How long does a connector really last?

The service life of connectors is the primary indicator to measure the reliability of connector performance. As people's requirements for trouble-free working performance of electronic products continue to increase, increasing the service life in connector design has become a design orientation. In addition, the intensification of market competition also requires designers to find suitable materials in non-expensive alloys to reduce the cost of connectors. In many cases, the combined result of these trends brings the operating characteristics of the copper alloy of the connector closer to its performance limit. Initial contact force is an important factor in connector design and material properties. Since elastic deformation is converted into plastic deformation in contact pieces, stress release leads to a reduction in contact force. If the contact force falls below a certain critical level, the contact will suffer a functional failure. Therefore, predicting stress relief as a time-and temperature-dependent function naturally becomes a critical factor in ensuring connector reliability. Below, Huichengyuan Electronics will introduce in detail the issues related to stress relief testing to predict the service life of connectors.

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Stress relief data is an effective tool for designers to predict the service life of electronic connectors, and enable them to make decisions on the selection of contact materials based on existing data. These data are now widely used in the computer, communications, and automotive electronics industries. At present, the data about the life cycle of products is very scarce, especially in the computer field. Not only that, but it is also a more useful data to shorten the product development cycle and shelf life. Most connector designers use stress relief data mainly to narrow the selection of contact materials according to application requirements. However, many designers are also looking for appropriate test methods to more accurately predict the characteristics of connector service life. This can greatly reduce the number of samples required for the test and the associated cost of testing multiple samples. At present, most automotive connectors in harsh environments and hoods adopt the design technical requirements of Grade 3 or 1; The operating temperature of next-generation automotive connectors is expected to increase to. It's just that most non-automotive connectors don't seem to need to maintain their stability under the above conditions. However, high-density connectors require a lower initial insertion force, which in turn reduces the amount of stress relief. This makes stress relief an important characteristic even at lower temperatures. The standard measurement time required for test data related to a particular application is generally difficult to accurately determine. At the desired operating temperature, the test time between 1000h and 3000h can be used to evaluate the characteristic data of automotive electronic products. There are indications that people have paid more and more attention to the characteristic data beyond 3000 hours, that is, 3000 ~ 5000 hours (equivalent to a service life of 150000 miles). The calculation of test data (without taking into account the change of slope) may lead to an overestimation of the contact life, and the overestimation will increase accordingly with the extension of time. Semi-logarithmic graphical representation of data at a particular temperature is currently the most widely used, and its need is the most urgent. This is also the easiest way to compare various materials for a particular application. However, it should be emphasized that the calculated data should be carefully examined, and attention should be paid to the possibility of overestimation of the final life span. In the stress relief test, the following conclusions are drawn: (1) The factors that promote the working performance of the connector to the limit of alloy performance may continue to exist. This shows that accurate prediction of stress relief is the key to connector design. (2) When stress is used as a correlation function of test time, it is often found that the slope changes. Therefore, the test time should be appropriately longer to acquire this feature. (3) When there is a certain correlation between the measured data and the temperature, it is very useful to linearly generalize the existing data to a longer test time. In addition to the disadvantages, when the test time exceeds the specification, sometimes the slope turns occur, and its performance cannot be predicted at other temperatures. (4) In a single illustration, the Larsen-Miller parameter is very useful when plotting data at various temperatures. This method is also extremely useful in predicting the performance of materials between the two temperatures of completed and expected short-term tests, and thus simulating the long-term performance of materials. However, if this test temperature range is exceeded, it cannot be used to extrapolate. (5) The two methods can be combined to recheck the estimated value. (6) The rolling of copper strip can simulate the manufacturing of connectors, and its role is opposite to that of C7025 and C17410. (7) The data obtained from the strip has certain limitations. Since the bending is done during the connector manufacturing process, it does not reflect any negative effects.

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