Inside the LowR Contact System

Tribotek's LowR® Contact System combines a conventional pin with an innovative woven socket design in which gold plated copper wire conductors are woven with an engineered fiber. The engineered fiber is tensioned to provide the normal force between the socket and the mating pin. The free ends of copper conductors are terminated into a ferrule, and the engineered fibers are crimped into a mechanical spring. As the mating pin is then inserted into the socket, the fibers are tensioned to generate the required normal force. Appropriate terminations are available for all combinations of cable, PCB and bus bar applications. Mated pairs of contacts are available with capacities of 25 to 450 amps.

Tribotek LowR contact

The Fundamental Physics of Tribotek's Technology

Massively Parallel Points of Contacts
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Pure Copper Conductors = Superior Electrical Performance

Superior Current Density and Low Resistance

The small diameter (0.005") woven copper wires provide massively parallel points of contact. Optimal electrical resistance is further enhanced by using high conductivity copper wires and mating pins rather than conventional spring copper alloys. The parallel contact points and pure copper conductors combine to provide lower electrical resistance and higher current densities than are available from conventional connectors.

Current rating graph

Normal Force - Low Insertion Force - Low Contact Wear

The normal force is generated from tensioning engineered fibers with mechanical springs. The engineered fibers are selected for their superior tensile strength, high modulus, toughness, thermal tolerance and long-term stability. Typically Kevlar® fibers are used, but other engineered fibers may be substituted when special characteristics are required.

Cross section of the LowR contact

Research shows that good electrical resistance can be achieved with as little as 2.5 grams of normal force per point of contact. Contacts with this normal force also proved to be reliable in accelerated life testing that included exposure to mixed flowing gas (MFG) and thermal cycling.

Insertion force and contact wear are minimized at the low normal force, but the Tribotek Contact System maintains wipe across the mating surfaces to clear debris and to break oxide layers. The highly redundant contact surface assures electrical contact even in the presence of significant contamination from dirt and debris.

* Kevlar is a registered trademark of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company

High Tolerance for Vibration and Thermal Cycling

Vibration tolerance was demonstrated with a consistent resistance of 0.11 to 0.13 milli-Ohms recorded across the separable interface during 3 hours of vibration testing (3.1 G 'RMS'). No interruption of at least 1.0 microsecond was recorded during the test. Stable performance during thermal cycling was demonstrated with a consistent 0.5 to 0.6 milli-Ohms of resistance being recorded across the test circuit and separable interface through 500 1-hour cycles with 30 amps of current.

High Tolerance for Pin/Socket Misalignment

The connector maintains stable performance even with +/- 0.010" misalignment of pins. The connector designer can vary the number of loops in the weave, the height of the socket, and the height of the pin for applications that require more than +/-0.010" of mechanical compliance.

Applications

Tribotek's technology serves a broad range of applications in a variety of markets including:

  • Telecommunications
  • Data storage
  • Computer systems
  • Industrial
  • ATE-Military
  • Aerospace
  • Transportation
  • Medical

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