ERNI Presents Single-Row Cable Connector System With High Current Capacity

ERNI announced a new single-row cable connector system (SRC, Single-Row Connector) in the standard size of 2.54mm for small and flexible connections of cables to printed circuit boards. The new MaxiBridge™ connectors are suitable for various sensor, actuator, power supply or data applications in automotive and industrial electronics, computer technology, consumer electronics or medical engineering.

With compact dimensions, the new miniature connector components offer a current carrying capacity of 7.6A, for example, at an ambient temperature of 20°C and upper limit temperature of 125°C. Providing straight and angled male connectors and straight female connectors with a 180° cable outlet, this cable connector system is suitable for a wide range of spatial requirements. The MaxiBridge is also suitable for demanding applications, such as those found in automotive electronics, thanks to the expanded temperature range of -55 to +125°C. In addition, the growing demand for low pin counts is also addressed with 2, 3, 5, and 8-pin configurations.

In the straight and angled SMT male connectors, metal clips ensure high retention and strain relief forces. Two types of contact interlock acting separately (primary and secondary interlock) also meet the highest requirements in terms of loads from vibrations or shocks and absorb high tensile forces from the cable. The male/female connector interlock can easily be released without a tool. There are four possible codings; these are colored differently and are mechanically different. The male connectors have SMT terminals while the female connectors are designed in crimp technology. The CSI (crimp snap-in connection) female connector is designed for cables with AWG 22, 20, and 18 (wires or strands). Partial assembly is also possible. For reliable processing, the MaxiBridge components also offer selective gold plating in the contact area, fully coated contacts, double-sided spring contacts and minimum contact forces in addition to the soldered clips on the side. The cables can simply be crimped on using standard tools. Greasing and locking the system prevents fretting corrosion caused by micromotions at the contact point induced by vibrations, for example, or motions produced as a result of different thermal expansion.

The range of applications for the MaxiBridge system is diverse thanks to the compact design and the high current carrying capacity. Typical applications include vehicle components, sensors, actuators, valve technology, fans, consoles, LCDs, TFTs, LED displays, programming interfaces, handheld control units, studio headphones, motors for window closing systems, alarm sensors, control panel elements, medical diagnostics and much more besides.

The new connector system is designed for fully automatic assembly or processing in SMT process lines. The MaxiBridge male multipoint connectors come in tape on reel packaging for this, and with their plastic housing that is able to withstand high temperatures they are suitable for processing in lead-free reflow soldering processes (RoHS-compliant). At present, contacts are only available for cable size AWG 20.