How to protect sensitive electronics in the manufacturing industry

PR 534: New har-flex® variants protect sensitive electronics // Neue har-flex®-Varianten zum Schutz empfindlicher Elektronik

Harting now offers a way for manufacturers to protect sensitive electronics from damage during operational plugging and unplugging: pre-leading contacts. Angled male versions of its miniaturized har-flex SMT connectors can now be ordered with this special-order variant, addressing a particular risk associated with modifying modular electronic systems.

The need

End users often enhance modular electronic systems by adding function modules or replacing existing ones. Connectors provide a secure electrical connection between the main and smaller module boards. Sensitive electronics can be damaged if the end user, in adding or changing modules, neglects to first switch off the system and then plugs it in under load.

The solution

Device manufacturers can offer protection against such accidental damage by employing har-flex angled male connectors with pre-leading contacts. These connectors contain contacts of two different lengths. The pre-leading contacts are 0.3 millimetres longer in the mating face to ensure that functions like the grounding contact are the first to connect during insertion and the last to disconnect during unplugging. Thanks to flexible contact loading, these connectors can also be configured with lagging contacts that lose electrical contact before the other contacts when the board is being disconnected. A system with the appropriate logic can detect imminent contact disconnection and execute certain functions, like data backup.

Additional details

Har-flex connectors with pre-leading contacts are available in custom contact configurations. Like the entire Harting har-flex Series of 1.27-millimetre SMT connectors, they can be configured with pinpoints of six to 100 for maximum in-box design flexibility.

To learn more, contact Harting Canada at its new Canadian head office in Dorval, Que., near Montreal.

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