This week’s Product Roundup highlights products from leading suppliers featured at DesignCon 2026. Products featured at DesignCon  Amphenol Communications Solutions will feature 112G PAM4 Mini Cool Edge connectors, PCIe Gen 7 Mini Cool Edge IO connectors, and BarKlip BK1200 HD I/O 1OU cable assemblies. Mini Cool Edge is a 0.60 mm high-density, high-speed card edge connectorRead More

Meet the Connector: D-Sub Hardware Versatile D-Sub (subminiature) connectors are widely used in military, industrial, and other applications in harsh and rugged environments. For many of these applications, reliability and security are paramount, and they require permanent, secure, shielded connections. Securing and protecting D-Sub and Micro-D connectors requires additional hardware. Many accessories are available forRead More

Meet the Connector: QSFP Transceivers This high-speed optical transceiver has gone through many iterations and continues to evolve with higher port density and increased data rates. The QSFP (quad small form-factor pluggable), defined in the initial Multi-Source Agreement (MSA) in 2006, is a high-speed optical transceiver. It is small and hot-swappable with higher port densityRead More

The connector industry continues to contract, even as the demand for interconnect products increases. See what acquisitions helped change the connector industry in 2025. Demand for interconnects continues to grow, fueling a continuing wave of mergers and acquisitions that leaves fewer (and now, larger) companies left in the market. In 2025, more suppliers expanded services,Read More

Meet the Connector: Spade Connector A spade connector, also called an insulated spade terminal, is used to quickly and easily connect or disconnect a wire to a screw, lug, or battery. These simple devices provide tensile strength, thermal conductivity, and resistance to shock and corrosion. They are available with insulated housings, often color-coded, or asRead More

This week’s Product Roundup highlights FAKRA connectors from leading connector manufacturers and suppliers. FAKRA connectors Adam Tech’s FAKRA, HSD, and Mini FAKRA connectors are engineered to meet the demands of today’s high-speed, high-frequency applications. Designed for automotive and transportation environments, these connectors support data, signal, and RF transmission for systems such as infotainment, ADAS, cameras,Read More

Meet the Connector: IEEE 1394 Connectors IEEE 1394 is a high-speed serial bus that supports both asynchronous and isochronous communication between a computer and a peripheral. It is also known as FireWire, a now-retired Apple interface. It has largely been replaced by USB connectors but is still used with older equipment. This low-cost connector isRead More

The aerospace and defense industry is being reshaped by the rapid adoption of AI and the industry-wide shift to open standards. With its 2024 acquisition of AirBorn underway, and 2025 acquisition incoming, Molex has been launched into these critical markets and their cutting-edge engineering breakthroughs. Molex has seized new opportunities in the aerospace and defense technologyRead More

Meet the Connector: IPC-620-Space Addendum IPC/WHMA-A-620 is the global industry-consensus standard for cable and wire harness assemblies; the space addendum pertains to technologies used in space and other extreme harsh environments.  It defines workmanship, materials, process, inspection, and acceptability criteria. The IPC-620 Space Addendum is a specialized supplement to IPC/WHMA-A-620, the industry’s primary standard for the acceptability of cableRead More

Upcoming industry events, as well as recent award, partnership, promotion, personnel, facility, distribution, standards, association, and certification news from across the connector industry. December 2025 Connector Industry News December 2025 Connector Industry News > Award News Weidmuller USA announced that the global Weidmüller Group has earned the prestigious EcoVadis Gold Medal for outstanding commitment toRead More

See Bishop & Associates 2024 ranking of connector suppliers for more recent data on Top 10 companies. Top 10 by Product Type for 2023 Design engineers and purchasing personnel strive to identify the best connector companies for their design and purchasing requirements. However, identifying the best companies is not an easy task.  Answers to theRead More

The annual Top 10 series from Bishop & Associates identifies the leading connector companies by world connector sales, geographic region, markets served, and products manufactured. This week: The top 10 companies by product types. Selecting your connector company partner can be difficult and complicated. This is especially true with over 1,000 connector manufacturers globally toRead More