CASE STUDY TWO - BESPOKE CONNECTOR SYSTEM
The customer approached Contour to design and develop a 10 position IP67 sealed connector system comprising of a PCB mounted socket and the mating cable assembly. They needed a cost-effective solution that met their technical and commercial requirements, based upon an estimated annual volume of 20,000 units. The customers market is a highly competitive market and product had to be prototyped 6-8 weeks after the design was agreed with production to follow 2 weeks later. There were several areas that needed addressing that necessitated a custom design, the small space envelope, connector polarisation, the requirement for sealing, the supply of a flexible printed circuit soldered to the contact tails, connector retaining hardware, a dust cover, mating connector / cable assembly sets.
Sealing was achieved in several key areas, the contacts were designed using a patented design, to ensure that water cannot pass through the connector. The contacts and the locking hardware retaining nuts were insert moulded into the assembly, thus eliminating any possible areas that moisture could pass through. A special seal was developed to seal between the connector and the mounting chassis.
The design was modelled using 3D modelling and was prototyped. These models were subjected to IP67 testing and to testing on the customer’s models for form fit and function. After the design was completed & agreed the product moved through the hard tooling phase and into production.
The following disciplines were utilised - insert moulding, injection moulding, machining of contacts, soldering, cable manufacture.
See other Case Studies:
Case Study One - Cable Assembly
Case Study Three - CF (Compact Flash) Card Kit
Case Study Four - Bespoke Docking Connector System