Today’s engineers are preparing for the power designs of tomorrow. With trends across markets such as data center and vehicle electrification driving greater demand for robust high-power solutions, in many cases we are seeing power delivered to the printed circuit board (PCB) in new and innovative ways. These trends are shaping the way that power is connected, and manufacturers like Molex are developing new solutions that will be suitable for the next generation of electronic systems and applications. Read on to learn more about how Molex solutions are accommodating significant amounts of power to support high-current applications.
Growing power demand in trending applications
The future of data communication lies within data centres. The internet is a huge consumer of power, and the demand will continue to grow. Some studies are predicting that, by the end of the decade, a fifth of all the energy generated in the world will be used within the IT sector. That is an incredible amount of power that needs to be carried to PCBs, and designers will need the latest technologies to deliver this performance.
One of the key side effects of power will be heat. Transmitting and consuming the vast power that data centers require generates heat. While connectors are not directly involved in active cooling, clever connector design can help to minimize the effects with high conductivity and low contact resistance, while also contributing to efficient cooling by allowing air to flow freely.
Data centers are consuming more energy than ever before and demand will continue to grow
Power is also vital to the automotive market with the high level of interest in electric vehicles (EV). Consumers around the world are seeking alternatives to conventional fossil fuels, and there has been a rapid growth in demand for electric and hybrid vehicles. The advances in battery technology, along with the latest battery management systems, mean that electric power is now a practical alternative to conventional motors.
Today’s automotive manufacturers are creating electric vehicles (EVs) that rival conventional cars in both range and performance. Fast charging technology has made EVs a practical choice for family cars, and manufacturers are creating networks of dedicated stations. Designed to carry hundreds of Amps at high voltages, reliable connectors will need to deliver high performance and safe operation for road users.
Solving the connectivity problem
Delivering energy into the confined spaces found in these power-hungry applications will demand connectors that combine excellent electrical characteristics, compact design and advanced thermal features. Molex has drawn upon its decades of experience in providing connectivity for high-current applications to create a range of products that are ready for today’s power needs.
The Molex Coeur single-pole connector system from Molex delivers high power capabilities with a cylindrical spring element that is housed within the female terminal and makes contact around the full 360 shape of the male. This greatly increasing the contact surface area and improves the current rating. The Sentrality range of contacts can deliver power up to 200 Amps, and the Coeur terminal design allows easy operations with a self-aligning feature.
A more conventional approach to terminal design can be found in the Molex Mega-Fit range. Part of a large connector family, the Mega-Fit terminals use a stamped-and-formed design that offers 6 points of contact to ensure superior conductivity. As a result, the Mega-Fit range can deliver currents of up to 23 Amps per circuit.
Mixing contact types
Molex EXTreme Power connectors, combining power and signal contacts
Where space is at a premium, designers can also turn to mixed-contact or hybrid connectors. On PCBs where size is of less concern, power and signal connectors can be mounted separately. The use of mixed power and signal connectors also brings advantages in everyday use. As the pitches of PCB-mounted components become smaller, the precision required during their installation becomes greater. This is especially true in instances when they are to be mated to a parallel or mezzanine PCB where the tolerance for assembly errors becomes very small indeed. By combining both power and signal contacts into a single connector housing, designers can solve both PCB layout and assembly challenges.
The Molex EXTreme Power range of products are specifically designed to support high-current applications with optimal power densities and exceptional thermal management capabilities. They feature mixed contact types that combine signal and power in the same connector housing, simplifying both PCB layout design and assembly operations.
Power connectors do not need to be bulky and cumbersome. In some applications, smaller connectors can hold the advantage in certain situations, especially critical with the growth of data centres, alternative energy. The same technology can be applied to almost any application within electronics. When looking for your next power connector, Arrow can deliver a comprehensive range of Molex power solutions.
DISCOVER HOW MOLEX IS MAKING A CONNECTED WORLD POSSIBLE
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