Connector industry

Applications automotive (air intake systems, compressed air systems, hydrauiic systems, fuei systems, powertrain and chassis), eiectricai eiectronics (eiectricai appiiances, eiectrioai equipment, cabies tubes, connectors), industry consumer goods ( housewares, hydrauiics and pneumatics, mechanical engineering, sports ieisure, toois accessories) ... 

SPS is not inherently flame-resistant and requires modification with flame-retardant additives to achieve Underwriters Laboratories (UL) 94 VO or 5VA performance. Typical formulations, modified for UL 94 VO flame test performance or unmodified, have the capabihty to withstand brief temperature spikes of up to 260 °C, making SPS an attractive alternative for the electronic/ electrical connector industry, which utilizes temperatures in this range (lead-... 

The connectors market consists of various sub-segments including automotive coimectors, printed circuit board connectors, industrial connectors, wire-to-wire connectors, and various other types. 

ASTM has pubhshed a few selected standards for materials used in the electronics industry, such as gold wire for semiconductor lead bonding, but it does not provide a comprehensive set of standards (see Electrecal connectors). 

In the electronics industry, gold is used as fine wires or thin film coatings and frequendy in the form of alloys to economize on gold consumption and to impart properties such as hardness. Gold has properties that satisfy specific requirements not achievable with less expensive metals (see Electrical connectors Electronics coatings Thin films). 

Electronic Applications. The PGMs have a number of important and diverse appHcations in the electronics industry (30). The most widely used are palladium and mthenium. Palladium or palladium—silver thick-film pastes are used in multilayer ceramic capacitors and conductor inks for hybrid integrated circuits (qv). In multilayer ceramic capacitors, the termination electrodes are silver or a silver-rich Pd—Ag alloy. The internal electrodes use a palladium-rich Pd—Ag alloy. Palladium salts are increasingly used to plate edge connectors and lead frames of semiconductors (qv), as a cost-effective alternative to gold. In 1994, 45% of total mthenium demand was for use in mthenium oxide resistor pastes (see Electrical connectors). 

Polysulfones also offer desirable properties for cookware appHcations, eg, microwave transparency and environmental resistance to most common detergents. Resistance to various sterilizing media (eg, steam, disinfectants, and gamma radiation) makes polysulfones the resin family of choice for many medical devices. Uses in the electrical and electronic industry include printed circuit boards, circuit breaker components, connectors, sockets, and business machine parts, to mention a few. The good clarity of PSF makes it attractive for food service and food processing uses. Examples of appHcations in this area include coffee decanters and automated dairy processing components. 

Base Metal Finishes. The low cost of base metal finishes obviates selective coating. Electro deposition is used for 0.5—5 p.m thick coatings of tin and tin—lead alloy, usually about 50 wt % Sn, 50 wt % Pb, on electronic connector contacts, on contacts at the edges of printed circuit boards, and on terminals. Sheet copper alloys that have been coated with tin—lead alloy are widely used for contacts that are stamped and then formed into the desired shapes, such as pins having a closed end and sockets. Aluminum connectors that have utility—industrial appHcations are more thickly coated, and hot-dipping in molten tin is common. 

It is not practical to determine the contact resistance in power connectors. The resistance of the connection of a specified length of conductor on each side of the connector is measured and is called the overall resistance or the connection resistance. One industry specification (32) defines the included lengths and requites the stabiUty of the connection resistance to be within 5% of its average value throughout the heat-cycle test. 

Figure 17-23. Liquidtight and flexible cord connectors. (Courtesy of Crouse-HiWs Electrical Construction Materials, a division of Cooper Industries, Inc.)...

The hose was fixed to the connector or to the plant by a screwed clip of the type used for automobile hoses (Jubilee clips). These are unsuitable for industrial use. Bolted clamps should be used. 

With industry proving to be so conservative about binary alloys it is hardly surprising that ternary alloys receive little attention. Nevertheless, two ternary alloys at least have become commercially available iron-chromium-nickel (so-called stainless steel) for both functional and domestic markets and an electronic connector and solderable alloy based on copper-zinc-tin. 

Flame-retarded grades are widely used for various computer connectors and circuit board components. Representative applications are edge card connectors, grid arrays and memory modules. Non-flame-retarded grades find use in automotive under-the-hood applications, typically connectors and related parts. As higher temperature soldering techniques become more common in the automotive industry, the use of high-temperature plastics such as PCT is expected to increase. It is also possible to formulate unreinforced PCT with crystallization aids and... 

Poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) (1) resins are semicrystalline thermoplastics used in a wide variety of applications, most commonly in durable goods that are formed by injection molding. Applications include electronic and communications equipment, computers, televisions, kitchen and household appliances, industrial equipment, lighting systems, gardening and agricultural equipment, pumps, medical devices, food handling systems, handles, power and hand tools, bobbins and spindles, and automotive parts in both under-the-hood and exterior applications. Additionally, PBT is very widely used to form electrical connectors. PBT, through its many blended products, can be tailored to suit numerous applications. 

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