Smiths Interconnect’s Hypertac hyperboloid contacts now available for off-the-shelf sale

Hypertac hyperboloid contacts provide a stable and durable connection in applications within challenging conditions where reliability and safety are critical. 

The HYPER Series catalogue offers 53 hyperboloid contacts in 14 different pin dimensions, from 0.4mm diameter for signal contacts to 6.12mm for high currents, with different termination types (crimp, solder cup, straight, open both ends and closed end) and platings.

“Thanks to the new HYPER Series catalogue we offer the
sale of the original hyperboloid contacts as loose or spare parts to allow our customers to benefit from the unique features of our technology,” said Giuseppe Lancella, Commercial Director of the Connectors Business Unit at Smiths Interconnect.

“The catalogue includes some representative types of sockets & pins that we design, test and produce as part of our core business and that have the appropriate characteristics to be sold as loose parts
to support our customers’ developments”.

The unique topology of the original Hypertac contact technology uses a set of contact wires aligned hyperbolically to the axis of the inserted pins, forming a sleeve around the contact and providing a large, 360° contact surface. Hyperboloid contacts are extremely resilient under rough environmental conditions and combine low insertion and extraction force to provide a high number of mating cycles.

The contact itself is enclosed in
a housing that can be PCB-mounted, D-shape, rectangular, rack-and-panel, circular, or customer-defined, thanks to Smiths Interconnect’s experience in designing and manufacturing all the connector parts, from the insulator to metallic frames, grommets and any kind of docking system and cable clamp.

The Hypertac hyperboloid contact displays ideal performance in terms of:

• High resistance to shock, vibration and fretting
• Low insertion and extraction forces
• Long contact life 
• Uniform
electrical and mechanical characteristics over a high number of mating operations (up to 100,000)
• High current rating 

The HYPER Series contacts are tested to ensure the following commercial benefits:

• Low cost of ownership – do not need replacement during equipment life
• Reduced system costs – equipment design is less critical
• Reduced qualification costs – no re-testing due to contact failures
• High-density interconnect systems – when using a large number of contacts the design doesn’t require additional hardware to overcome mating and un-mating forces.