Connectors, as key components for current or signal connections, are also an important part of the industrial system. As large as airplanes and rockets, as small as mobile phones and TVs, connectors appear in a variety of different forms, building bridges between circuits or other components, taking on the role of current or signal connections. The sales of the connector industry increased to 52.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2014, and in 2015, the forecasts of major industry organizations are still optimistic. From the perspective of the development trend of connectors in 2015, which aspects are worth paying attention to and particularly worth seeing? With the continued popularity of Tesla and other electric vehicles and the collective influx of Internet companies, the impact of new technologies on the traditional automotive industry is accelerating the transformation of the automotive industry. Now the car is more than just a means of transportation, as environmental protection, energy saving and entertainment intelligence. The combination of these fresh vocabulary with the car also indirectly helped the connector bring new development opportunities. 　　 Ten years ago, the average cost of automotive electronic equipment accounted for about one-fifth of the total manufacturing cost. Today, this number has jumped to 30% to 35%, or even higher. Automakers are aware of the value of using electronic devices to differentiate their models: auto buyers hope that high-end in-vehicle infotainment systems, safety features, and other functions will gradually become standard equipment for new models. 　　Automotive new energy and electronics promote the growth of demand for automotive connectors Related research data shows that from 2009 to 2014, the annual compound growth rate of the automotive connector market increased by 11%, and reached a market output value of nearly 12 billion U.S. dollars. It is expected that the output value of automotive connectors will exceed 16 billion U.S. dollars in 2019. Maintain a compound annual growth rate of 7%. Editor in charge: Yu Ruixue Although the new energy vehicle industry has gone through twists and turns, it is still the general trend! However, traditional connector equipment cannot meet its high current and high voltage requirements. Therefore, connector manufacturers are also deploying high-power connection products for new energy vehicles. The number one TEConnectivity company (2016 Munich Shanghai Electronics Show booth number: E4.4402) as an example: it has launched a series of innovative products MSD high-voltage maintenance switches, HVP800 high-voltage high-current connector solutions (250A) and EVCContactors high-voltage contactors Wait. The new demands of the automotive industry are bringing more stringent requirements to the traditional connector manufacturers, but it is also these new powers that will stimulate the automotive connector market to continue to rise in the future. Don’t forget, another frontier hot technology in the automotive market-unmanned driving or autonomous driving. Previously, Rob Shaddock, executive vice president and chief technology officer of TEConnectivity, said in an interview with the media that the realization of unmanned driving will take at least 5 years. . However, TE and more connector manufacturers are already in deep cooperation with many smart car manufacturers. After all, when a new industry hot spot really enters people’s lives, no one wants to miss the opportunity. The future of the automotive connector market will let Let's wait and see. 　　USB Type-C becomes a new kinetic energy for connectors in the consumer electronics field 　　 If you carefully review the new products of major consumer electronics manufacturers in 2015, you will find that a brand-new selling point will almost be used repeatedly, that is: the USBType-C interface. In order to allow users to have better convenience, USBType-C is a brand-new appearance specification designed for the appearance of mobile device connectors. The design concept is mainly to realize the function of allowing users to connect both front and back, and the size is also relatively small. The current MicroB is small and can be equipped with functions such as USB3.1 or USB-PD2.0 according to the different functional requirements of the manufacturers. 　　 Compared with the rise of USB Type-C this year, the layout of connector manufacturers in R&D has been completed very early. For example, connector leader JAE (Aviation Electronics, 2016 Munich Shanghai Electronics Show booth number: E4.4310) as early as June this year, quickly followed up and launched a connector plug based on the next-generation USB specification (USB Type-C) standard And sockets, and started selling to the market. More importantly, JAE has personally participated in the standardized design of USB Type-C connectors. With years of high-precision design technology and high-speed transmission design technology for small connectors, it has developed excellent EMI/EMC characteristics, sufficient mechanical strength, and durability. USBType-C connector with excellent locking mechanism and other characteristics. With the use of USB Type-C technology in several popular mobile devices this year, it is expected that this specification will gradually become the mainstream of the industry in 2016, and it will also bring a new growth point to the connector market. 　　It is precisely the development trend of "light and thin" consumer electronics that promotes the rise of USBType-C. As the size becomes smaller and smaller, the power consumption of these devices is also rising, and at the same time they have to deal with an ever-increasing amount of information and data. There is no doubt that manufacturers are facing quite severe challenges in how to better implement wireless charging and data transmission of devices. Small-sized, high-performance mobile devices have also put forward corresponding requirements for connector suppliers. Connector products must play in a limited space to make more refined products with a variety of functions, and save space for device manufacturers to add more new Functional device. At present, in order to achieve small size, in addition to extremely fine connectors, there are also two other major challenges: heat dissipation and mechanical stability. No one wants to see damage to other electronic components due to overheating of the connector. These will also become problems that connector manufacturers need to solve urgently in 2016. 　　 