Dr. Bob

Power Contacts/Connectors – Part III: Current Rating 1

Power Contacts/Connectors Part III: Current Rating 1 A number of issues need resolution in order to perform a current rating test program. Both practical and philosophical issues should be taken into consideration as you embark on this process. We first discuss the practical issues. The relevant document for this discussion is EIA 364 D: TP-70B,Read More

Power Contacts/Connectors Part II – Current Concerns

Power Contacts/Connectors Part II: Current Concerns Before we begin discussing current rating, let’s define the types of current a contact or connector may carry. There are four different current types: Transient, overload, steady state, and intermittent, also called duty cycle, currents. Figure 1 illustrates the first three current types in an induction motor application. RegionRead More

Power Contacts and Connectors Part I – What is Power?

Power Contacts and Connectors Part I: What is Power? Understanding power is critical to the design of power contacts and connectors. By presenting a six-part series exploring these specialty contacts, I hope to empower you to make the best design decisions the next time you embark on a project. We’ll begin by defining what isRead More

Contact Spring Material Selection

Dr. Bob on Contact Spring Material Selection In the first article in this series I identified three contact spring material parameters of particular importance to electrical connectors. These parameters are elastic modulus, which affects contact normal force; yield strength, which also affects contact normal force; and conductivity, which affects the current carrying capacity of aRead More

Copper Alloy Metallurgy Limitations

Dr. Bob on Copper Alloy Metallurgy Limitations This article will cover limited aspects of copper alloy metallurgy as they apply to electronic connectors. The majority of connectors use a copper alloy strip for both plug and receptacle contacts. As mentioned in the previous article, this is because of the balance of strength, formability, and conductivityRead More

Electrical/Electronic Connector Contact Spring Materials

Dr. Bob on Electrical/Electronic Connector Contact Spring Materials A functional description of the performance requirements for an electrical/electronic connector is that it must transfer an electronic signal or electrical power between two sub-units of an electrical/electronic system without unacceptable power loss or degradation in signal integrity. Also, it must maintain this capability consistently over multipleRead More

Contact Normal Force – Parameters/Performance II

Parameters/Performance II Contact Normal Force In my last article I commented on specifying a contact plating or contact finish in terms of parameters, such as plating thickness or performance. For example, a typical performance-related requirement would be to evaluate the effect of mixed flowing gas exposures on a contact. The plating thickness requirement is generallyRead More

Specmanship – Parameters or Performance?

Dr. Bob on Specmanship – Parameters or Performance?  I recently had an interesting experience discussing contact finish specifications with a working group of a major standardization organization. The subject was basically whether to specify finish parameters or performance requirements. The discussion regarding “parameters or performance” has been ongoing for decades. Of all the connector design/materialsRead More

A Guide to Connector Specsmanship

Dr. Bob on A Guide to Connector Specsmanship I opened my last article, “To Fail or Not to Fail, That is the Question,” with the following statement: “It is probably not necessary to say that the opinions Max Peel and I express in our articles for ConnectorSupplier.com are our personal opinions, but opinions based onRead More

To Fail or Not to Fail, That is the Question – Act II

To Fail or Not to Fail, That is the Question – Act II Dr. Bob reviewed the issue of failure criteria in the previous issue of ConnectorSupplier.com. He said that two different types of failures have to be addressed: catastrophic and systematic. He attached definition to both, noting that catastrophic failure results from quality issuesRead More

To Fail, or Not to Fail, That is the Question

To Fail, or Not to Fail, That is the Question It is probably not necessary to say that the opinions Max Peel and I express in our articles for ConnectorSupplier.com are our personal opinions, but opinions based on our many years of experience in dealing with the design, materials, testing, and failure analysis of connectors.Read More

Acceleration Factors – How long do we have to wait?

Acceleration Factors – How long do we have to wait? In his recent article, Dr. Bob touched on some of the major factors dealing with acceleration factors. Discussion of this issue is timely. In our world, the acceleration question has been raised with increasing frequency when test programs are considered. There’s always someone who asksRead More

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