Portsmouth, UK, 8 October 2020 – Harwin is expanding its services relating to the Gecko-MT high-reliability (Hi-Rel) connector series. Enabling significant reductions in weight and space, Gecko-MT robust 1.25mm-pitch components add 2 or 4 10A-rated power contacts to the standard 2A-rated 8 Gecko signal contacts, addressing data and power delivery simultaneously. Targeted at high-density electronic systems – in avionics, UAVs, robotics, medical, industrial automation, satellites, etc. – these connectors have gained uptake in the market since their release in late 2019. Building on this success, Harwin has added further dimensions to the Gecko-MT offering.
Firstly, a new on-demand cable assembly service helps customers avoid in-house tooling costs as well as training and inspection overheads. By offering this service, Harwin can assist system prototyping and pre-production runs, as well as meet customer’s full volume production requirements. A variety of options is now available to align with customer requirements and minimise their engineering effort and outlay. These include male and female or loose cut ends, with both standard and reverse-fix screw-lok fixings supported. Covering 24 different termination combinations, 2 signal wire sizes and cable lengths up to 10m, there are hundreds of possibilities. Backpotting also provides supplementary strain-relief to the assemblies.
In addition to the full cable assemblies, it is now possible to order pre-wired Gecko-MT contacts. This means that customers can undertake assembly themselves after the crimping has already been done for them. For power delivery, single-ended and double-ended male, as well as female and male-to-female contact formats are available. Cable lengths of 150mm and 450mm (in white) are now stocked directly while 300mm and other lengths, including red cable options, can be supplied with very short lead times. Pre-wired signal contacts are also available to order.
“Our Gecko-MT connectors are precision items which are integrated into system designs with very high quality requirements at each production stage. As a result, the accompanying cabling can come with considerable engineering overheads in terms of the tooling and the procedures involved,” Ryan Smart, NPI Manager at Harwin, explains. “By launching these new services, customers will be able to offload this work onto Harwin and concentrate their resources and expertise in other areas. We are able to offer these services, even for very small unit quantities, with a quick turnaround period.”
