Eight extreme places you’ll find a connector

Here’s a list of the most unlikely places you might find a rugged connector:

On trains
To face extremes like temperature, moisture, dirt and vibration, rail applications require high-performance connectors. They are used for monitoring and are also needed to meet passenger demand for WiFi and onboard infotainment.

On planes
Connectors are needed in aviation for essential communications equipment. For this, they need to be able to stand up to vibration – lots of it – and also cope with freezing temperatures and moisture. They need to be as small and lightweight as possible to minimise the overall weight of the aircraft.

On automobiles
Rugged connectors can be found in any vehicle, from commercial trucks to off-road cars. Here, connectors need to be compact, resistant to corrosion, sealed and impervious to vibration.

On boats
On any sea-going vessel, connectors are a vital component of communications and GPS equipment. Aside from UV rays, temperature extremes and a high likelihood of getting wet, these connectors need to be seriously resistant to rust.

On oil and gas rigs
Connectors are used on rig monitoring and test equipment to ensure that everything is functioning correctly. These connectors need to be tough, resistant to moisture, salinity and corrosive chemicals.

On the plain
Farmers are turning to sensors and other electronic equipment to grow crops more effectively. This requires really tough connectors that can sit in muddy fields in puddles of water for days at a time, sometimes in baking hot sun or freezing cold conditions.

In space
Connectors are needed on spacecraft, rovers and satellites – but these are some of the toughest in existence. They have to be lightweight, EMI-shielded, radiation-hardened, able to operate in temperature extremes and highly reliable.

Under the sea
Connectors can be found in remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), which are used for geological surveys or inspecting/repairing oil and gas pipelines. Subsea connectors need a secure locking mechanism with environmental sealing and dynamic pressure balancing to allow uninterrupted operation at extreme depths. 

Courtesy of Bulgin.