Molex to showcase military, aerospace connectors at MILCOM

I’ve got military and aerospace connectors on the brain this week, with back-to-back posts from contributing author Dave Brearley about the importance of connectors to the industry, as well as a recent release from Molex, Lisle, Ill., about its offerings to these markets. Key to all three of these articles is the ability to safely and easily install, maintain, and replace such connectors in these highly critical applications.

The company will be at MILCOM 2013, November 18 – 20, in San Diego, focusing on its efforts to combine speed with compact design and military-grade construction. It says its products can stand up to the harsh conditions found in applications such as C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance systems), missiles, ground vehicles, unmanned vehicles, aircraft management systems, cabin applications and aircraft avionics. The company recently added technologies from FCT Electronics Group to its portfolio, building on its ability to bring customized solutions to its aerospace and defense customers.

“Our goal is to provide as seamless of a connection as possible so that the installation and replacement of sensors, encoders, switches and other I/O devices is fast, easy and reliable in any type of condition, even the harsh environment found in military applications,” said Jeff Brecker, military regional sales manager, Molex.

Attendees to the show can find the following products at Molex’s booth 1541:

• Fiber Optic Products, including FlexPlane Optical Flex Circuitry, Circular MT Assemblies, VITA 66.1 Ruggedized Optical MT Backplane Interconnect System and Optical EMI Shielding Adapters.
• High Performance Cable Assemblies, such as those that use Temp-Flex Low-Loss and Ultra Low-Loss Flexible Cable for applications through 50 GHz. These cables are flexible alternatives to semi-rigid styles, including 0.047, 0.086 and 0.141 in. sizes.  Molex can provide standard assemblies in 3-in. increments with a range of connectors including 2.92 mm, SMP, SMA, SMPM and many others.
• Ruggedized Backplane Cable Assemblies, for high-speed data transfer between commercial backplanes or servers, including Impact, Impel, VHDM and others, to commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) connectors or full military-qualified interfaces. These rugged assemblies provide reliable data throughput of between 2 to 25 Gbps even in the harshest environments.
• Copper Flex Circuit Products, including Rigid Flex Circuits and Assemblies, which are hybrid designs that feature both rigid and flexible substrates, combining the features of a PCB with the advantages of flexible printed circuit technology.  The circuitry can be built with three to 20 or more layers of conductors, providing a reliable power and signal solution in one unit.  This also allows for tighter packaging and less weight, which is ideal for applications such as avionics, communication systems, GPS and radar equipment. In addition, Molex’s High-Density Copper Flex products, which offer one to 20 layers, for high-density packaging of signals while still providing high-performance impedance for backplane and board-to-board applications.  They provide easy routing, reduced weight and increased reliability, critical for applications where space is limited but high-performance is demanded, such as cockpit video recorders, Infrared sighting systems and night vision goggles.

Molex
www.molex.com