Connector makers look for material alternatives

Using lower cost materials is one way connector makers are dealing with higher metals costs

By Gina Roos -- Purchasing, 8/13/2008 11:56:00 AM

To help mitigate rising raw material costs, many top connector makers are looking at alternative materials. Some customers are looking at plating alternatives such as palladium-nickel with a gold flash, while others have opted to replace gold with silver, or moved to thinner gold plating.

"A lot of customers have never been more open to initiatives like replacing gold with silver,” says Pete Krehbiel, president, connector products division, Molex Inc. in Lisle, Ill. “It was historically a European automotive-only niche and now it's moving into other industry segments and product lines."

Krehbiel says the performance of silver is on par with gold, though tarnishing was an issue customers are becoming more comfortable with. "Tarnishing is a cosmetic issue not a performance issue," he says.

There is also more innovation in the area of thinner gold plating with enhanced lubricant packages. "The thinner the gold get the more porosity becomes an issue,” he says. With various lubricants you pass a lot of the environment tests with ever thinner plating to reduce precious metal consumption."

On the resin side, there is very little opportunity for change in materials. Instead, suppliers focus on process improvements. "The two things everyone focuses on is driving down scrap and cycle time and increasing the use of regrind, but we only generate a certain amount of regrind," says Krehbiel.

Also see: Brace for an increase in connector prices