TE Connectivity Nanominiature Connectors Offer Critical Size and Weight Savings for Rugged Environments

By Caroline Rees / 28 Aug 2012
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Nanominiature connectorsNanominiature connectors from TE Connectivity combine appealing size and weight with desired performance attributes such as high reliability, low contact resistance and wide operation temperature range, making them among the smallest and toughest connectors available to designers. The connectors offer dramatic space and weight savings in applications where size, weight and reliability are crucial design factors.

Nanominiature connectors are 10 times smaller in volume and about 10% the weight of a standard Micro-D connector with the same number of positions, delivering significant size and weight reduction. TE’s nano connectors also provide significant electrical and mechanical advantages over other nanominiature connectors such as voltage ratings of 500 V at sea level versus 250 V for others and 500 mating cycles versus 200.

Typical applications include space, smart munitions, missile defense, aircraft communications and UAVs. The common thread is the high reliability and space and weight-sensitive requirements of such applications.

“Despite their small size, nanominiature connectors are designed for rugged applications, with the capability of withstanding significant levels of shock and vibration, salt spray, outgassing, and other environmental and mechanical hazards,” said Scott Cairns, Manager, Product Management, TE Aerospace, Defense & Marine. “The bottom line is that nanominiature connectors are very robust. With the range of options, they are available for a wide variety of applications where weight and space savings are achieved without compromising performance.”

The nanominiature connectors are available with temperature ranges as wide as -200° C to +200 C°. They are available in single-row configurations with 5 to 51 contacts and double-row configurations with 9 to 65 contacts. They come with machined aluminum shells (with a variety of plating), stainless steel shells for extra sturdiness or plastic shells for added weight savings. They are also available in environmentally sealed circular configurations.

The connectors can be supplied with flying leads, as jumper assemblies, or as custom harnesses with multiple connectors. Due to the small size of the contacts, wire sizes are 30 AWG and smaller. PC board styles include through-hole, surface-mount, and edge-board mount.

Posted by Caroline Rees Caroline co-founded Unmanned Systems Technology and has been at the forefront of the business ever since. With a Masters Degree in marketing Caroline has her finger on the pulse of all things unmanned and is committed to showcasing the very latest in unmanned technical innovation. Connect & Contact