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The Connector Market Report: Trends, Forecast and Competitive Analysis suggests that the future of the connector market holds great promise with opportunities in the automotive and transportation, telecom/datacom, computer, and peripheral, industrial, and consumer electronics industries. According to this report, the major growth drivers for this market are growing 3C applications (Computers, Communications, and Consumer Electronics), miniaturization of electronic devices, and demand for products with advanced features, convenience, and connectivity.
Emerging trends, which the report identified as having a direct impact on the dynamics of the connector industry, include greater demand for high-speed connectors, further movement toward compact and thinner connectors, as well as the development of high-power connectors.
Regarding industrial applications, especially the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), smaller form factors and increased ruggedness are the critical drivers for the development of new connector technologies. With the standards of Industry 4.0 being deployed in almost all production environments and the unique challenges of Industry 5.0 looming on the horizon, connector manufacturers have to design and develop with new solutions in mind.
As those endeavors require an enormous amount of effort and standardization throughout the industries, competitors are working together to create new standard solutions. A current example for such a co-operation is the joint development of the ix Industrial™ series of connectors by Amphenol ICC that are fully intermateable with products from other authorized vendors.
The ix Industrial™ connector series is IEC 61076-3-124 compliant and designed to meet the needs of next-generation high-speed ruggedized Industrial Ethernet requirements. Typical applications of the ix Industrial™ series can be found in factory and process automation, machine to machine communication, robotics, sensors, human interface devices, and all devices requiring Ethernet IIoT connectivity in a highly automated industrial environment.
Amphenol ICC’s ix Industrial™ connectors enable IoT connectivity for Ethernet and other industrial protocols through all levels of an operation from the Enterprise/Cloud to the sensors/actuators at the factory floor. These 10mm pitch connectors feature 2-point metal latches and are just 25 percent of the size of an RJ45 connector. Thus, they allow much higher port density and mating security. They are PoE capable, provide data performance to Cat6A level (10GBASE-T), and feature 360° shielding through the mated pair for superior EMI protection.
This mechanically robust 10-position connector is designed to meet the growing demands in industrial automation. The ix Industrial™ comes in a package 70 percent smaller than the size of a typical RJ45 connector currently used in many Industrial Ethernet applications, thus providing robust performance with a smaller footprint.
Offered as PCB mount receptacles in right-angle and vertical orientations, the connector series comes with multiple keying options and mating field terminable plugs for easy on-site installation. The Amphenol ICC products are currently available in IP20 versions for MICE1 environments with IP67 versions for MICE2 and MICE3 harsh environments coming soon. These are designed to be intermatable with products from other authorized vendors of the ix Industrial™ series of interconnect products.
The Amphenol ICC ix Industrial™ IP20 connector series consists of IEC 61076-3-124 compliant 10-position connectors capable of Cat6A performance. With 10mm connector pitch, robust 2-point metal latching, 360-degree shielding for EMI immunity, and a package 70 percent smaller than the size of a typical RJ45, these connectors are poised to meet the needs of new higher density Industrial Ethernet communication designs.
As Technical Content Specialist, Marcel is the internal contact person for technical questions in Mouser’s EMEA marketing team. Originally a physicist, he used to work as editor for special-interest magazines in electronics. In real life, he’s juggling two kids with too many chromosomes, a penchant for electronic gadgets and a fondness of books and beer. Until now, none has dropped.