Making Connections in Automotive Systems
Automotive designers know that inside-the-vehicle systems have stringent quality and reliability requirements, thanks in large part to environmental conditions and the long lifetime of a typical car. As a result, many look for a “PPAP” (pronounced P-PAP; Production Part Approval Process) designation on products they select for their automotive system designs.
PPAP is an automotive industry quality standard with a fairly complex submission process, and it aims to verify a component’s production process. Samtec participated in PPAP and designates its products available with Level 3 PPAP as its A-series of connectors; currently there are more than 100 connector models available on this list.
Here’s the scoop on the Samtec A-Series for Automotive:
- Certified to IATF 16949 to support Level 3 PPAP requirements
- Controlled IATF facility
- Registered International Material Data System (IMDS)
- Built to Samtec’s drawings & standards
- Short lead times for volume
Recently Samtec announced some new additions to the A-series that specifically target automotive lighting, infotainment, and power. These latest additions to the Samtec family of A-series PPAP connectors offer space savings and flexibility in rugged conditions.
For example, the Samtec A-series of ERX8 RA (0.635 mm Edge Rate®) and UPMX RA (2.00mm mPOWER®) connectors feature right-angle configurations to support flexible and space-constrained designs, particularly in automotive lighting and power applications. The new A-series versions of the Samtec MECF and MEC6 series, including Mini-Card and GenerateTM series edge connectors, are great for use in infotainment and traditional camera systems within the vehicle.
Some automotive applications are “outside the car,” and so they do not require a PPAP designation. Samtec offers a full catalog of connector and cable products for EV charging infrastructure and C-2VX systems, as well as cables and connectors for system debugging, which many of our automotive customer use. At the other extreme, Samtec’s custom ACD-series supports customer specific requirements with managed inventory options. (You can get more info on that by emailing our auto group: [email protected].)
More product and application information, including downloadable 3D models, is available on our Samtec website where we recently updated the automotive industry pages to include specific information on infotainment, embedded compute modules, charging infrastructure, vision systems, and C-V2X technology applications. You can also check out the Samtec Automotive Solutions Catalog, or contact Samtec design engineers directly through [email protected]. Samtec attends many trade shows throughout the year; specifically, we will be at Booth #3114 at electric & hybrid vehicle technology expo/The Battery Show October 7-10 in Detroit, MI.
