Rebranded Amphenol FCI forges stronger ties with RS

RS Components (RS), the trading brand of Electrocomponents plc , the global distributor for engineers, has added more than 600 Amphenol FCI connector and cable assembly product lines to its portfolio. The additions expand the RS AFCI offering to over 1700 lines, including backplane and mezzanine connectors, power connectors, power supply accessories, board-to-board and wire-to-board connectors, I/O connectors, optical interconnect, cable assemblies, terminal blocks and flexible printed circuit (FPC) connectors.

The move follows the acquisition of leading connector and cable assembly manufacturer FCI by Amphenol in June 2016, with the merged operation subsequently rebranded as Amphenol FCI, or AFCI. The acquisition has served to strengthen AFCI’s position as an international supplier to the telecommunications, data communications, data storage, server, consumer electronics, industrial, automotive and medical equipment, instrumentation and renewable energy markets.

A notable AFCI product addition is the Rotaconnect range of rotatable board-to-board SMT connectors, including new-to-market pegged versions designed to simplify placement. AFCI Rotaconnect can be used to make perpendicular, coplanar and angled connections. A hermaphroditic “mates to itself” design allows mating and disengaging at any angle between +90° and –60°, so the connectors can be placed anywhere on a PCB.

Typical Rotaconnect applications include control boards, sensors, actuators, rigid LED strips, automotive lighting, channel lettering and lighting luminaires.

The newest Rotaconnect product lines add locating pegs to eliminate hold-down, simplifying placement and helping electronic design engineers save space between PCB connectors. RS is now stocking the most popular AFCI products, including the new pegged Rotaconnect range.