Product Roundup: Connectors & Sockets

Product Roundup: Connectors & Sockets

In the world of components, interconnect devices take on a great deal of responsibility. Besides simply connecting one part to another, these devices must be rugged enough to endure some of the harshest indoor and outdoor conditions. They must be able to withstand high voltages, help safely conduct high volumes of power, or prevent other components from falling off a board. Connectors and sockets are hard working, indeed. Here is a sample of some of the latest innovations in connector and socket technology.

Hirose (www.hirose.com) is now offering the ZX360 Series B-type connectors allow transmissions up to 5 Gbyte/s and can enable high-speed data applications such as high definition (HD) video, portable audio, smart phones, notebook computers and more. The connectors provide backward compatibility with a 2.0 plug, allowing a Micro 2.0 receptacle and cable to plug into the side of the ZX360 receptacle. (Data will not transfer at the 3.0 rate but at the lower 2.0 rate.) The connector has 10 pins that allow for an all-signal configuration rated at 1 A per pin, or a power/signal combination arrangement where pins 1 and 5 are rated for 1.8 A per pin and pins 2 through 4 and pins 6 through 10 can then only run at 0.5 A per pin. The RoHS-compliant and halogen-free connectors measure measure 12.85 x 5 x 2.5 mm without the overmold. The ZX360 series has been tested to show an 3 Ωm average contact resistance, average mating/unmating force of 7.3 and 13.7 N, respectively and stability over 10,000 cycles of mating/unmating operations. The connectors operate at temperature between –30º to 85ºC and have a rated voltage of 30 Vac.

Harwin (www.harwin.com) recently made their Datamate Mix-Tek family of mixed power and signal 2-mm connector family available off-the-shelf. The connectors come in 41 standard configurations, in the most popular male PCB contact styles mated with female crimp options. The standard configurations include power-only from 2 to 10 power contacts and mixed contact from 2 signal/2 power through 12 signal/4 power. Options can include up to a maximum of 50 low-frequency contacts or 12 special (coax and power) contacts; power contacts are rated at up to 20 A, signal contacts up to 3 A, and coax contacts at 50 Ω. The UL 94V-0-rated connectors are available in male pc tail, female crimp, male crimp and female pc tail options with polarized mouldings and comply with the BS9525-F0033 and CECC 75101-008 standards.

The Type LS solderless LED socket from TE Connectivity (www.te.com) is designed specifically for use with the Philips Lumileds Luxeon S LED. The socket complies with UL-1977 specifications and uses insulation displacement technology to allow for quick and easy termination of 24-AWG wires to the socket. The socket features a stainless-steel spring inside to ensure that the normal force applied to the LED is uniform and adequate. The Type S socket also simplifies the positioning of the Luxeon S LED on a heat sink with a plastic locator.

ITT Cannon (www.ittcannon.com) Metr1x Series fully sealed RoHS-compliant signal connectors are rated to 150°C. Designed to provide 100% signal integrity in harsh environments, the connectors conform to UL 94V-0 standards and feature a stainless-steel design that is sealed to IP69 K standards to maintain functionality in damp or moist conditions. The Metr1x Series withstand temperatures up to 150°C and operates at 100 Vdc with a current rating of 4 A. The connectors are completely EMI shielded and can endure vibration up to 20 G and shock to 50 G. The connectors are available in multiple receptacle variations and size 20 CGK contacts. The mating face of the connector complies with M12 industry standards, allowing two-, three-, or four-way versions and standard or custom cable configurations.The series features crimped housing that eliminates cable overstressing, provides sealing up to IP68 and can be customized to suit a variety of applications including heavy diesel or gas engines, agricultural machinery, power-generating units, and industrial automation to defense systems and robotics.

The Zebra 2005 elastomeric connector is the latest addition to the Zebra line from Fujipoly (www.fujipoly.com). The connectors are available in application-specific widths ranging from 0.38 to 3.0 mm and feature a layered carbon-filled and non-conductive silicone construction with 500 conductors per inch, which suits applications that have LCD contact spacing of 0.15 mm. The connectors also feature a current carrying capacity of 50 mA per 0.040 x 0.040-in. pad, and come with either solid or sponge edge supports.

Yamachi Electronics (www.yamaichi.de) recently introduced their LC Series clip-type socket for flexible printed circuit (FPC) subassembly testing features horseshoe-shaped contacts with wiping action. Contact resistance is ≤50 mΩ and contact force is ~30 G typ. The sockets are available in pitches down to 0.3 mm and have a clothespin mechanism for easier installation and to preserve their life of ≥10,000 mating cycles. The sockets also feature an elevator FPC stage that minimizes damage to the FPC pads and protects the contacts during load/unload operation. Output options are discrete wiring, standard 40 to 60-pin MIL connector or FPC connector.

The Impact Orthogonal direct connector and Impact Plus 85-Ω backplane connector from Molex (www.molex.com) have been enhanced to offer additional design configurations for high-speed applications. The two-piece direct connector system eliminates backplane/midplane connections by allowing a right-angle male connector to mate with the standard orthogonal daughter card connector. The 85-Ω backplane connector system offers a differential-pair density of up to 80 pairs per linear inch, is polarized to mate only with 85-Ω receptacles. The connector’s common signal ground reduces small insertion loss and crosstalk resonance. Both connectors provide standard data rates to 25 Gbits/s and a 1.90 x 1.35-mm grid on both backplane and daughter card.

Christina D'Airo