Abstract

Electrical connectors are mechanical devices that connect wires, cables, printed circuit boards, and electronic components to each other and to related equipment. Electronic connectors are designed primarily for low power signal applications as in telecommunications and computers. Another category is the utility and industrial connectors used in power distribution systems. Almost all connectors that join two or more conductors have an insulating body or dielectric, most usually made of a plastic, which separates the contact elements. Connectors are used to make permanent joints or to allow separation and remating of the conductors. Connectors are composed of contact substrates which are generally metallic, contact finishes, lubricants, and an insultating shell. Insulators are also employed for multicontact connectors. The reliability and testing procedures for electrical connectors, together with the thermal, chemical, and mechanical mechanisms of connector failure, are discussed.