This week’s Product Roundup highlights IC Sockets from leading suppliers. IC Sockets for Datacom Test Applications Mill-Max IC Sockets, supplied by Allied Electronics & Automation, provide a variety of options for making device-to-board connections. These IC sockets utilize the Mill-Max receptacle as the connection between the IC device and the circuit board. The precision-machined receptacleRead More

Meet the Connector: IC Test Sockets IC test sockets are electromechanical interfaces that have evolved to meet the needs of the booming semiconductor industry. They are used initially to perfect the IC design and later to weed out faulty circuits, all to ensure that the ICs in the final product will perform as intended. InRead More

The shift from tin lead to lead-free solder has created an unintended consequence that has experts exploring multiple avenues for solutions. Soldering is the process used to secure connections on a printed circuit board using metal alloys and heat. The two most common types of soldering are reflow and wave. Traditionally, solder was made fromRead More

The RoHS and REACH directives, along with rising material costs, have led to innovative new processes and materials for contact plating. In the world of electronics design, great challenges lead to great innovation. Take the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and Reach directives, for example. These European environmental directives disrupted decades of common processes andRead More

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

This week’s Product Roundup highlights the advantages of various platings and housings from leading suppliers. Connector Materials: Platings & Housing Intercompact from Smiths Interconnect features insulators in proprietary Liquid Cristal Polymer material and hyperboloid contact technology for an optimized insulation resistance in severe environment conditions. The very low contact resistance of the Hypertac socket ensuresRead 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

Meet the Connector: Terminal Blocks Terminal blocks are connectors used to secure two or more wires to each other (wire-to-wire) or to a PCB (wire-to-board). They consist of an insulated body within a modular housing. Often used in industrial applications, they are appropriate wherever electrical systems need to stay safely connected, organized, and secure. TerminalRead 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