ERNI Electronics offers extensive connector range for lighting applications

Adelberg and Frankfurt (Germany), March 19, 2014 – The plethora of applications for modern lighting solutions - from dashboard lighting units in cars to accent lighting in homes and enterprises through to power-saving street and building lighting systems - call for correspondingly efficient controllers and connectivity solutions. ERNI Electronics addresses this range of applications with connector solutions in a multitude of variants. Being highly reliable, extremely compact in design and supporting a high current carrying capacity, these solutions satisfy the requirements of modern lighting technology - in particular, those of LED applications. In modern lighting solutions, it is often necessary to combine highly compact designs with high current carrying capacity, e.g. for power LEDs. The MaxiBridge cable connector system in a 2.54 mm pitch is predestined for applications such as these. Using this system allows efficient and space-saving connections to be realised between PCBs and peripheral functional units such as lamps, displays, panels, LEDs, switches and sensors. The system is extremely versatile thanks to the availability of straight and angled male and female multipoint connectors with 180° cable outlet. A robust interlocking system ensures a high level of reliability also in case of vibrations. The connectors are available with 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 and 20 pins and a current carrying capacity of up to 12 A/contact. Single-row MiniBridge connectors in a 1.27 mm pitch are predestined for a diverse range of lighting applications where space is often restricted. Examples include LCD/TFT/LED displays, handheld devices and control panel elements in addition to LED front and rear lights, IR distance sensors, head-up displays and switch elements in automotive electronics. Thanks to their extremely compact design and high current carrying capacity, MiniBridge components are ideally suited for LED lighting systems. MiniBridge connectors are also available with colourless (white) insulating bodies, which prevent shadowing in lighting applications. Versions with 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 pins are available with a current carrying capacity of up to 8 A/contact. Depending on the application, two types of interlocking are available. ERNI Electronics offers the MaxiBridge and MiniBridge cable connectors fully pre-assembled. The highly reliable, two-row Small Multiple Connector (SMC) connector family in a 1.27mm pitch offers maximum design freedom, coupled with high contact density being available in a variety of modules such as straight and angled male and female multipoint connectors in conjunction with SMT, press-fit technology and IDC terminals. For variable assembly design, SMC connectors are available in various design heights. The combinations of standard and low-profile designs permit infinitely variable stacking heights from 8.0 to 20.0 mm (with adapters up to 40 mm). They are available with 12, 16, 20, 26, 32, 40, 50, 68 and 80 pins. SMT PCB terminals from ERNI Electronics with a total height of just 2.0 mm eliminate manual preparation (stripping) of wires prior to termination. The dual IDC contact blades provide a reliable, gas-tight connection to the conductor wire. This means that costly and unreliable hand soldering can be avoided and no special tool is required for termination. The IDC-PCB terminals also ensure reliable PCB connection in extremely miniaturised applications such as for example in bulbs (e.g. retrofit lamps) and LED applications, where they require significantly less PCB space compared with comparable products. In spite of their miniaturised design, they offer a high current carry capacity of 6 A (AWG24) and 17 A (AWG22). They are supplied in tape and reel packaging (5000 pieces) to facilitate fully automated board assembly. ERNI Electronics is presenting its extensive product range for lighting applications at the Light & Building trade fair in Frankfurt (30.3 to 4.4.2014, Hall 11.0, Stand A60).

ERNI Electronics The German company ERNI Electronics GmbH & Co. KG, which belongs to the international group of companies ERNI International AG, was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in Adelberg, Germany. ERNI develops and manufactures a wide variety of connectors, backplanes and complete systems, soldering assemblies and cable assemblies. ERNI is a globally active enterprise, with branch offices in Europe, North America and Asia. Further information is available at www.erni.com