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Smart Hub Connectors

The development of smart hubs is being significantly influenced by three key trends: the push for miniaturization, the growing demand for enhanced connectivity, and the focus on energy efficiency alongside user safety. These trends present several challenges for electrical design engineers, including the need to maintain signal integrity, ensure robust power management and integrate an ever-growing range of functionalities that demand connectivity in increasingly compact devices. Molex offers advanced connectivity solutions tailored to meet these challenges head-on.

Connecting Possibilities: Molex Solutions for Advanced Smart Hub Design

The evolution of smart hubs challenges electrical design engineers to miniaturize components while ensuring seamless connectivity. The rising demand for energy-efficient and safe devices requires connectors with low resistance and effective heat dissipation, ensuring long-term device reliability and user safety, especially in power management. As smart hubs become central to connected home ecosystems, maintaining signal integrity and high data rates is vital. Connectors must protect against EMI/RFI and support advanced wireless technologies like 5G.

Connectors that enhance connectivity points and design flexibility are essential for high-performance, compact devices. To ensure device reliability and safety, products must provide effective EMI/RFI shielding and facilitate thermal management. Customizable solutions that comply with global safety standards are vital for creating competitive smart hubs.

Molex offers power management connectors with Glow Wire compliance and advanced heat dissipation features, addressing the demands for user safety and thermal management. With higher density and design flexibility, Molex's connectors for processing units help engineers add more connectivity points to compact designs, enhancing smart hub processing power and functionality. Molex's RF connectors, including the 5G mmWave RF Flex-to-Board solutions, ensure robust signal integrity and cutting-edge wireless connectivity. Camera, audio and sensor connectors offer clarity and reliability in compact spaces, while user interface connectors enable fast, responsive controls for improved user experience. These advanced connector technologies enable engineers to enhance smart hub design, meeting modern demands with reliability and innovation.

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Power Connectors for Smart Hubs

The trend towards more compact smart hubs presents electrical design engineers with the challenge of ensuring user safety and effective thermal management. To meet these demands, power connectors must support higher current ratings, wider temperature ranges and compliance with safety standards like Glow Wire. Molex connectors assist design engineers in achieving safe and reliable performance through features such as terminal position assurance and Glow Wire compliance.

Charging Connectors 

  Configuration Current (Max.) Voltage
Micro-USB Connectors Wire-to-board 1.0A (signal), 1.8A (power) 30V
USB Type-C Connectors Wire-to-board 6.0A 30V

Battery Connectors 

  Configuration Current  (Max.) Voltage

Pico-EZmate Connectors

Wire-to-board

2.8A

250V

Mini-Lock Connectors

Wire-to-board, Wire-to-wire

3.5A

250V

Nano-Fit Connectors

 Wire-to-board, Wire-to-wire 8.0A

250V

Nano-Fit Off-the-Shelf (OTS) Cable Assemblies

Ensuring the reliability of power connectors presents a major challenge in the development of smart hubs. Nano-Fit Off-The-Shelf Cables are pre-assembled with dual-ended large gauge wires, streamlining engineering and purchasing processes. They feature reliable automated crimping for secure connections, making them ideal for applications from prototyping to mass production.

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Main Board Connectors for Smart Hubs

The incorporation of additional technology in smart hubs requires denser connectivity points and demands connectors that facilitate design flexibility. Molex connectors offer a versatile range of circuit sizes, stacking heights and configurations, with Nano-Fit delivering up to 69% PCB space savings and allowing designers to fit more connectivity into smaller areas.

  Configuration Pitch Circuits Current (Max.)
SlimStack Connectors

Board-to-board

0.35 to 1.25mm

6 to 240

18.0A
Nano-Fit Connectors Wire-to-board, Wire-to-wire

2.50mm

2 to 8 (single row), 4 to 16 (dual row)

8.0A
SL Connectors

Wire-to-board, Wire-to-wire

2.54mm

2 to 25

3.0A

Wireless Connectors for Smart Hubs

RF connectors used in smart hubs need to maintain signal integrity, which requires reliable high-speed signal transmission and robust EMI shielding to avoid interference. Molex RF connectors provide robust EMI shielding, reliable mating and flexible pin assignments for power and high-speed signals, ensuring design flexibility and signal integrity in even the most demanding environments.

  Configuration Pitch Intermediate
5G mmWave RF Flex-to-Board Connectors 2 to 4 (Signal), 4 to 6 (Ground), 4 to 0 (Power) 0.35mm 15 GHz, 25 GHz

Camera, Audio and Sensor Connectors for Smart Hubs

The challenge for design engineers using camera, audio and sensor connectors in smart hubs is to ensure visual and sound clarity. This demands reliable connectors from assembly to end-user, particularly in compact spaces where maintaining consistent performance is often challenging. Featuring interior armor and insert-molded power nails, Molex connectors protect pins from damage during high-volume manufacturing. Combined with wide alignment and robust mating structures, these solutions facilitate secure connections, prevent housing damage during blind mating and support high-power delivery, ensuring electrical reliability and design flexibility.

  Configuration Pitch Circuits Current (Max.)
Quad-Row Connectors Board-to-board 0.175mm 20, 32, 36, 64 0.3A
SlimStack Connectors Board-to-board 0.35 to 1.25mm 6 to 240 18.0A
  Configuration Pitch Circuits Actuator Style
FFC/FPC Connectors

Wire-to-board

0.20 to 2.00mm

2 to 120

Front flip, back flip, non-ZIF, slider, flexi-latch, one-touch
Premo-Flex Flat-Flexible Cable

Cable

0.25 to 2.54mm

3 to 120

  

User Interface and Display Connectors for Smart Hubs

Smart hub user interfaces and displays must deliver high-speed, responsive controls. This calls for designers to select durable connectors that enable fast data transfer and reliable user interaction over the life of the device. Built for strength and reliability, Molex connectors feature a vertical, positive locking-latch mechanism with an audible click upon mating that guarantees secure connections. This helps to ensure a responsive and intuitive user interface throughout the life of the smart hub.

  Configuration Pitch Circuits Current (Max.)
Quad-Row Connectors Board-to-board 0.175mm 20, 32, 36, 64 0.3A
FFC/FPC Connectors Wire-to-board 0.20 to 2.00mm 2 to 120 2.0A