By Alun Williams 16th September 2019
Welcome to another in the series by Nick Locke, of Nicab Ltd, who has more than 20 years experience in the electronics manufacturing industry specialising in interconnection cable assembly. This post considers FAKRA RF connectors.
FAKRA connectors are RF coax and most commonly used in the automotive industry. Due to their rugged reliability, however, they have many uses outside of automotive, being ideal for industrial and harsh environments.
Many common brands have their own version of the Fakra connector. JAE has developed the industry’s smallest-in-class waterproof coaxial connector compatible with the standard FAKRA interface, the MX66 Series, for use in applications such as ADAS and connected cars. In other words, bringing the internet of everything into traditional vehicle spaces.
When you look at the applications this connector is designed to work with it is easy to see how it can be widely adopted in other industries.
For example, they are used in the following:
Rosenberger’s FAKRA connectors also offer a combination of 13 mechanical and colour-coding features to prevent mismating and employ both primary and secondary locking systems to ensure secure connections in harsh-environment applications. They are rated for operating temperatures extending from -40°C to +105°C and are compliant with both ISO 20860-1 and -2 and USCAR 17 and 18 standards, as well as RoHS, WEEE, and ELV directives.
Because of their use in mass produced products, specialist machinery has been developed to make the assembly process as automated as possible. For example, Schleuniger offers various machine platforms for manufacturing cables with FAKRA connectors. The portfolio includes semi-automatic and fully automatic systems.
There are many possibilities on this simple connector and it’s going to be around for some time to come. It is well worth a look at when working on new product designs with internet connectivity in mind.
Image: JAE Electronics – Waterproof FAKRA Compatible MX66 Series Coaxial Connector
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