By Steve Bush 24th November 2017
UK connector maker Harwin was had a stand at LuxLive for the first time this year, showing a product that it developed following conversations with potential customers at LuxLive last year.
Clip and Bar is a minimalist connector for electrically connecting led strips in assemblies.
The idea is, according to Harwin’s Robert Webber, who designed the connector, is that led strips using it can be screwed into an assembly, and then connected together at the last moment by pushing short conductive bars into the connector clips – and there is no need for the end-float space needed by connectors that butt end-on-end.
So it has the flexibility of soldered assembly, without picking up an iron. “People don’t like soldering in production,” said Webber.
The bar is not essential, he added, and the firm suggests 0.7mm copper wire if the connections needs to go around a corner (see photo), and is on the point of specifying a third-party insulated wire should insulation be required.
1A is the contact rating if the female part is not soldered down, rising to 3A on FR4 with a 30deg rise and up to 13A on metal-cored pcbs.
The total connector height is 1.1mm, so shadowing is unlikely, and the clip part is so narrow that it can often go alongside leds on a strip rather than sitting at the end and occupying space where an led could be.
There is a video showing how it all works, and read the comments below for some extra information from Harwin’s Robert Webber.
Tagged with: connector Harwin led lighting LuxLive news
Thanks to Robert Webber of Harwin for getting back so quickly and answering the questions. I will put the link to the video in the main text.
Hi Gary Interesting point, and one I feel embarrassed I failed to ask at the time. From what I saw, the connection was pretty firm, and copper wire isn’t that springy. On the other side of the coin, I surmise assembly takes a little more skill than with a connector with a shroud that guides correct connection.
People ask about how it is assembled. After a couple of goes and you’ve got the knack of it, it is very simple. Please see the start of this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ48ItLu878
If the PCBs are held in place (If they are adhesive backed), or in their housing (Normal for PCB lighting), it is very simple.
Also the bar as seen in the top photo of this article is nickel plated, that makes it hard. And in a flexible application (Say the housing is curved), we recommend using a piece of the wire, or a jacketed wire . I can pass you a part numbers of the wire if you contact me on rwebber@harwin.co.uk
All that bare wire looks like a recipe for shorts if it comes unclipped.
Thank you for your comment. If you are concerned about there being a large area of open wire, we have a jacketed wire part number available which can be used instead of the bare wire.
Please contact me on rwebber@harwin.co.uk and I’ll happily pass it to you.
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