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Zonal Architecture

The Zonal Gateway: Expanding Vehicle Electronics

Zonal gateway designers require reliable and durable solutions that deliver the bandwidth and speed needed to pave the way for lighter, more efficient vehicles. Molex leads the revolution towards zonal architecture with rugged, automotive-quality connectors for power, signal and data.

Designing Zonal Gateway Connections

Molex helps automotive designers fulfill the new hardware requirements of zonal gateway design. Unlike domain-based vehicle architectures where each electronic control unit (ECU) is dedicated to a specific function like powertrain, chassis or infotainment, zonal layouts demand more versatility of each gateway to act as a control unit tasked with managing a variety of systems close to its location.  

Decades of design, engineering and manufacturing collaboration with automakers have resulted in best practices for rugged, long-lasting vehicle interconnects, equipped with precision terminals and mating mechanisms that are easy to assemble and maintain.

Zonal architectures support many advances in modularity and performance for high-speed data processing now required for automotive applications. These important innovations can alleviate spatial constraints for zonal gateway designers and provide the data speeds needed for real-time monitoring and control. 

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Featured Products

Inside the Zonal Gateway Connectors

Molex offers a range of connectivity solutions to enable high-performance inside-the-box functionality for zonal gateways. Wire-to-board and board-to-board interconnects support high-speed data transmission up to 224 Gbps, meet miniaturization requirements, and deliver rugged and reliable performance to enable the next generation of vehicle electronics architecture.

  Stack Height Circuits Wire-to-Board Board-to-Board
FFC/FPC Connectors   2 to 120 X  
Mirror Mezz Connectors 5.00, 8.00, 11.00mm Up to 270   X
SlimStack Connectors 0.60 to 16.00mm 6 to 240   X

Flexible Printed Circuits

Flexible Printed Circuits (FPCs) offer enhanced flexibility and simplified routing to ensure seamless connectivity and performance across all regions of the Zonal Gateway.

Explore Flexible Printed Circuits

Outside the Zonal Gateway Connectors

This comprehensive portfolio of connectors allows designers to extend signal, power and data from zonal gateways to a wide range of automotive subsystems. These rugged, automotive-ready solutions meet demanding standards for vibration and temperature performance and support the transition to 48V wiring architecture.

  Terminal Size Circuits Sealed Wire-to-Board Wire-to-Wire
ConnTAK50 Connectors 0.50mm 2 to 22    X  
DuraClik Connectors 2.00mm 2 to 15   X  
Mini50 Connectors 0.50, 1.20mm 2 to 38 X X X
MX123 Connectors 0.64, 2.80mm 49 to 80 X X  
MX150 Connectors 1.50mm 2 to 26 X X X
MX-DaSH Connectors 0.50, 0.64, 1.20, 2.80, 4.80mm Multiple, modular, hybrid X X X
Stac64 Connectors 0.64, 1.50, 2.80mm 8 to 80   X  
stAK50h Connectors 0.50, 1.20, 2.80, 6.30mm 12 to 56   X  

High-Speed Zonal Gateway Connectors

Molex high-speed connectivity technologies support signal, power and high-speed data transmission to help reduce wire harness complexity and improve integration time for applications such as infotainment, telematics and automotive zonal architecture. These interconnect solutions meet automotive standards for reliable performance in harsh environments.

  Cable Type Circuits or Ports Sealed Wire-to-Board Wire-to-Wire
High-Speed FAKRA Mini (HFM) Coaxial Cable Coax Single, dual, quad, custom ports X X X
HSAutoLink Connectors Twisted Pair 6 to 14 circuits X X  


 

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Webinar

Micro-Rugged Optimization for Vehicle Design

A crucial part of maximizing the weight, space and cost benefits of zonal architecture is component miniaturization. The challenge is ensuring rugged reliability and exceptional performance in a smaller form factor. In this on-demand webinar, learn how to optimize space both inside and outside the box by selecting the right connectivity solutions for automotive applications.

View On-Demand Webinar