Parts For Elgin Outboard

Connectors can play a big role in modernizing capital equipment

By Steve Elrick , HARTING North America, Inc. -- As our economic recovery slowly gains traction, OEMs are looking for ways to increase efficiency and gain market share for their products. Often, this leads to product redesigns, or entirely new models to take advantage of new or improved technology. In electronic design there are a huge number of new devices that can help OEMs meet their objectives. New connector technology can be particularly attractive because it is a relative low-cost way to update existing designs and help create new ones. Typically, new connector technology is easy to incorporate in a new design, can give equipment a more modern look, and helps increase assembly efficiency.

21st Century Connectors

It is not uncommon to go into manufacturing plants and see 1980s vintage equipment, or older. Set-ups and changeovers to run different products or perform maintenance often require time-consuming disconnection of multiple hardwired cables. Where external multipin connectors are used, they may look little different than those that first appeared during the WWII era.

In comparison, today’s modern connectors offer a wide array of construction materials and designs that allow easy assembly while providing reliable service in rugged industrial and military environments. For example, hybrid connectors are available that provide the opportunity for mixed purpose connections within a single housing (Figure 1.) These make it easier on both the OEM and the end customer in building and servicing equipment.

Figure 1. Rugged hybrid connectors for industrial and outdoor applications

Traditional assembly methods have often used terminal blocks and panel boards for hardwired connections on machinery. Drawbacks to this approach are bulky, multiple connections at each end of the cable runs, and a component list that is not cost effective. This type of design also does not have the aesthetics and ease of use expected on today’s modern industrial equipment.