Connector products in harsh automotive environments

The changing trend in connector technology is to require applications that can withstand harsh environments, including exposure to dirt, splashed water, or cleaning solutions during their lifetime. They usually come with an enclosure that protects the internal components from risk. However, designing applications and selecting components that meet these criteria is often not easy. When choosing a connector, designers must consider many factors such as temperature, humidity, solvents, icing, corrosion, fungi, salt exposure, and more. The wrong choice can affect the integrity, performance, and lifespan of your application. In order to meet the above requirements, the optimization of connectors must be all-round, leaving no dead ends. Therefore, for end users, the choice of connectors in harsh environments also needs to be comprehensively considered from many aspects.

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Materials In order to meet the requirements of special environments, the material selection of connectors from the inside to the outside in harsh environments will be more sophisticated. For example, the housing material of the connector will be selected as a die-cast metal housing to provide strong and stable protection against shocks, vibrations, and other external environments; Generally, the insulation layer between the connector housing and the contacts needs to be made of materials with higher fire rating (such as ul 940v-0); In the mating area of the phosphor bronze contacts inside the connector, a gold plating process will also be used to ensure more reliable electrical connection performance. Seal For connectors in harsh environments, tightness is a very important indicator. The definition of sealing performance usually follows a certain standard grade. In order to meet such sealing requirements, the connector needs to adopt an inner and outer sealing structure made of special rubber. EMI protection In addition to water and dust, connectors in harsh environments can be intruded by electromagnetic interference (EMI) radiation, which can interfere with the functioning of the device or emit electromagnetic waves that interfere with other devices. At this time, the metal housing and conductive gasket can provide additional electromagnetic interference resistance to the connector, so it will also be available as an optional item in harsh environment sensor products. Special Mechanical Structure In order to provide a more reliable and stable connection, a special locking mechanism or screw locking mechanism will be added to the housing of the harsh environment connector to resist possible mechanical shocks and vibrations. Some connectors will also be optimized in the design of internal contact structures to provide multiple guarantees. Meets space requirements. Most of the above series of measures are based on standard connectors, but this usually increases the overall size of the connector. However, in practical applications, connectors in harsh environments will be strictly constrained in space. On the one hand, harsh environment connectors should be as compact as possible; On the other hand, the product should also fully consider the actual situation of interconnection with the system and provide diversified product configuration options (such as providing flexible options, the connector can be sealed into the panel or placed in front or behind the housing) to ensure the flexibility of design engineers in the overall design.

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