element14 Community
element14 Community
    Register Log In
  • Site
  • Search
  • Log In Register
  • Community Hub
    Community Hub
    • What's New on element14
    • Feedback and Support
    • Benefits of Membership
    • Personal Blogs
    • Members Area
    • Achievement Levels
  • Learn
    Learn
    • Ask an Expert
    • eBooks
    • element14 presents
    • Learning Center
    • Tech Spotlight
    • STEM Academy
    • Webinars, Training and Events
    • Learning Groups
  • Technologies
    Technologies
    • 3D Printing
    • FPGA
    • Industrial Automation
    • Internet of Things
    • Power & Energy
    • Sensors
    • Technology Groups
  • Challenges & Projects
    Challenges & Projects
    • Design Challenges
    • element14 presents Projects
    • Project14
    • Arduino Projects
    • Raspberry Pi Projects
    • Project Groups
  • Products
    Products
    • Arduino
    • Avnet Boards Community
    • Dev Tools
    • Manufacturers
    • Multicomp Pro
    • Product Groups
    • Raspberry Pi
    • RoadTests & Reviews
  • Store
    Store
    • Visit Your Store
    • Choose another store...
      • Europe
      •  Austria (German)
      •  Belgium (Dutch, French)
      •  Bulgaria (Bulgarian)
      •  Czech Republic (Czech)
      •  Denmark (Danish)
      •  Estonia (Estonian)
      •  Finland (Finnish)
      •  France (French)
      •  Germany (German)
      •  Hungary (Hungarian)
      •  Ireland
      •  Israel
      •  Italy (Italian)
      •  Latvia (Latvian)
      •  
      •  Lithuania (Lithuanian)
      •  Netherlands (Dutch)
      •  Norway (Norwegian)
      •  Poland (Polish)
      •  Portugal (Portuguese)
      •  Romania (Romanian)
      •  Russia (Russian)
      •  Slovakia (Slovak)
      •  Slovenia (Slovenian)
      •  Spain (Spanish)
      •  Sweden (Swedish)
      •  Switzerland(German, French)
      •  Turkey (Turkish)
      •  United Kingdom
      • Asia Pacific
      •  Australia
      •  China
      •  Hong Kong
      •  India
      •  Korea (Korean)
      •  Malaysia
      •  New Zealand
      •  Philippines
      •  Singapore
      •  Taiwan
      •  Thailand (Thai)
      • Americas
      •  Brazil (Portuguese)
      •  Canada
      •  Mexico (Spanish)
      •  United States
      Can't find the country/region you're looking for? Visit our export site or find a local distributor.
  • Translate
  • Profile
  • Settings
RoadTests & Reviews
  • Products
  • More
RoadTests & Reviews
RoadTest Forum What Do You Think About This Product: Coeur CST High-Current Interconnect System
  • Blog
  • RoadTest Forum
  • Documents
  • RoadTests
  • Reviews
  • Polls
  • Files
  • Members
  • Mentions
  • Sub-Groups
  • Tags
  • More
  • Cancel
  • New
Join RoadTests & Reviews to participate - click to join for free!
Actions
  • Share
  • More
  • Cancel
Forum Thread Details
  • Replies 17 replies
  • Subscribers 2475 subscribers
  • Views 1928 views
  • Users 0 members are here
  • scasny
Related

What Do You Think About This Product: Coeur CST High-Current Interconnect System

rscasny
rscasny over 6 years ago

I often don't think about connectors and connection system reliability. I like many people assume a connector from a quality company works reliably to connect wire-to-board and board-to-board applications. But what happens when there are is a misalignment between the two members that are being interconnected? Contact stresses can occur. Stresses can impede ideal contact/pin mating and in some situations increase contact resistance. When currents run higher and higher, in the hundreds of amps, undesirable thermal conditions can occur.image

 

So, when I was introduced to this connection system -- Coeur CST High-Current Interconnect System -- which provides a degree of float to accommodate any misalignment, I found it interesting and wanted to share it with the rest of you.

 

The Coeur CST High-Current Interconnect System provides up to 1.0mm of float due to its wave spring float mechanism so entire core socket assembly moves within the float housing.I am told that it doesn't add stress on contacts in float position and it offers low mating forces. There's also no risk of resistance increase due to high contact beam deflection.image

 

It's rated between 30.0 and 200.0A connects PCBs, bus bars and cable. It's used in data centers, PDUs, electric vehicles. When I saw them, I thought they could be used in any number of power converter types, load center terminations, battery banks, and more.

 

I'm not sure how they could be roadtested, but I could get some sample kits if someone has a decent way to test them. I've been told they've gone through rigorous testing already. But maybe a roadtest could be fashioned more along the lines of experimenting and observing its floating mechanism. If you have any ideas, leave a comment.

 

Randall Scasny

RoadTest Program Manager

  • Sign in to reply
  • Cancel

Top Replies

  • shabaz
    shabaz over 6 years ago +6
    Interesting item. From speaking in the past to an engineer working on high-power connections in computer server modules (like disk drive caddys etc) where there is a connector with hundreds of low-power…
  • 14rhb
    14rhb over 6 years ago +5
    Looks like a useful product to know about at least; I could see it being popular in robotics, R/C vehicles or car-audio:- where they strive for compact designs, currents can be high and the ability to…
  • dougw
    dougw over 6 years ago +5
    Nice looking connectors. I could have used these when I was building a large autonomous vehicle robot that had a 2 KW inverter running off a large 12V power system (>150A). We used heavy welding cables…
  • 14rhb
    14rhb over 6 years ago

    Looks like a useful product to know about at least; I could see it being popular in robotics, R/C vehicles or car-audio:- where they strive for compact designs, currents can be high and the ability to easily swap parts would be beneficial. This Coeur system reminds me of OSP/OSSP RF connectors in their usefulness for producing neat solutions.

