Selection and Design Considerations for Industrial Connectors
I. How to choose industrial connectors?
When selecting industrial connectors, it is necessary to determine the fixed and movable content in the plug and socket, the application environment, as well as the voltage and current parameters. The cable is connected to the power supply and electrical equipment at both ends, and the plug or socket of the industrial connector is installed at each end. In the selection, the connection requirements of the power supply and electrical equipment should be clarified first.
Industrial connectors focus on quick connection. By means of ergonomic design such as the shape of the plug and socket, locking and unlocking mechanism, easy and reliable connection can be achieved. In addition, the sleeve pin structure used in industrial connectors has a self-clamping characteristic, which has a larger contact pressure and contact area than ordinary sockets.
In industrial sites with higher requirements, due to the high probability of liquid flow and high air dust density, it is necessary to choose heavy-duty protection products with the highest protection level of IP67. The products themselves often use PBT, a highly crystalline thermoplastic material, because it has high mechanical strength, stability, excellent electrical properties, good dimensional stability, elasticity, self-lubrication and wear resistance, which are very suitable for applications such as electronic equipment, automobiles, and industrial components.
II. Design considerations for industrial connectors
1.Understand the functional requirements of the connector.
Suppliers need customers to fully express their needs. Otherwise, they may misunderstand customer’s requirements. This is especially important when custom connectors is to be manufactured.
2.Consider mechanical stress.
Temperature, shock and vibration will produce stress between the interface and the circuit. Choose appropriate industrial connectors that can avoid the impact of these forces, and use interconnect systems to minimize the cumulative stress between the installation structure and the connection points.
3.Determine the current load capacity.
As the size of the connector decreases, the current load capacity of the industrial connector will also decrease. Generally, mini connectors can handle currents between 200mA and 500mA, almost half of the current rating of larger board-to-board connectors. To compensate for the low current carrying capacity, designers may need to increase the number of terminals.
4.Consider the connector in the early stage of design.
Engineers often focus too much on designing the entire system, but only consider industrial connectors in the final stage of design, which at last limits their own design. The designer eventually needs to choose non-standard connectors to complete the design, which not only increases the cost, but also delays delivery time.
5.Clearly understand space limitations.
The thickness of micro board-to-board connectors is usually less than 1 millimeter, but they are usually also suitable for tightly packaged applications. In order to solve potential packaging problems, designers must consider the wiring of the circuit on the PCB motherboard and other wires connected to the connector.
6.Consider the stability of small/micro connections.
If this issue is not considered first, costs can be increased. Damaged industrial connectors require reconfiguration, modification, and labeling. It may be necessary to replace the connector with a higher cost and one that can be replaced on-site, which may further delay the design time by one or two weeks.
7.Consider interchangeability.
If the product's appearance is closed, industrial connectors that can be externally replaced are required. Otherwise, soldering operations must be performed.
