REDWIRE HARTING custom backplanes helped IP3 routers broadcast World Cup

October 2, 2019 REDWIRE is news you can use from leading suppliers. Powered by FRASERS.

Posted by Harting Canada Inc


The family-owned HARTING Group is a global leader in connectivity solutions. HARTING invented the modular connector and... Read more

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custom backplanes

The Module Interconnect backplane, which HARTING developed for broadcasting of the 2014 World Cup.

For decades, HARTING has provided perfect technological solutions around the world – including this country, through HARTING Canada. One of many satisfied customers is Imagine Communications, whose Platinum IP3 routers (designed and assembled in Toronto) were used to broadcast World Cup soccer globally from Brazil in 2014. HARTING played an important role in this project, in that Imagine leveraged HARTING custom backplanes for these routers.

A significant design achievement

The 2014 World Cup played out in 12 stadiums, and each had a TV production facility equipped with a Platinum IP3. These routers used HARTING 62-layer Module Interconnects (MI), which are custom backplanes. The MI was a significant design achievement on which HARTING and Imagine collaborated. A board as large as the MI helps the router pack tremendous signal throughput and functionality in a frame no bigger than a filing cabinet.

Imagine required a complex, passive backplane for the high-capacity IP3, one designed under proper rules and manufactured with the right PCB base materials and interconnect systems, to deliver the appropriate speed for moving massive amounts of information across a shared bus. The MI also had to be tall enough to support the IP3’s large quantity of I/O card slots.

The MI is the largest backplane that HARTING has manufactured. It measures about 116 by 38 centimetres and 9½ millimetres thick, weighs 4½ kilograms, and has 17,000 contact points. To design this board, HARTING and Imagine sought an intersection between maximum capability and an understanding of what was possible through testing and prototyping. The HARTING team drew on the expertise of their engineering colleagues in Germany for feasibility studies and critical signal integrity testing.

HARTING was one of the few manufacturers in North America with the proper equipment to create large custom backplanes, including a large screen printer, pick-and-place machines, press-fit equipment, and a re-flow oven. The company also had access to the RoBAT test system, which subjected each board to strict tests to ensure there were no defects or errors.

The MIs turned out better than expected – and HARTING scored another success.

For more information, contact HARTING.


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Posted by Harting Canada Inc


The family-owned HARTING Group is a global leader in connectivity solutions. HARTING invented the modular connector and... Read more

Contact supplier