     

    From a testing point of view a lead-acid car battery could be utilised to generate the required currents but some thought would be needed in the load selection/cooling of that load. Roadtesters would also likely need a clamp-current meter. <Safety Hat On>: the use of limiting fuses if using a car battery and eye protection against molten metal would seem appropriate as well !

     

    Rod

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up +5 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • shabaz
    shabaz over 6 years ago

    Interesting item. From speaking in the past to an engineer working on high-power connections in computer server modules (like disk drive caddys etc) where there is a connector with hundreds of low-power pins, but several large high-current pins) they called it 'gatherability', where the connector would be able to align, even if there was an offset initially. It's important for servers etc because the people rapidly push and swap the cards, and so coarse and fine gatherability is needed in the connection method (coarse getting it roughly aligned as the connectors begin to approach each other, and fine gatherability as the connectors mate).

    This particular contact is press-fit, which makes it versatile I think.. the documentation mentions it can be press-fitted into a PCB, or metal bus-bars. One could even make custom battery packs in this way, with nice high-power connectors. Roadtesters would need some drilling experience, or PCB creating experience, and at least a vice/vise, if not a small arbor press. As Rod says, it could also have uses for R/C, high-power car audio (the amount of junk fuse-holders out there is ridiculous.. one could design a much nicer holder with these connectors).

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up +6 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • dougw
    dougw over 6 years ago

    Nice looking connectors.

    I could have used these when I was building a large autonomous vehicle robot that had a 2 KW inverter running off a large 12V power system (>150A). We used heavy welding cables. That was just for instrumentation - the drive train was a hybrid gasoline-hydraulic system.

    Another application I had that could have used them was a high output water electrolysis system generating H-O gas. That one was only 1.5 KW (~100A) but it was also mobile.

    I am not working on these at the moment, but still have a couple of beefy power supplies.

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up +5 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • ralphjy
    ralphjy over 6 years ago

    Looks like an interesting and useful product.  There isn't a difference in the durability spec for float and non-float (200 mating cycles).  I would have expected the wave contacts to have a longer life with less deflection but I guess the life must be determined by the loss of plating.  I'm surprised that there is not a contact resistance spec (initial to over max cycles).  This might be a hard item to roadtest unless there are pre-assembled evaluation modules and/or busbars.

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up +4 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • three-phase
    three-phase over 6 years ago

    They look like smaller versions of the tulip connectors we use on rackable switchgear.

     

    image

     

    They come in a variety of different styles but are made to allow the switchgear contacts to align with the live busbars and outgoing bushings as the breaker is moved into its service position. They also maintain the correct contact pressure to prevent heat being generated from increased resistance.

     

    An injection test set is the controlled way to push current through contacts and then measure the voltage drop across them to calculate the resistance. Thermography is also useful for monitoring the temperature rise as current is increased.

     

    Kind regards.

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up +5 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • michaelkellett
    michaelkellett over 6 years ago

    They are interesting but the current rating (and size) is a bit big for most of my work.

     

    If you don't get a better offer I would be interested in using a few of the double pin/socket carriers to make up plug and socketry for the electric outboard motor on my rowing boat.

     

    (The goal is to have two batteries easily removable for charging and towing (batteries shouldn't stay in the boat when towing).

     

    And I could provide comments on how I got on and pictures etc.

     

    MK

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up +4 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • waelect
    waelect over 6 years ago

    This was a product i was looking for for a test jig at work. I would be very interested in the performance in relation to low frequency RF for the test jig. The concept was to place a dual polarised LNA connected to a 4 port Vector Network Analyser. The issue I had with the current test jig was slow to connect and required a lot of fidgeting to get good analysis. I have improved the design although this connector could allow for speedier connection.

     

    This was a refinment into making testing more efficient compared to my current practices. Unfortunately, although I designed a test jig board without these connections I was unable to perform a time/cost analysis for the test. Still, like most things It would stay in my mind fo rthe next application.

     

    Malcolm

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up +3 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • rscasny
    rscasny over 6 years ago

    Hi All,

     

    I was just informed that my boss has requested 3 sample kits for me to give to anyone who is interested. I'm not sure exactly what sizes or components are in the kit, though. If you are interested in getting a kit and giving some feedback, message me or leave a comment. If you were working on something that you think might benefit from this kind of component, mention that. If you get the kit and in the end you need a different size, I'll try to get it to you.

     

    Randall

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up +2 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • Jan Cumps
    Jan Cumps over 6 years ago in reply to rscasny

    I have pinged element14 member and friend Martin, who (amongst other duties) works for a Peruvian mining company. They use high (very high) current designs for electrolyse.

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up +3 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
  • three-phase
    three-phase over 6 years ago in reply to rscasny

    If you struggle to get testers, then I will be happy to help out. I can easily test up to 100A AC or DC and can test with a 10A micro ohmmeter as well. For an application, I could modify my current amplifier and use the connectors to provide the connection between the coil and the amplifier.

     

    Kind regards.

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up +1 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Cancel
>
element14 Community

element14 is the first online community specifically for engineers. Connect with your peers and get expert answers to your questions.

  • Members
  • Learn
  • Technologies
  • Challenges & Projects
  • Products
  • Store
  • About Us
  • Feedback & Support
  • FAQs
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Legal and Copyright Notices
  • Sitemap
  • Cookies

An Avnet Company © 2025 Premier Farnell Limited. All Rights Reserved.

Premier Farnell Ltd, registered in England and Wales (no 00876412), registered office: Farnell House, Forge Lane, Leeds LS12 2NE.

ICP 备案号 10220084.

Follow element14

  • X
  • Facebook
  • linkedin
  • YouTube