The Connector Selection Process: Making the Right Choice
April 2012 - Designers have come to fully appreciate the critical role connectors play in a system, and give more thought than ever to selecting the right connector for the job. But the choice isn’t obvious. Effective connector selection requires a detailed understanding of the performance, environment, physical dimensions, expected level of reliability, and cost constraints of each application.

What You Missed At DesignCon 2012
This show doesn’t dazzle its visitors with the latest sleek new devices. Instead, it demonstrates the dazzling technologies that will power the devices of the future. Here’s what caught our eye this year.

DesignCon 2012 attendance was up 13% over 2011. The 2013 conference is January 28-31, the expo is January 29-30, in Santa Clara, California.

Active Optical Cables Connect
Active optical cables fill a niche between copper and fiber, with advantages borrowed from both technologies. This bridge technology is extending reach and bandwidth, enabling copper to hang on longer than expected.

2011 New Product Review
A continuous stream of new interfaces is coming from just about every connector manufacturer. The majority of these are evolutionary extensions of existing interfaces. Many of these new products reflect demand for interfaces that offer increased speed, smaller envelopes, greater power capacity, and greater design flexibility.

High-Speed Back and Midplane Connectors Continue to Evolve
This industry segment is evolving at hyper speed to meet the needs of a new generation of products that just won’t slow down.

Counterfeit Connectors
You may not be getting what you pay for — although you’ll pay for it in many other ways. Fake products have infiltrated the interconnect market.

Rugged Connectors Survive Harsh Environments
As technology permeates new realms, ruggedized connectors are adapting to enable the proliferation of sensitive devices into harsh environments. Designers have a wide array of versatile and specialized options.

Small Form Factor Defines Many Products
Small Form Factor is a catchy name that conveys the intended attribute, which is why it’s applied to a variety of products. But this can cause some confusion in the industry, especially when users expect I/O plug compatibility between equipment.

Regulation Overload Impacts the Connector Industry
The RoHS ban on lead has influenced the purchasing, sourcing, design, and manufacturing of connectors, making RoHS-certified parts the default standard. But as REACH and other standards get into the mix, paperwork becomes an ever-greater part of the design process. Is this progress or interference? more

Intel Thunderbolt Ups the I/O Ante
3-15-11 - Thunderbolt, the new Intel I/O connection on steroids, offers some unique characteristics that may impact connectivity in a wide range of electronic products. more

DesignCon 2011: Innovation is Alive and Well
3-1-11 - Several connector manufacturers demonstrated the results of research in new interface technology that will likely set the stage for improvements in system packaging and performance—an encouraging sign that innovation is alive and well in the connector industry. more

Designing for EMC
2-1-11 - The increasingly complex environment for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) is apparent in our homes, offices, and automobiles. But insidious interference can impair even the most carefully crafted circuit. The objective is to design products that neither radiate harmful EMI nor are affected by external sources of EMI. Designing for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) is the process by which this goal is achieved. more

Copper and Fiber Vie for Position
1-4-11 - Copper conductors will continue to reign supreme for many years, but basic laws of physics are pointing to limitations, and increasingly, fiber can provide more cost-effective solutions. Are you willing to bet on when this will occur? more

2010 Connector Product Review
12-7-10 - Many of the new interconnect products introduced in 2010 reflect demand for attributes the end user has come to expect: improved power, increased packaging density, increased speed, portability, and ruggedness, to name a few. Yet in many cases, these new interfaces are more evolutionary than revolutionary. more

Power Connectors: Moving Up the Curve
11-2-10 - In the past 10 years, the market has seen the infusion of many new connectors designed for power delivery applications, and even more innovations are in the pipeline. Newer connector families feature modular design, higher current ratings, and support of system cooling strategies. more

Finding the Right Niche
10-5-10 - Striving to be the biggest in the industry may not be the best strategy for everyone. Niche connector manufacturers fill critical gaps in the electronics industry, as many lower-volume applications require unique interconnect solutions that may not be supported by large industry leaders. more

Shrinking Connectors Create Challenges and Opportunities
9-7-10 - Connector manufacturers are researching entirely new interconnect devices and materials meeting the challenge of providing better stability and durability in a smaller package. more

