New connector range offers size and robustness advantages to the military

The SnapTac range was originally designed for use in the Future Soldier programme, which aims to develop wearable electronic systems for communication, identification/recognition, and other tasks critical to military personnel. As a SnapTac products can satisfy even the most demanding of design requirements, offering quick and easy mating and unmating with hardware coding to avoid mis-matching, and IP67 sealing, both when mated and unmated.

Like all wearable electronics, the Future Soldier application also requires the compact size and reduced weight provided by the SnapTac range. The new connector family incorporates full line EMI shielding and uses Hypertac’s Hyperspring connector technology to ensure low contact resistance and hence excellent signal integrity.

SnapTac connectors also provide for high robustness throughout their lifetime. They provide an inherent self-cleaning wiping action, eliminating the need for a protection cap, while the nature of the electrical contacts also substantially reduces contact fretting for increased reliability.

Available in both circular (seven-, 13-, or 19-way) and rectangular (12- and 21-way) form factors, SnapTac connectors combine a Hypertac socket placed between the barrel and the plunger of a common spring-loaded contact. This means that separate structures provide the physical spring action and the electrical conduction function, allowing Hypertac to employ two different materials to optimise the physical and electrical performance of the connector. In particular this reduces ohmic losses and eliminates the inductive effects that can be caused by the coiled topology of a spring contact.