PCB-Mount Automotive Connectors Product Roundup
This week’s Product Roundup highlights PCB-mount automotive connectors from leading suppliers.
PCB-Mount Automotive Connectors
JAE’s MX60A Series offers an automotive-grade waterproof connector that is ideal for engine compartment applications. This connector is compatible with a high pin count of 177 positions. Its lever structure and downsized contacts reduce the operation force required to mate and unmate. MX60A is IP69K equivalent (depending on test condition) and has socket terminal retention strength of at least 100N. Signal and power supply socket terminals are available to support a wide range of wire sizes. Easy harness assembly is achieved with a structure that attaches the cable cover after the wires are inserted in the housing. With 1 mm width and 0.5 thickness, the pin terminal maintains durability and low height. MX60A is designed for high pin count waterproof applications in engine compartments such as automotive and commercial vehicle engine ECUs and PCUs.
The REP Series from Smiths Interconnect features environmentally sealed plastic connectors that are easy to use for quick mating. The quick and secure connection of embedded equipment fits a wide range of applications, such as sensors, brakes, lighting, air conditioning, and communications, in the industrial, rail, test and measurement, automotive, public works, and defense industries. The REP panel and cable connectors are simple, reliable, and cost-effective. A full plastic solution, in either wire attachment or PCB mounting options, provides rapid assembly installation without additional mounting hardware. For cable-to-cable solutions, receptacle connectors are available to mate with the cable plug connectors. The series is qualified to French and European rail standards. The connectors are available as one overmolded plastic part to save assembly time. Features include 2-, 6-, and 12-way standard insulators; crimp, straight, or bent termination options; and smart design with integrated functions. The REP Series conforms to main rail standards and allows wire sections from 0.5mm² to 2.52 m² (24-12AWG). Shunts are available as required. The REP connector range offers crimp termination contacts for cable harness applications with straight or bent termination contacts for PCB mount applications.
Lumberg, a specialist in insulation displacement, offers the 3517-4 model (Series 35, pitch 2.5/5.0 mm) to meet the automotive industry’s increasing demands for retaining forces and lock on the PCB edge for direct connectors. Lumberg grades its products by retaining force, and the 3517-4, with optional keying rib and closed sides, reaches an outstanding retaining force of ≥ 13.4 Newton. The reinforced locking toes inside the reliable geometry of the casing ensure a higher mechanical retention on the printed circuit board without taking up additional casing space. As part of the RAST 2.5 connector range with a proven track record for cars, 3517-4 can also mate with existing harnessing machines with single wires of a diameter ranging between 0.22 and 0.38 mm² and insulation resistance of up to 1.6 mm. It is suitable for application in temperatures between -40 to +130° C, with a rated voltage of 32 V AC, and with small load currents of up to 4 Amps (Tamb 60° C). The connector comes with 2 to 9 poles and two different materials for the insulating body. Next to PBT GV of V0 flammability standard according to UL 94, there is also a glow wire resistant version (GWT 750° C) in PA of a V2 flammability rating according to UL 94. Both carry tin-plated contact springs made of bronze.
Axon’ Cable designs and manufactures terminals and connectors for assembled printed circuit boards (PCBA). Axon’ Mechatronics specializes in plastic-metal components for the automotive market. The group’s expertise includes stamping, overmolding, and assembling. Axon’ engineers develop solderless solutions with specific overmolded housing mounted with pressfit contacts. Insertion of single pins can replace molded or overmolded connectors to reduce the cost, weight, and volume of the system. In this case, the connector housing is moved into the finished product cover. Axon’ Mechatronics offers a wide range of semi-automatic and automatic insertion machines for inserting pressfit connections into the PCB. These standalone or inline machines can be integrated into electronic PCB manufacturing processes. Stamped pressfit terminals and stitched or overmolded connectors and other processes are manufactured following the requirements of ISO 9000 and ISO/TS 16949 standards. All metal and plastic components are compliant with RoHS environmental standards and are compatible with different types of PCB plating. Axon’ mechatronics connectors are in conformance with wave soldering, Pin-in-Paste, and SMD reflow processes.
Samtec’s SEARAY high-density open-pin-field array connectors (SEAM, SEAF), on a 1.27 mm pitch grid, allow maximum routing flexibility. They are frequently used in ADAS applications such as sensing and notification systems, and in LIDAR / RADAR equipment, as well as in autonomous vehicles. Samtec’s automotive solutions use proven processes that meet IATF 16949 certification and designates these products with an A-Series part number. For each A-Series product, customers receive a Level 3 Product Part Approval Process (PPAP) package.
Interconnect systems are available from 40 to 560 I/Os, and in stack heights from 7 to 40 mm. The rugged Edge Rate contact system is less prone to damage when “zippered” during unmating. SEARAY connectors are available in parallel, perpendicular (right angle), and coplanar (horizontal) orientations. Solder charges are standard on each tail for ease of processing, to create IPC-A-610F and IPC J-STD-001F Class 3 solder joints. Press-fit tails are also available. SEARAY has passed Severe Environment Testing standards, and is also rated as an Extended Life Product.
LEMO’s miniature connectors offer a high-bandwidth solution for automotive Ethernet. The reliable push-pull system aids test and certification bodies in carrying out automotive testing. Sensors and actuators (such as radar, front cameras, LTE, and onboard passenger animation) can repeatedly connect to and disconnect from the vehicle’s main control systems. These connectors are for automotive and industrial data transfer. The simpler cable reduces space and weight, a benefit in other markets, such as machinery, robotics, and rail technology. Based on transmission standards (IEEE 802.3), 1000Base-T1 (also called single-pair Ethernet, or SPE) is integrated into new generations of automobiles. The 1000BASE-T1 standard allows high-speed and bi-directional data traffic over lightweight, single pair cable harnesses. 1000Base-T1 is designed to operate over a single twisted-pair copper cable supporting an effective data rate of 1 Gbit/s in each direction simultaneously. LEMO also provides two types of insulators, 0B.511 (2 contacts) and 1B.512 (4 contacts + screen), compatible with unshielded twisted pair (UTP) and shielded twisted-pair (STP) cables. The product also has a watertight version in the T series connector.
Amphenol ICC’s NETBridge Automotive Ethernet Connector System is designed for the harsh automotive environment and can transmit up to 100Mb/s and 1Gb/s according to IEEE 100BASE-T1 and 1000BASE-T1. NETBridge is developed in accordance with USCAR-2, VDAAK LV214 , and ISO 8092-2. This connector is available in a 0.5mm x 0.4mm tab terminal system. It is designed for temperature ranges up to +105° C in sealed and unsealed configurations. Optional ESD Shielding and CPA for secondary lock in mated condition is available, as well as UTP and STP cable crimping.
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