Sept 2024 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.
Sept 2024 Connector Industry News
Sept 2024 Connector Industry News > Event News
More than 230 students from 31 universities in seven countries were challenged to showcase the power of artificial intelligence at the fifth annual AI Cup, hosted by TE Connectivity. Since 2018, the TE AI Cup has provided students an opportunity to experiment with AI innovation in an industrial manufacturing setting to solve for real-world issues. The teams of students immersed themselves in more than 30 TE manufacturing sites at the beginning of this year’s competition to understand the various challenges the company manages in the manufacturing process. The AI-based solutions the teams developed were tested, verified, and adjusted within the factories, with guidance and support from TE advisors and university mentors. One winning team developed an AI visual inspection system for cable welding, resulting in a 95% reduction in scrapped metal. This solution has since been deployed on six product lines at a TE factory. Another winning team developed an AI-driven process to support patent research and analysis that is 40 times faster than doing this work manually. Participants said that facing real-world challenges will serve them well as they begin their careers.
Sept 2024 Connector Industry News > Award News
Hirose named Future Electronics its 2023 Distributor of the Year. The distinction recognizes Future Electronics for its sales growth, customer service, as well as its technical support and training expertise. Hirose partners with Future globally to serve customers in a wide range of industries including automotive, consumer, industrial, medical, telecommunications, and lighting. Hirose’s advanced technologies and diverse development capabilities support the launch of new connectivity products that combine high applicability and added value to meet global market needs.
DigiKey was named to Forbes’ America’s Best-in-State Employers List 2024, one of a select group of Minnesota-based companies with over 500 U.S. employees to be recognized. The list is derived from an independent survey of over 160,000 U.S. employees spanning all industry sectors. The survey evaluated all aspects of the employee experience, including working conditions, salary, growth potential, and diversity. DigiKey employees benefit from one of the most competitive benefits packages in the state, along with on-site amenities and comprehensive educational and professional development programs. In addition, DigiKey fosters a sense of community through employee recognition, company-wide events, and its DigiKey Cares program, which donates time and resources to support local charitable organizations and causes.
Newark has been awarded the NI Distributor Selling Value Award for 2024. The prestigious award recognizes the value that distribution partners bring to their end customers and was presented to Newark during NI Connect 2024. NI Connect is an annual in-person event for test leaders learning how companies use breakthrough test technologies and approaches to boost their business performance for a competitive edge. Held across two days in Austin, Texas, attendees gained insights and attended dozens of forums tailored to help them optimize test data, modernize labs with software standardization, and drive product and business performance.
Indium Corporation honored nine of its employees for their technical industry contributions with its annual Silver Quill Award. While the company’s thought leaders present technical content at industry events throughout the year, Silver Quill provides special recognition to the most innovative and cutting-edge papers. Two papers and their authors were recognized this year. One, A Bismuth-Free In-Containing Lower-Temperature Lead-Free Solder Paste for Wafer-Level Package Application that Outperforms SAC305, co-authored by Hongwen Zhang, Tyler Richmond, Kyle Aserian, Huaguang Wang, Jie Geng, Chris Nash, and Jonas Sjoberg, was first presented at ECTC 2023. The paper examines a mixed solder powder paste technology used to develop a bismuth-free, indium-containing solder paste (MTS) for lower-temperature soldering. The second, Energy Consumption Reduction Using Low-Temp Solder Alloys, quantifies the effect of reduced temperature on oven energy usage by recording the consumption rate of an oven under various reflow conditions. Co-authored by Adam Murling and Jay Zhang, this presentation was first delivered at APEX 2023, based on their technical paper.
Sept 2024 Connector Industry News > Facility News
BIRNS has invested in a new state-of-the-art extreme depth hydrostatic pressure testing facility. The new system includes a custom designed pressure vessel capable of tests to 20,000 psi (1380 bar) and which features angular positioning and can simulate sinusoidal motion. The facility also allows technicians to utilize more than one testing vessel concurrently, to provide greatly increased throughput. The newest addition to the testing capabilities can be used in tandem with an extreme low temperature, extreme depth testing system capable of 10,000 psi. This bespoke testing fixture successfully allows 48 hour+ continuous precision testing of connectors and cable assemblies at 6 km in a controlled 2 °C (±1 °C) environment.
