I don’t know how you feel about the changeover from copper to fiber, but it seems that copper just keeps improving. JM: So the key issues are miniaturization, high-speed signaling, and multi-Gigabit range - I guess we’re talking about 40GbE right now and then 100GbE. Another challenge is the space limitations - everything is getting smaller, smaller, smaller. JM: If you look at the connector industry as a whole, what do you think are some of the biggest technology challenges it faces now or five to 10 years from now?ĪPEX: One challenge that continues is whether to choose gold plating or alternative finishes due to the cost of gold. JM: So an end user/OEM might come to APEX because they want an independent and objective viewpoint on a particular issue, whereas if they went to one manufacturer at a time to get the information, it would be much more time-consuming?ĪPEX: Independent is the key word there, because not all connector companies are unbiased and may not have a broad industry viewpoint. They don’t want to get into production on their equipment and then run into a connector issue, particularly with smaller-sized, high-density connectors. It could be that only one manufacturer’s connector will work it could be that every one they look at will work (although that’s usually the exception). We’ll review a number of manufacturers’ designs for a particular application and evaluate to what extent the connectors will satisfy their needs. This saves a lot of money and effort in the long run.ĪPEX also gets involved with helping OEMs with connector selection. Also, clients benefit from simulation analysis on the front end, through both mechanical and electrical modeling, to predict how well a design is going to perform before it gets too far along. The other side of that is thorough design at the head end, so that issues don’t crop up later as failures – often times requiring extensive analytical analysis to determine and eradicate the cause. It could be a production issue, such as with plating or quality control in general and clients come to APEX for specific advice in a given technology area. For example, it could be a connector failure in the field or a sequence of erratic behavior with a connector and they’re not sure why. Instead of thinking in terms of big, broad technology changes or problems in the industry, the fact of the matter is, in the real world there are a lot of very specific problems that people want answers to, and they can be almost anything across the board. Many times they can’t determine what caused the problem on their own, so we will be asked to investigate and make recommendations. JM: In working with your customer base, what are some of the biggest challenges you are faced with? What issues most frequently need to be solved?ĪPEX: Often it is failure analysis when a company is in production with a qualified solution and all of a sudden there’s no system. APEX is the broadest service firm that we know of that serves two industry segments – both OEM users of connectors, and designers and manufacturers of connectors. At last count we have 22 expert consultants as part of the APEX group. John MacWilliams: Looking at the core competencies in the connector industry, would you say your main focus is in the area of connector technology and its applications in electronic systems?ĪPEX: Yes, that’s an excellent start, but there are a lot of supporting areas that APEX serves. We’d like to get their take on some of the major challenges facing the industry today and what they envision looking forward.
Connector experts llc series#
We thought it would fun to launch the series with a Q&A, led by Bishop & Associates’ own John MacWilliams (a former colleague of many in the APEX crew). Throughout 2014, APEX will be contributing a series of articles to Connector Supplier called “Connector Basics.” Based in Harrisburg, Penn., APEX is a seasoned group of connector engineers and scientists with many years of experience in this industry.
Back to Connector Basics: A Q&A with APEXĪPEX Electrical Connector Consultants LLC is an engineering consulting firm specializing in connector and interconnection challenges, ranging from basic core technologies to problem solving, specific connector selection, and applications.
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