With the rapid development of the automotive industry, various functional components and parts in automobiles continue to move towards intelligence, refinement, and high reliability. This trend not only puts forward stricter standards for the structural design and appearance design of automotive connectors, but also requires higher material selection, making the models of automotive connectors increasingly diverse. Below, we will provide a detailed introduction to the four basic structural components of automotive connectors.
1、 Contact piece
Contacts are the core components of automotive connectors that achieve electrical connection functions. Usually, a contact pair is composed of a positive contact piece and a negative contact piece, which are plugged together to achieve electrical connection.
Positive contact parts are rigid components with various shapes, including cylindrical round pins, square cylindrical square pins, and flat pins. The commonly used materials for its production are brass and phosphor bronze.
The female contact, also known as the socket, is a critical component for contact alignment. It utilizes an elastic structure to generate elastic deformation when inserted into the pin, thereby forming elastic force and tightly contacting the positive contact piece to complete the connection. There are various types of socket structures, including cylindrical (split groove, tapered), tuning fork, cantilever beam (longitudinally slotted), folding (longitudinally slotted, in the shape of a 9), box shaped (square socket), and hyperbolic wire spring socket.
2、 Shell
The shell, also known as the outer shell, is the external protective cover of a automotive connector . It provides reliable mechanical protection for internally installed insulation mounting boards and pins, ensuring that these critical components are not damaged in complex environments. At the same time, the shell also has the function of aligning the plug and socket when they are plugged in, ensuring the accuracy of the connection. In addition, it can firmly fix the connector on the device to prevent loosening or detachment.
3、 Insulator
Insulators are often referred to as automotive connector bases or inserts. Its main function is to accurately arrange the contacts in the required positions according to design requirements and maintain appropriate spacing. Good insulation performance is provided between the contacts and between the contacts and the casing to prevent safety hazards such as electrical leakage.
When selecting materials for processing insulators, good insulation resistance, voltage resistance, and ease of processing are basic requirements. Only by meeting these conditions can the quality and performance of the insulator be guaranteed.
4、 Attachment
Attachments are divided into two categories: structural attachments and installation attachments.
The structural attachments include snap rings, locating keys, locating pins, guide pins, connecting rings, cable clamps, sealing rings, gaskets, etc. These accessories play an important role in the structural stability, component positioning, cable fixation, and sealing of connectors.
The installation accessories include screws, nuts, screws, spring coils, etc. They are mainly used to install connectors onto equipment, ensuring that the connectors are securely and reliably fixed. Most accessories have standard and universal parts to choose from, which to some extent improves the universality and interchangeability of the connector, facilitating production and maintenance.
