Posts

Re-shoring the Electronic Connector Industry

The idea of bringing electronics manufacturing jobs back to the US has great appeal. But the realities are complicated. A lot of conversation about how to “Make America Great Again” includes bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States. In the recent past, the US was recognized as a global manufacturing powerhouse, but there isRead More

The Quest to Keep Electronics Cool

When I/O connectors block airflow, a toolbox of solutions is required to keep today’s fast, dense, and hot systems cool. Lithium ion batteries are not the only source of excessive heat in electronic devices. A nasty combination of dense system packaging and increased power consumption tends to concentrate heat inside the box, causing component stressRead More

High-Speed Signals Take the High Road

Very early computers were a mass of discrete point-to-point wires. The combination of physics and economics is bringing that interconnect architecture back full circle. Design engineers have been grappling for years with the challenge of propagating ever-increasing signal rates in printed circuit boards. As data rates pushed into RF regions, signal modeling transitioned from simpleRead More

PAM4 Extends the Life of Legacy Connectors

Replacing traditional signaling with four-level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM4) may be exactly the solution the industry is looking for. System design engineers have been dealing with the challenges elicited by ever-increasing data rates for many years. High-speed connector manufacturers have collaborated with their bleeding-edge customers and chip manufacturers to develop cost-effective interconnects that deliver aRead More

How Will Connectors Deliver Terabit Speeds?

As the IoT drives the demand for faster networks, the need for one-terabit speeds is just around the corner.   The march to ever-faster data transfer has been an assumed objective since the development of the first computer. Information transmitted at the rate of kilobits per second (kb/s) evolved to megabits per second (Mb/s), whichRead More

Filtered Connectors Cut the Clutter

A variety of filtered connectors can help eliminate unwanted noise The world has become an electronically noisy place as devices that range from weather radar to garage door openers flood the airwaves with electronic noise. Digital devices must be able to identify a pattern of ones and zeros among a rising tide of random electronicRead More

Utility Scale Energy Storage Boosts Alternative Sources

Advances in battery technology developed for utility scale energy storage present opportunities for power connector suppliers.   The humble battery, along with advances in wireless communication technology, has enabled a revolution of mobile electronic devices that no longer require a copper tether for either signal or power. Improvements in energy density, discharge rate, operating temperatureRead More

Automotive Connectors Roar

Connectors associated with automotive applications have recently been a bright spot in the overall connector market, but are likely at the early stage of an incredible growth curve. Bishop & Associates recently reported the global connector market grew 4.1% in 2016 over 2015, while the automotive connector segment expanded by 8.1%, totaling nearly $13 billionRead More

Connectors in Embedded Computers: Upgrading Performance while Downsizing

Two conferences highlighted the ongoing changes in wiring, thermals, backplanes, and many more connector technologies. Bob Hult provides the buzz from VITA’s 2017 Embedded Tech Trends forum, and then another look at DesignCon 2017.   Embedded computers have existed in the shadow of much larger computer markets for commercial and communication applications. Unlike general purposeRead More

Best of DesignCon 2017

Several trends were apparent at last week’s DesignCon 2017 conference. Foremost among them was the advance of copper solutions that include wiring as an alternative to PCB traces.   DesignCon 2017 opened amid a thoroughly drenched Bay Area, but did not deter more than 5,000 attendees to this premier exhibition of leading edge electronic design,Read More

Battle on the I/O Panel

Semiconductor suppliers and data center managers keep increasing the volumes of data flowing through cables. That’s putting a lot of pressure on connector makers who have to meet these demands while reducing size. Optics may provide a solution.   The semiconductor industry has done an incredible job of increasing data rates and memory capacity, twoRead More

Connector Opportunities in Robotic Applications

Robots are rolling into new applications, from personal companions to an expanding industrial base. Their complexity and ranges of motion make rugged connectors a pivotal component.   Mention robots to most people today and they think in terms of humanoids similar to those featured in movies such as Star Wars and ExMachina. Few would thinkRead More

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