Detailed explanation of the six major development trends of connector technology in the next few years

Connector may be a strange product to consumers, but it is the most commonly used product by electronic engineers. Connectors are essential components in most electronic products, responsible for transmitting current, voltage, or optical signals. They have a wide range of applications, including in aerospace, automotive, industrial, 3C, medical and other industries. According to relevant data statistics, the global connector market size in 2016 was 53.5 billion US dollars. Driven by industries such as 5G data communication, automotive, and industry, the global connector market demand has maintained a growth trend. It is expected that the global connector market size will reach 60 billion US dollars by 2020. Due to China's development into the world's largest connector market, the major industries driving connector growth in recent years have been 5G communication, electric vehicles, and Industry 4.0, which is a rare market opportunity for connector companies.

Traditional connectors need to achieve three major properties, namely mechanical performance, electrical performance, and environmental performance. The so-called mechanical performance refers to the guarantee of performance by the insertion and extraction of connectors; Electrical performance includes requirements for contact resistance, insulation resistance, and electrical strength; And environmental performance requires connectors to have basic requirements such as temperature resistance, humidity resistance, vibration resistance, and impact resistance. Emerging markets also need to maintain these basic requirements.

In addition to the basic requirements mentioned above, the new application market also has new requirements for connectors, namely smaller connectors, higher reliability, stronger wireless performance, and a certain degree of intelligence. This is a new demand in the market. For enterprises, connectors can only seize new market opportunities by meeting these requirements. The editor believes that overall, the development trends of connector technology in the next few years are as follows:

Six major development trends of connectors

1、 High frequency and high-speed connector technology
In many 5G communication applications, connectors carry the responsibility of converting optical and electrical signals. With the advent of the 5G Internet of Things era, the high data and transmission requirements of 5G are destined to require performance upgrades of connectors, and high-frequency and high-speed characteristics have become new requirements.

2、 Connector Technology for Wireless Transmission
In the era of the Internet of Things, wireless technology will also be ubiquitous. In addition to achieving contact based connections like before, connectors will also be a guarantee for ensuring wireless transmission in many occasions such as industry and automobiles in the future, after all, dual protection is the safest.

3、 Smaller and more convenient connector technology
The previous connectors are used for many contacts, which are filled in many Expansion card slots. Of course, in the 5G era, there may be dozens of connectors in a fiber optic device, which requires smaller connectors to achieve higher performance connections.

4、 Connector technology with higher accuracy and lower cost
Due to the high safety requirements of automobiles, automotive connectors are already a very large market. With the development of electric vehicles, connectors will require higher precision and cost, and they will be more popular than previous connectors.

5、 More intelligent connector technology
With the arrival of the AI era, connectors may not only achieve simple transmission functions. In the future, in switching power supplies, in addition to ensuring the data of electrical signals, connectors may be able to perform simple intelligent judgment and protection, output correct data while avoiding power damage. Of course, this requires the support of IC technology.

6、 Automated production technology for connectors
In traditional connector design and production, manual labor is the main part, and with the development of industrial automation, especially in precision machining, grinding tools, and CAD of connectors, these advanced machines will become the main force of the industry.

Connector enterprises welcome new development opportunities

As a very basic electronic device, connectors will bring new profit growth points to enterprises in terms of the slow growing application markets such as computers and mobile devices. According to the editor of OFweek Electronic engineering, they are respectively 5G communication, automotive and industrial markets. Today, the connector market capacity in China is gradually expanding, maintaining a double-digit growth trend every year, with huge potential.

5G will be another key factor in the explosion of the communication market, with connectors carrying the data connection task between computers and terminals in communication. In data communication, wired and wireless communication coexist, which means that the demand for wireless connectors mentioned above will increase significantly, and connectors will continue to grow in communication devices. In automotive applications, due to the demand for connectors in automotive entertainment systems and electric systems, in addition to transmitting data between engine management systems, devices, etc., connectors are also required between in car entertainment systems, electronic devices, etc. Industrial connectors require stronger reliability and performance. With the construction of the industrial internet, stronger connectors are needed between industrial equipment and networks, which have new requirements for connector performance.

To seize these opportunities, enterprises need to provide customer service to the six major technical challenges listed above. Connectors do not necessarily have to possess these technologies at the same time. For different markets, their requirements may vary. As the market advances, these needs will gradually be implemented.