The environment in which industrial and embedded systems operate has changed to become almost unrecognisable in recent years and the connectors developed for these applications have had to adapt to meet these new demands.
In this blog, we’ll look at how the advances we’ve created for our high reliability (HRi)ranges such as Gecko, Kona and Datamate are making their way into our industrial ranges too.
To demonstrate this, we’ll look at how the industrial range of Kontrol connectors has evolved based on innovations created for HRi devices.
How these systems have changed
If we look at a newly deployed industrial system, versus one from only a few years ago, we typically see that the equipment will be afforded less space, will operate under tighter tolerances and will be subjected to far harsher conditions. In addition, they will also be transmitting significantly increased volumes of data, and this means the integrity and durability of the data connectors have become critical.
High reliability ranges
Harwin develops connectors for a wide range of highly demanding environments – from spacecraft to Auto-sport. As such, reliability is crucial in these devices with innovations enabling signal integrity under vibration, shock and large temperature changes. They also need to undergo repeated mating cycles.
To meet these needs, features such as jackscrews, latches and quick-mating bayonet fixings have proved vital. As has material science advances, which include the development of thermoplastics, or the use of beryllium copper contacts and gold plating used on contact surfaces to improve connectivity.
And if we look to designs and layouts, we can see a large array of features such as smaller pitches, dual-row and multi-function (data and power) designs, as well as angled connectors, that all reduce the space and/or number of connectors that are on the board.
Given connectors are (collectively) among the largest mass in a system, advances in miniaturization, and those that enable fewer to be used are particularly important. Reducing the number of connectors between two PCBs is also vital as, when using more than one connector pair between two boards, even small placement errors in manufacturing will lead to a misalignment makes it challenging to mate both pairs.
Figure 1: Misalignmentissues can be caused when multiple board-to-board connectors are placed on the PCB.
Industrial Connectors
For this section, we’ll look primarily at the Kontrol range of connectors, which has been developed specifically for industrial applications.
These are developed as rugged board-to-board and cable-to-board connectors and offer designers a robust and flexible connection choice across a wide range of industrial applications.
If we look first at size, we can see elements from the HRi ranges making their way to Industrial Connectors. Kontrol offers a 1.27mm pitch size, which helps to shrink the overall connector significantly. But, as we touched on above, this is not the only way to bring down system size.
As such, the Kontrol range has been developed to offer a wider range of pin counts – from 2 to 80 pins with single- and double-row layouts. Like in the HRi ranges, angled (horizontal and vertical) designs are available to reduce the space required in the system. And multi-function connectors have been created within the range that enable power and signal to be brought onto a single unit – reducing the number of connections on the board and the chance of misalignments between PCBs. Indeed, Kontrol connectors give a full range of mating heights from 8 to 20mm parallel board separation, and mated double-row connectors can carry a data rate up to 3 Gbps.
As we’ve shown, the greater the number of connections between two PCBs, the greater the chance of a misalignment. Of course, where there is a potential for misalignment, the use of the floating connector range Flecto can mitigate manufacturing within-tolerance variations. Launched in 2024, this range also implements a fine-pitch and high-pin-count and mixed signal and power options but can withstand up to ±0.5mm of misalignment either direction.
Figure 2: Kontrol SIL connectors feature secure latching mechanisms as well as shrouded pins to maintain a secure connection, even under vibration levels up 20G.
Similar advances making their way from HRi ranges to Harwin’s Industrial Connectors can be seen when we look at vibration, with the Kontrol range implementing surface mount hold-down retaining tabs for additional solder strength. Secure latching mechanisms provide additional mating retention under vibration and the connector range is designed and tested to withstand 20G for 12 hours.
Like for vibration resistance, techniques developed to ensure reliable mating and un-mating in HRI are migrating to lower-priced connectors. For example, in Kontrol, we can see polarized housings to actively prevent mis-mating, and pins are fully shrouded to prevent accidental damage – which is vital in blind mating connections. Harwin’sKontrol range of connectors are rated to 500 mating cycles, which is very high for an industrial component.
Conclusion
We’ve shown how the nature of industrial and embedded systems is evolving rapidly, demanding ever-increasing levels of reliability and performance from connector technologies.
Investments in R&D for high-reliability ranges (such as Datamate and Gecko) – with material science advances and features such as smaller pitches and multi-row or multi-function designs plus secure locking mechanisms – are making their way to connectors for industrial systems that are subject to greater cost pressures. By prioritizing reliability in demanding environments, Harwin is providing crucial components that underpin the functionality and durability of next-generation industrial and embedded systems, ensuring signal integrity under extreme conditions.
Further information on Harwin’s Kontrol range of Industrial Connectors, as well as datasheets, is available at https://www.harwin.com/bbi-range/kontrol.
Additionally, information on Harwin’s complete portfolio of Industrial Connectors, including the Flecto range, is available from https://www.harwin.com/bbi-range.
