Feature: Connectors
Connector specialist, Lane Electronics, looks into some of the more popular connector specifications required for a wide range of high-performance applications
Nick Wheeler, sales director, F.C. Lane Electronics Ltd T
he industry benchmark for electrical connectors offering high levels of performance and reliability has long been those specified for Defence equipment, particularly in I/O (input and output) equipment interfaces, as they need to survive in the rugged environments the vehicles, aircraſt, ships and portable
equipment are used in. Such connectors are specially designed for durability and resistance
to vibration, corrosion, ingress of dust and water etcetera, and are required to meet strict performance, quality and safety standards and these are commonly known as Military Standard, MIL-STD or Mil-Spec connectors. Even in the most tightly controlled defence equipment applications
it is likely that certain components will still be specified and used where a Mil-Spec standard is not available, particularly where performance, functionality and system integration is led by technology. Removing
40 October 2024
www.electronicsworld.co.uk
the restrictions of Mil-Spec supply means that connector derivatives may be developed where the application can be enhanced through adding versatility and capability to the connector series, with features such as additional contact styles, different materials, reduced weight and extended performance. In many cases the same manufacturers that produce Mil-Spec
connectors will produce equivalent and derivative high-performance connectors to address these needs and more generally because the exact same critical criteria exist outside Defence environments. In these cases, the connectors are manufactured using exactly the same materials and processes such that it is equivalent in every way other than maintaining the independent Mil-Spec accreditation and the acronym COTS, for Commercial Off Te Shelf, is oſten used. COTS connectors are just as universally available as the Mil-Spec
equivalents and are used extensively across many different applications and industries, oſten instead of Mil-Spec connectors.
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