FCI Offers Full Range of  Innovative Products for Auto Safety
By Lothar Reger, FCI Motorized Vehicles Division

During the last 15 years, innovations in passenger car safety applications have significantly reduced the number of crash-related injuries and deaths that occur in traffic all over the world.

Highly reliable interconnect solutions for antilock breaking, vehicle stability, and airbag systems play a key role in ensuring these systems function at the moment they are needed to save lives.

Throughout this decade of rapid market change, FCI has further developed its position as a market leader in the design and manufacture of connectors for airbag and other safety retention systems. A wide variety of ABS housings, sensor housings, terminals, electronic control units, pin headers, and airbag squib connectors in FCI’s product portfolio play a role in nearly all main passenger cars on the market today.

ABS Housings – Mechatronic Packaging
Meanwhile, ABS and vehicle stability electronics have found their way into small and medium-sized cars, after making their debut in premium cars in the late 1970s.

FCI develops and delivers the ABS housings for their TIER1 system suppliers. It consists of a connector interface with overmolded signal and power pins and the incorporated housing with cavities where the coils are mounted. The connection to the electronics PCB is assured by the press-fit pins. Press-fit technology requires an efficient, high quality manufacturing process for the pins, which are “enforced” to the PCB without any soldering process. A large variety of ABS housings with different interfaces are available. The latest design is the 46-way, which became a “quasi-standard” in Europe.

The female housing incorporates the cavities for the terminals, sealings, and the locking device, all of which work together to guarantee reliable functionality throughout the car’s life.

Sensor Housings
Additional safety requirements have increased the use of sensors in all areas of the automobile. These sensors detect in milliseconds a deviation in normal car stability and then—in the case of an accident—activate the safety device, such as airbags, ABS, headrest positioning, etc.

FCI produces a large range of such sensor housings. In one application, ABS housings are overmolded with press-fit pins. The interface to the harness connector is designed with a 3- to 5-way housing with 0.64mm terminals; special versions incorporate an onmolded seal or an integrated vent-pill. All of the housings incorporate overmolded bushings to avoid cracks and ensure high reliability in the maintenance area of the cars. Special attention needs to be spent on material selection, as the final product, after integration of electronics and testing, will be laser-marked for traceability.

Airbag Electronic Control Units (ECU)
In line with the increasing number of airbag devices in the car—such as driver-, passenger-, head-, side-, knee-airbags—the complexity and requirements for the ECU increases as well. FCI’s latest developments are 56- and 124-way pin-headers, and for the harness side, two modular female housings. The 124-way header version is designed to mate with a 104-way female housing with 0.64mm terminals and a second module with 20-way 0.64mm female. Both housings include the TPA (terminal positioning assurance) and a locking device. The interface male/female can be produced for a variety of codings by changing mold inserts. All 0.64mm terminals are selectively gold-plated in the mating area to guarantee long-life, reliability, and low resistance values between the mating parts. The housing materials are PBT, with 30% glass fiber for the housings and CuSn for the terminals.

FCI’s History of Innovation in the Airbag Connector Market
FCI has introduced a series of major developments in airbag connector design. Significantly, FCI was the first company to introduce the 11mm diameter igniter pocket, allowing better control of the squib mating process and the introduction of various connector codings, as well as the ScoopProof (“Kojiri Safe”) 11mm AK-2 interface. This ensured that there was no longer a risk of damage to the igniter pins during mating. Given that assembly of airbag connectors involves blind mating, the ability to guarantee it is plugged correctly and without damage is a priority, eliminating the need for costly quality assurance and rework procedures. The AK-2 also includes an ergonomic ring geometry that supports excellent mating behavior and a guidance feature. Furthermore, active elements and coding geometry are located inside this ring geometry, providing an excellent level of protection.

Setting New Standards with the ESD Squib
The new ESD product from FCI is the result of a partnership with a German OEM to further improve the AK-2 global standard. In particular, it is designed to overcome the drawbacks of traditional, external grounding of airbag connectors to the car body. For car manufacturers, the current approach adds an extra step to the assembly process, and with that comes additional costs and increased risk of manufacturing errors. The new ESD connector solution (also known as the AK-2+) overcomes these problems, eliminating the potential misfiring caused by electrostatic discharge, with integrated grounding. In addition to these benefits, the new connector retains full compatibility with existing standards (AK, USCAR, ISO 19072-1), as well as FCI’s patented mate assist function, CPA (Connector Position Assurance).

New Innovations, New Applications
Auto manufacturers are not only concerned with the protection of vehicle occupants, attention is also turning to safety of pedestrians, too. Designs currently in test include mechatronics, or bags fitted under the vehicle bonnet that activate on pedestrian impact. These should reduce the severity of injuries when a pedestrian is struck either by the bonnet, windscreen, or windscreen frame.

Other OEMs are pursuing an airbag that deploys under the front of a car when there is a risk of a head-on collision. Effectively, this acts as an anchor, rubbing on the road surface to cut the time and distance it takes to bring the car to a standstill. This “braking bag” could be fitted to all new car generations in the medium term, and FCI already has an appropriate solution available for harsh environments. In such applications, the company’s sealed squib family could be utilized.
 

Committed to Customer Partnerships
Even in difficult economic conditions, connector manufacturers remain committed to listening to customer requirements, and working in partnership with car manufacturers to create solutions that enhance reliability and cut assembly costs for manufacturers across the globe. The airbag market is at different stages of development and evolution in Europe, North America, and fast growing countries such as India, China, and Brazil. A combination of industry standard designs, commitment to innovation, global manufacturing capability, and modular design philosophy is ensuring that these connectors are part of tomorrow’s fleet of cars—and tomorrow’s outstanding safety record.

Lothar Reger is the vice president of global engineering and program management, and mechatronic packages business line, for FCI Motorized Vehicles Division.