Heavy Duty Waterproof Electrical Connectors
Waterproof connectors allow electrical devices to function in harsh environments where moisture can disrupt signals, corrode contacts, or damage equipment. These connectors form an extremely tight seal to prevent water ingress, making them perfect for marine electronics.
We stock a variety of heavy duty waterproof electrical connectors with different current ratings and shell sizes to accommodate many wire gauges. Common features include a bayonet lock with tactile mating confirmation and IP68/69K protection when mated.
Ingress Protection (IP) Ratings
In the context of heavy duty and harsh environment applications, electrical connectors must be able to withstand severe operating stresses. These stresses can include exposure to dirt and dust, extreme temperatures, shock and vibration, or water intrusion.
Connectors play a critical role in routing signals and power between modules and systems. To help ensure their safety, all devices that are exposed to harsh environments need to have an IP rating that indicates how much resistance they have to dust, water jets, and steam.
The IP rating system is based on a heavy duty waterproof electrical connectors two-digit number, with the first digit denoting how much protection the device has against solid particles and the second indicating how much water or dust the device can withstand. When choosing an electrical connector, it’s important to know the IP rating of the environment in which it will be used, as selecting a connector with the wrong IP rating could damage the internal components.
Heilind Electronics stocks TE Connectivity’s Miniature SlimSeal Connector Series, a compact, waterproof wire-to-board and wire-to-wire solution for harsh-environment applications that require space-saving solutions. These waterproof connectors have an IP67 rating and feature push-to-lock latches to prevent accidental unmating, tin-plated copper alloy contacts for reliability, preassembled rubber seals to reduce assembly time, and a choice of shell sizes, contact insert layouts, and cable gauges.
Corrosion Resistance
Waterproof connectors are designed to withstand wet environments by forming a tight seal to stop moisture from penetrating the connections themselves or the equipment enclosures onto which they’re attached. This feature is essential for applications where conductivity and potential corrosion are of concern, such as marine technology (boats, ships, or underwater scientific instruments), automotive parts assembly systems, industrial facilities, outdoor lighting, and more.
Corrosion is a common issue in wet environments, which can degrade the performance and reliability of electrical connectors over time. Waterproof connectors are built with anti-corrosion coatings and materials to prevent this degradation, ensuring they continue to function as designed for extended periods of time in challenging conditions.
Another benefit of waterproof connectors is their ability to withstand high temperatures, which can cause damage and short circuits in standard electrical connections. By using corrosion-resistant materials and sealing technologies, these connectors can withstand temperatures from freezing to boiling while maintaining their integrity and providing safe operation in harsh environments.
Some waterproof connectors feature a grommet-type seal that helps to protect the inner contact block of the receptacle from contaminants, dust, or water ingress when the connector is disconnected. This feature is ideal for applications where the connectors are constantly being connected and disconnected, such as in a mobile vehicle. This type of seal is usually factory-sealed with a high-quality material such as Viton (FKM) to ensure a reliable, long-lasting, and dependable seal.
Terminal Position Assurance (TPA)
Conventional crimp/snap connectors are prone to back-out issues, but newer heavy duty waterproof electrical connectors are available that offer more reliable terminal position assurance (TPA) features. TPA is designed to ensure that each of the connected terminals are fully seated in the housing to reduce back-out and improve quality control during assembly.
Many of these rugged connectors are used for outdoor lighting, digital signage, traffic signals, off-road and railway vehicles, stage lighting, and machine tools. They use pins crimped to stranded 22-24 AWG wire and feature a robust press-to-release spring latch, audible mating confirmation, polarizing ribs on the plug that prevent snagging and promote correct terminal positioning, lance-less phosphor bronze contacts with pre-tin plating to help reduce contact entanglement, and two locking mechanisms for enhanced mating security.
In contrast, prior art electrical connectors for vehicular applications are characterized by deflectable locking latches unitarily molded as part of the connector housing and disposed to extend into the terminal receiving cavities thereof. Upon complete insertion of the terminal, these latches are intended to be pushed toward a final locked position in order to engage a locking structure or window on each of the respective terminals to properly secure them in place.
TPA components in these connectors are indexed transversely to allow for the effective and efficient return of the latches to their un-deflected positions while preventing interfering with seals positioned at both forward and rearward ends of the front mating face and wire receiving faces of the terminal. This allows for the selective replacement of a defective terminal without risking separation of other terminals from the housing and it also permits waterproof connector manufacturer the TPA component to be removed in a pre-load condition without any interference with the primary locking latches on the terminal.
Durability
For industrial applications that are often in harsh environments, choosing the correct waterproof electrical connector is crucial. Incorrectly specified waterproof connectors can allow water to penetrate and disrupt critical signals or corrode connections, potentially crippling equipment performance. Having the right specifications when specifying a waterproof connector can help avoid this problem, with ratings that indicate both a protection level against dust and water submersion resistance.
Waterproof connectors create a seal by compressing a gasket or an o-ring, commonly made from rubber materials like silicone, against the surface of the mating connector or panel in which it mounts. This sealing process ensures that no moisture can enter the electrical connector or the system it’s used in, protecting against both dirt and powerful water jets. This is especially important in harsh environments, where dust and saltwater can disrupt signals or cause corrosion.
In addition to water resistance, heavy duty waterproof connectors also offer other protective features. Some come with terminal position assurance (TPA), which is an added clip on the back of the connector that prevents the wire from bending at the point where it attaches to the connector, leading to premature failure. Others feature extended housing, which offers additional strain relief by enclosing more of the connection and terminals.
With its ruggedness and ability to withstand harsh environmental conditions, heavy duty waterproof connectors are essential in industries such as manufacturing, marine technology, construction, transportation and data communication installations. In fact, these types of electrical connectors are the preferred choice for many applications that require a reliable waterproof connection, such as those in military and aerospace technologies.
