The Dilemma of Connectors in the Application of New Automatic / Electric Vehicles

At present, the global automotive connector accounts for about 15% of the connector industry, and it is expected to occupy a larger proportion in the future driven by automotive electronics. In terms of product cost structure, China's automotive connector market still has great potential for development. In the future, each car will use 600-1,000 electronic connectors, far greater than the number used today.

China is expected to become an important production base for global automotive grade connectors in the future. In addition to the existing first-line well-known international manufacturers, due to increasing local demand, localized procurement, cost advantages and other factors, other manufacturers that have not yet set up factories in China will gradually establish production bases in China to meet local automotive components Manufacturer's needs.

Connectors are the "unsung heroes" of advanced electrical structures, which make it possible for future electric self-driving vehicles to emerge. When it comes to autonomous driving, the bright spots are usually in areas such as multi-domain controllers, sensor technologies, including lidar, radar and cameras, or advanced software algorithms. Electrical connectors that play a key role in making the system work are usually not the focus.

Through the system problems involved in the electrical system, automakers realized that to effectively design electrical structures, they must know the reliability of all electrical components, including basic electrical connectors. These reliability rates are often referred to as Failures In Time (FIT).

The connector failure rate is mainly known through the warranty requirements of existing vehicles, but the entire industry does not spend a lot of time collecting data on the fit rate of all connectors.

The situation worsened due to the lack of a standard model for predicting failure rates. In addition, the models used today are outdated and not enough to help car companies understand the reliability of mil spec electrical connectors.

The biggest reason for the failure of the connector is that the connector is not completely matched during the assembly process of the vehicle, which causes the connection to fail. With this in mind, the connection system of the future autonomous driving system requires a fusion of mechanical and/or electrical characteristics called "mating diagnosis".

By making better use of new models to predict failure rates and an in-depth understanding of the increasing importance of military style electrical connectors reliability, the industry will begin to establish new guidelines for the future of every electrical connector application. It is important to note that no one model may be applicable to all connector components.

Since reliable power and signal distribution are very important for safe autonomous driving systems, these new guidelines will help automakers make important design decisions and determine where redundant systems are needed.

Since these decisions are critical to the future of the car, there is an urgent need to collect this data and build improved models. The entire industry should put this in the first place.