INTERCONNECT SOLUTIONS

Connector Can Cope with Shock, Vibration and Submersion in Water

Developed to survive the rigours of life on a power boat, a new elastomeric spring probe (or HotShoe) connector from Harwin provides excellent electrical performance and sealing to IP67. The HotShoe design is able to cope with high degrees of shock and vibration, while allowing for a larger degree of misalignment than more delicate, finer pitch connector styles.



Harwin has in the past developed several different HotShoe connector systems in which the metal contact sits like a piston inside a housing. A spring, also inserted in the housing, forces the two contacts to mate and ensures that as long as the two connector halves are joined, electrical contact will continue.

Such systems, however, cannot be guaranteed to perform to IP67. This new component design solves this problem by the use of an elastomeric connector comprising two identical pieces with the elastomer body providing both the contact spring force and necessary sealing.

When the two polyamide connector halves are locked together, the stored up compression energy in the elastomer forces the contacts to mate while at the same time creating an environmental seal in excess of IP67. The contacts can handle currents of 20A and should withstand 100,000 mating cycles.

The result is a very cost effective solution when compared to traditional spring probe assemblies. The elastomer can be adjusted to suit customer requirements not only in terms of Shore hardness but also in its shape and thickness, to give the desired spring rate. This makes the design very adaptable for a wide range of applications.

Harwin has a policy of retaining all of the key interconnect manufacturing skills in-house, including electroplating, precision stamping, moulding, precision turning, auto-assembly and packaging. It was therefore able to deliver prototypes of the original design to its lead customer within 10 days. Because the sample elastomer bodies were created using a fast turn-around process pioneered for Formula One racing cars, the prototype parts were robust enough not only to use as evaluation samples, but also to be used for the customer’s initial production run.

Features

• Elastomeric spring probe (HotShoe) connector
• Excellent electrical performance
• Elastomeric connector ensures sealing to IP67
• Withstands shock and vibration
• Tolerates misalignment
• 20A current handling
• 100,000 mating cycles
• Materials can be adjusted in terms of Shore hardness, shape and thickness
• Fast prototype turnaround

Applications

• Marine electronics
• Rugged systems

For further information, including a copy of Harwin's Hot Shoe Flyer, please click here