Volkswagen ID.4 AWD EV. No electric vehicle has previously reached this point so early in the year. Zietlow’s drive started on March 28, 2023, in Homer, Alaska, and finished in Key West, Florida , the southernmost tip of the U.S. highway system, on May 6, 2023. During the 8,500-mile drive, Zietlow charged the ID.4 at charging stations and completed the distance without a service vehicle. HARTING has a long history with Volkswagen and Zietlow. Volkswagen celebrated the companies’ partnership by awarding HARTING “Supplier of the Year, Mobility” in 2020 and HARTING has supported Zietlow on two previous record-breaking drives. The project can be followed with pictures and videos and a live tracker at www.vwid4-alaskatour.com. As with all his previous projects, Rainer Zietlow supports the charity organization SOS Children’s Villages.
May 2023 Connector Industry News > Award News
From left: Mike Finseth, Cassandra Reierson, Missy Hall (Digi-Key); Mack Uchida and Russ Elder (I-PEX)
I-PEX named Digi-Key Global Distributor of the Year for 2022. This award recognizes Digi-Key’s commitment to providing superior service, outstanding customer support, and global supply chain solutions for I-PEX interconnect products. Both companies share a commitment to quality, reliability, and customer service, and the partnership has been instrumental in the success of both organizations. “In the short amount of time that we have partnered together, Digi-Key has proven that their leading-edge distribution and service of electronic components has helped I-PEX demonstrate our expertise in manufacturing of precision, high-density, high-speed interconnects,” said Mack Uchida, president and GM of I-PEX USA LLC.
TTI Inc. announced that it has been recognized as Smiths Interconnect’s top distribution partner for 2022 and has earned the America’s Best Distributor of the Year, thanks to the particular focus on the space and defense market segments and the support with best-in-class inventory management. Lew LaFornara, TTI senior vice president of marketing and management, expressed his gratitude on behalf of TTI to the entire Smiths team. “Being selected as a repeat recipient as the America’s distributor of the year is extremely gratifying and we wish to thank Smiths Interconnect for this distinguished honor. I especially want to thank and recognize the ongoing support we receive from so many people at Smiths and the reps here in the Americas, which is a critical component of our mutual success.”
Louis Grice, vice president of digitalization and government relations; Anthony Kanoff, process excellence manager; and Matthew Gainor, lead environmental health and safety specialist.
Phoenix Contact USA has received a 2023 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence (GAEE) for its rooftop solar project. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection honored Phoenix Contact and other Pennsylvania companies and organizations at an award ceremony in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Louis Grice, vice president of digitalization and government relations; Anthony Kanoff, process excellence manager; and Matthew Gainor, lead environmental health and safety specialist, represented Phoenix Contact at the ceremony. The 961-kilowatt solar array went live last year. The system generates about 30% of the energy needed at the company’s U.S. headquarters, located in Lower Swatara Township, Pennsylvania. Phoenix Contact previously received the award for its solar-powered electric vehicle (EV) charging station (2013); a 1-megawatt combined cooling, heating, and power system (2014); and eight EV-charging parking stations (2015). GAEE recognizes projects by schools, businesses, and community organizations based on their degree of environmental protection, innovation, partnership, economic impact, consideration of climate change, and environmental justice and the outcomes achieved.
Jeff Newell, senior VP of products-Mouser; Jessica Knight VP of Sales-Harwin; Kristina Cole, director of supplier management-Mouser; Jeri Hull, supplier manager; Anthony Bruggeman, head of distribution.
Mouser has received Harwin’s Global Performance of the Year Award for 2022 for its continued expansion of the Harwin customer base, combined with impressive sales growth figures. Alongside this are the marketing engagement activities that the company has done in the form of widespread promotion through e-newsletters and online advertising, plus the creation of highly informative technical and multimedia content. Other key factors are the speed with which new products are introduced (NPIs) and the major commitments made to inventory. The latest product lines are quickly added to Mouser stock, then widely promoted to relevant target audiences.