Rough and Rugged:
New High-Speed Backplane Connectors Shake Up the Market
8-3-10 - Can a backplane connector that is accustomed to a clean and tidy environment adapt to the rugged, weather-beaten environment of the military and industrial world? Several manufacturers have new—and proven—products that fill the need. more

Let There Be Solid State Light
5-4-10 - The replacement of candles and oil lamps with electric light bulbs forever changed our living and working habits. Now, a series of emerging technologies combined with increasing environmental concerns have set the stage for the development of a better source of light. more

Turn Down the Noise
Filtered Connectors Provide Solutions to Reduce EMI/ESD Distortion
4-6-10 - High-speed signal distortion created by electromagnetic interference can delay or kill a new product in development. Anyone who has drawn a quarter-inch arc between a wall switch and their finger has experienced the power of an electrostatic discharge. Protecting a system from EMI and ESD has become a critical requirement in electronic product design. more

PCB Attachment Options Continue to Grow
2-2-10 - It took nearly 10 years for PCB assemblers to accept the reliability of compliant pin technology. A variety of factors, including contact density, size of the connector, intended environment, pin count, availability of process equipment, and cost, influence the choice of future PCB attachment methods. Change is slow. more

Protecting Intellectual Property in the Connector Industry
1-5-10 - Cultivating secondary sources for connectors is important to securing new designs, but how much do manufacturers give up in intellectual property rights while doing this? Is global manufacturing creating a hotbed of counterfeit connector products? more

2009 New Product Review
12-8-09 - In spite of a deep recession, 2009 proved to be a particularly prolific year for the development and introduction of new interconnect systems. Will the innovations continue in 2010, or will we stop and savor the strides that have been made in 2009? Here’s your 2009 product review. more

Are Standards Driving New Interconnect Technology?
11-3-09 - While collaboration can be beneficial in many decision-making processes, conflicting forces may hinder the development of a new interconnect standard. Who gets to be a member, what’s the benefit to a company for participating, and what pitfalls could prevent a company from wanting to be involved? more

USB 3.0: Pushing I/O Performance
10-6-09 - USB is one connector even non-industry people recognize by name—that’s how “universal” it is. The USB connector is defined by industry standards that are flexible enough to continually adapt to performance increases. The upgrades, from 1.0 to 2.0 and now 3.0, must have backward compatibility, while also facilitating the newest products and technology. more

Second Source—First Priority
8-4-09 - In years past, connectors manufactured by different companies could mate and perform to a certain specification—but if a conflict arose, the two suppliers might blame the other for the failure, leaving the OEM to solve the problem. Now, connector manufacturers are working together to provide solid, problem-free second-sourcing for the OEM. more

MicroTCA: Less is Sometimes Better

6-2-09 - Relentless market pressure to offer greater functionality in smaller envelopes and at lower cost is the name of the game in today’s electronics industry. Designers in every market segment, from consumer to military, are looking for increased value in these tough economic times. Systems that conform to a packaging standard can minimize the need for scarce engineering resources. MicroTCA is the answer. more

Embedded Computer Standards Proliferating
5-19-09 - The embedded computer automates a wide variety of devices, from the mundane to the exotic. Rather than design a custom device from scratch to satisfy a new application, an off-the-shelf embedded computer in a variety of form factors can be quickly and economically adapted to many tasks. more

Saving the Environment—One Mandate at a Time
4-7-09 - Just as we’re becoming comfortable with RoHS, other mandates are on the horizon, attempting—with mixed results—to clean up the electronics industry’s often toxic impact on the planet. Is your company in the running to become one of the leading “green” manufacturers? more

Long Live the Copper Connector
3-3-09 - It turns out the prediction of copper’s imminent demise were premature; designers are expanding the limits of the material into the future. more

DesignCon 2009 in Review
2-17-09 - Once again, DesignCon 2009 was rich in new products and innovation. The electronic connector industry was well represented; 14 connector and several more high-performance cable assembly manufacturers demonstrated their most advanced and inspiring products. more

Cool Connections are Hot in High-Power Designs
1-7-09 - The failure of a power connector can be a dramatic event and may have serious safety implications. Today’s design challenge is to create connectors that can withstand today’s high-heat applications. more

2008 in Review: A Year of Connector Innovation
12-2-08 - New product is the lifeblood of the connector industry, and 2008 has been a prime example of how connector manufacturers are scrambling to ensure that connectors do not become a technology bottleneck for the design of next-generation equipment. more