Automobile contacts:Example of customer-specific development

Lower costs throughfewer operations The electronic component housings are extruded togetherwith the customer-specific,pressfit contacts. Hybrid components eliminate theneed for insulator bodies, andare pressed directly into the hole of the printed circuit boardduring final assembly. Matingand assembly are reduced to a single operation; soldering orbonding is not required. Today’s cars are moving, high-performance computers.Powerplant, brake, steering, safety, navigation and information data are linked to create intelligent driving and assistance systems. While being electronically controlled, these systems aresubjected to extreme mechanical and thermal loads associatedwith daily driving. Automotive electronics is in the upper echelon of robust contact-design requirements The amount of electronics in vehicles continues to rise. Reliabilityunder daily driving conditions is a manufacturer’s challenge. Production cost advantages and reliability are often not in sync.But ERNI-press fit contacts optimize reliability and cost, and our growing market share is tangible proof. Quality to last the life of the vehicle Pressfit connections are gas-tight and corrosion-resistant. Trans-mission resistance remains consistently low for the life of the vehicle. In addition, pressfit connections are elastic. They cancompensate for mechanical vibrations or stress with different coefficients of thermal expansion. This prevents crack formation, which frequently occurs with solder connections. Typical ERNIPRESS applications in automotive design are desig-ned especially for safe, reliable operation, such as airbag control. ERNI supplies high-quality, customer-specific contacts and housingsbased on pressfit technology.
Catalog E 074519Edition 4, 10/07 www.erni.com5