IoT wearables will be the next growth point for connectors 　　According to Gartner's forecast, compared to 2014, the number of connected devices worldwide will reach 4.9 billion in 2015, an increase of 30%. By 2020, this scale will increase by 5 times, or 25 billion. Internet of Things devices have become the main driving force of business development and will affect various industries in social life. If the formation speed of the Internet of Things can be demonstrated by independent market research, then this trend will get new stimulation and gain further attention. The Internet of Things is also called the Internet of Everything, and the corresponding connectors will undoubtedly play an important role in it. Of course, at present, the Internet of Things is still a relatively macro concept, and when it comes to the connector market, we will find that this innovation will continue to be subject to the demand for miniaturization, high-level integration of on-chip functions, and ultra-low power (ULP) ) The promotion of a system designed for operation. This trend is particularly pronounced in wearable devices. And today's global electronic component manufacturers are trying to compete for a place in "wearable" devices, in this regard miniaturization occupies an absolute priority. The demand for compact low-power devices has now expanded to all aspects of the electronics industry. Let us take the earliest and most cutting-edge medical field in the wearable field as an example. It has expanded to a new generation of portable medical devices, the international leading company Molex Started to lay out this aspect very early. 　　 Molex provides a series of highly innovative solutions for the medical electronics field through the MediSpec product series. For example, Polymicro Technologies' MediSpec hollow silica waveguide, designed for medical laser applications, is a state-of-the-art medical technology. Another innovation is the MediSpec Medical Plastic Circular (MPC) interconnection system. This economical interconnection product has a high durability rated for 10,000 times. The MPC interconnection system has a very high number of insertions and removals, while the insertion force is lower, and the cost is only a fraction of that of a competing system with machined contacts. As the application of IoT technology in various industries becomes more and more diverse, it will pose more severe challenges to the innovative capabilities of connector companies. It is expected that in 2016, there will be more unknown areas that will develop new application requirements due to the Internet of Things. The future Internet of Things platforms will surely witness the development of the hyper-connected environment, in which various new ultra-low power and sensor technologies will be applied. Many fields, including medical and industrial, bring changes and added value. 　　Smart factories and robots will make industrial connectors blowout in 2016? 　　 Don't look at the connectors, although they are compact, the development level of the connector industry is often closely related to the overall national industrial level. "Made in Germany", a symbol of quality, efficiency and innovation, is recognized and praised all over the world. The same as the overall industrial level, the development level of the German connector industry is also very high, and it plays an important role in the German electrical and electronic industry system. At the same time, "Made in China 2025", regarded as the Chinese version of the "Industry 4.0" plan, has attracted social attention since its proposal. The concept of "Intelligent Manufacturing in China" has continued to heat up, and the ambitious goal of a manufacturing powerhouse is equally exciting. 　　With the development of industrial manufacturing in the direction of automation and intelligence, connectors that are widely used in mechanical equipment, factory automation, power distribution and railways are naturally also the focus of development. For "Industry 4.0" and "intelligent production" solutions and technologies, connectors that can influence production efficiency in modules such as stamping, injection molding, assembly, and crimping naturally need a new upgrade. The interconnection and cooperation between the various module areas also puts forward new requirements on the connector device. Take the heavy-duty connector as an example. The increasingly demanding application environment requires the excellent performance of the traditional heavy-duty connector, and at the same time. With a wider range of applications and fast and comprehensive service capabilities, it can be widely used in industrial production, especially connection operations in harsh and complex environments, and meet the diverse needs of customers in the Chinese and global markets for intelligent control equipment. 　　 At the same time, the requirements for automation in smart factories will surely enable industrial robots to play more uses in the future. As a connector manufacturer that provides internal connections to robots and sensor solutions, it is naturally impossible to miss this promising sunrise field. The robotics industry is booming in China, and connector solutions for partial connections of robotic arms and complete robot control systems are also attracting more and more people's interest. Although the connector is only a small part in the intelligent control process, it is the foundation part that guarantees the overall quality and realizes intelligence. Because many working environments of industrial robots are high-risk operations, arm joints must adapt to the increasing complexity and precision of production requirements. Traditional cable connections can no longer meet this requirement, which puts more connection requirements on the connecting parts . For example, in many operating environments, we cannot connect to the robot, but can only transmit signal commands to the robot through a wireless connection. This non-contact connection product must integrate non-contact power supply and high-frequency technology. It can reliably transmit power, signals and data without actual contact in almost any environment. It is obvious that compared with traditional connection methods, the development of industrial robots It will inevitably bring huge changes to the connector field, and this new development will also feed back other areas of the connector, and will bring revolutionary progress prospects to the entire connection device.