Connector Industry News > Personnel & Acquisitions News
Pictured (left to right): Marian Roldan, Davis Mathews, Kyle Bordner, Kevin Zak, Doug Ferguson, Heath Scoggin.
Phoenix Contact USA announced a new management structure and leadership team, effective September 1, 2024. This board-based leadership change supports the successful maturation of the U.S. company as a Group Center of Competence and the overall Business Area (BA) structure that Phoenix Contact first implemented in 2016. It also provides a seamless transition in preparation for the retirement of Phoenix Contact USA President Jack Nehlig, who is retiring on December 31, 2024, after 23 years with the company. Heath Scoggin has been promoted to president of the BA device connectors and will lead Phoenix Contact Development and Manufacturing legal entity, Process Management, and Quality. Kevin Zak has been promoted to president of the BA industrial components and electronics and will lead the Phoenix Contact U.S. Sales Subsidiary legal entity, Logistics, Government Relations, and ESG. Davis Mathews has been promoted to president of the BA Industry Management and Automation and will lead the Phoenix Contact Holdings legal entity, Human Relations, Digitalization, IT, Purchasing, and Facilities. In addition, Kyle Bordner was promoted to Vice president of finance and risk management, replacing David Russo, who retired in May. Scoggin, Zak, Mathews, and Bordner have been named members of both the Phoenix Contact USA executive board and the management board. The Phoenix Contact management board will also include Marian Roldan, senior vice president of human relations, and Doug Ferguson, senior vice president of Americas operations services.
Sept 2024 Connector Industry News > Partnership & Distribution News
Rosenberger Hochfrequenztechnik GmbH & Co. KG and ept GmbH are joining forces to develop hybrid connectors for automotive applications. Modern automotive E/E architectures use both high-speed data connectors for differential data transmission, for example for automotive Ethernet, as well as classic signal and power connectors such as for CAN or LIN bus. The cooperation between ept and Rosenberger integrates both types in combined hybrid connectors, which can be assembled on the printed circuit board using either conventional soldering technology or the advantageous press-fit technology. Both companies are leading suppliers in their respective fields. Rosenberger’s wide range of connectors, including the H-MTD series, MTD, HFM, and FAKRA, is known worldwide for its high-speed data transmission in automotive applications, such as Ethernet for ADAS or infotainment. ept is known for its Tcom press-fit zone and custom interface connectors for automotive ECUs, especially in critical applications such as airbag ECUs, ABS/ESP, combustion engine or electric drive, and battery ECUs. The hybrid connector system now offered by Rosenberger and ept provides a range of benefits to OEMs and their suppliers by integrating the strengths of both manufacturers. Other benefits include space savings, increased reliability in harsh environments, and cost reduction from connector to PCB assembly.
Bulgin has signed Waldom Electronics’ 1% Sustainability Pledge and joined its new Tree Planting Initiative. This program is dedicated to the restoration of mangrove forests along the coast of Kenya, a region noted for its ecological richness and vital role in maintaining healthy coastal environments. Mangroves play a critical role in carbon capture, shoreline defense, and provide habitat for diverse species. In collaboration with veritree, an organization known for its comprehensive three-step verification system and transparent GPS tracking, Waldom Electronics and Bulgin ensure that every aspect of the tree-planting process is carefully monitored, allowing stakeholders to follow the progress live. This partnership underscores the deep environmental commitment of both Waldom Electronics and Bulgin.
Ironwood Electronics Inc. and JF Technology Berhad signed a cross-distribution agreement, where, among other details, Ironwood will utilize JF high performance contact pins, both cantilever and rigid, within its contact assembly cartridges, and JFT will utilize Ironwood contact assembly cartridges (including cantilever, rigid, and Ironwood’s new ATE-P contact assembly for high performance BGA/LGA testing) within their test sockets. Ironwood brings high insertion count variants of its high-performance test technology to the ATE (automated test equipment) marketplace. Together, with JF Technology, the two companies can now bring high performance BGA/LGA solutions and replaceable cartridge contact assemblies to their customers throughout Asia. They will both continue to sell their own products worldwide but will now also have the right to sell each other’s products, with Ironwood focusing on the U.S. and Europe and JF Technology focusing on Asia.
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