Indium Corporation has earned the Innovation Award from Electronics Manufacturing (EM) World for SiPaste C201HF, a halogen-free, cleanable solder paste specifically formulated to accommodate fine feature printing processes, as seen with 01005 and 008004 components. SiPaste C201HF combines superior, industry-leading non-wet open (NWO) performance with excellent stencil print transfer efficiency to satisfy the broadest range of process requirements and boost SPI yields. It leaves behind a cleanable residue that can be removed with a commercially available semi-aqueous cleaning solution, or it can be used as a standard no-clean paste in processes where post-reflow cleaning is not applicable. It also features excellent transfer efficiency on fine feature apertures, with consistent process yields below 80μm. The EM Innovation Award program recognizes and celebrates excellence in the electronics industry, encouraging companies to achieve the highest standards and push the industry forward.
Samtec’s paper, “3D Connection Artifacts in PDN Measurements,” was recently announced as a DesignCon 2023 Best Paper Award Winner. Part of Track 10 at DesignCon, the paper’s authors include Istvan Novak and Gustavo Blando of Samtec, and engineers from Amazon, Cadence, Oracle, Ampere Computing Inc., and ST Microelectronics. The 26-page paper analyzes via and trace coupling effects using hybrid and full-wave solvers by de-embedding/calibration using multiple test-boards. The project detailed in the paper also used more sophisticated DUT boards to analyze the parasitic probe-via coupling in two-port shunt-through self and transfer impedance PDN measurements. Robert Branson, signal integrity engineer, Samtec, the lead author on “Cascaded vs End-to-End Multi-Pin Interconnect Simulation Models,” was honored as a finalist for his paper that demonstrates the differences between cascaded and end-to-end interconnect models through correlated simulation/measurement models. The analysis uses field plots to show the inaccuracy created by the artificial simulation boundary where models are cut to perform the cascade. The paper also explains how to devise mitigation strategies to decrease simulation time by running cascaded multi-pin connector models while avoiding simulation inaccuracy.
May 2023 Connector Industry News > Facility News
Weidmüller Group will invest $16.4 million to expand its existing operation in Richmond, Virginia. The U.S. expansion cements the company’s commitment to bring engineering and manufacturing closer to North American partners and customers. As part of its ‘Made in America’ commitment, Weidmüller will increase its engineering and production footprint in the U.S. by 24,000 square feet, allowing the company to engineer and manufacture products to meet growing North American customer demand and strengthen its supply chain. Virginia successfully competed with other states for the project, which will create more than 100 new jobs. Founded in 1850, the Weidmüller Group has operated in Chesterfield County, Virginia, for more than 50 years.
May 2023 Connector Industry News > Technical Resources
Newark launched a new eBook, The Innovation Experts – Series 2: Industry 4.0 and the Future of Manufacturing. The eBook shares the views of global experts, including Omega, Schneider Electric, Advantech, ABB, Red Lion Controls, and Eaton, on the advancement of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and related technologies. The eBook offers valuable insights for those planning new digitization projects to design and maintain industrial equipment, robotics, and smart factories. “Industrial automation and control technology is growing rapidly with the increasing number of connected devices through the IIoT. Although many of our customers believe Industry 4.0 is complex and challenging to implement in brownfield sites, there is a magnitude of off-the-shelf hardware and software solutions entering the market, allowing engineers to create new products and systems that can dramatically improve factory efficiency,” said Simon Meadmore, vice president of product and supplier management at Newark.
May 2023 Connector Industry News > Association, Standards, & Certifications
Rebecca Heiss
The opening keynote session of the ECIA Executive Conference will be “FEAR(LESS) Mindset What’s Your Story,” presented by Rebecca Heiss. The session topic is described this way: “Our brains aren’t built for this rapidly changing world… But they are adaptable. By consciously crafting a mindset that helps us lean into these challenges rather than treat them as threats, we’ll be able to avoid the burnout, frustration, and turnover that might otherwise plague us and our clients. And, perhaps most importantly, we can deepen the connections we had to the purpose and people that drew us into this industry we love to begin with.” ECIA Director of Member Engagement, Stephanie Tierney, noted, “The topic fits in very well with our theme, ‘Making Waves, the Power of You.’” This keynote session is still open for sponsorship.
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