Lane Electronics, a leading supplier of electrical, electronic and optical connectivity solutions, has entered into a new franchised distribution partnership with New York-based IEH Corporation. Under the agreement, Lane Electronics will distribute IEH’s wide portfolio of connector and contact products across the UK, Ireland and Poland.
IEH is recognised for its hyperboloid connector technology, which combines precision engineering with high reliability and long service life. The hyperboloid socket uses a sleeve of flexible wires arranged in a hyperbolic spring pattern. As a mating pin enters the socket, the wires elastically deflect around the pin to create multiple continuous contact points.
This design provides consistently low contact resistance and low insertion and withdrawal forces, while maintaining reliable electrical performance under demanding shock and vibration conditions up to 300G. IEH hyperboloid contacts are designed to provide more than 100,000 mating cycles, offering an extended service life compared with conventional contact technologies.
The standard IEH connector portfolio covers contact counts from 10 to 650, with contact pitches of 0.100, 0.075 and 0.050 inches. A wide choice of termination options is available, including crimp, flex cable, DIP solder, surface mount, wire wrap and solder cup configurations.
Hyperboloid contacts are also available separately for incorporation into OEM connector designs. In addition to providing low contact resistance and high current-carrying capability, the technology can offer increased durability and reliability in applications where repeated mating, vibration and demanding environmental conditions are key considerations.
IEH offers thousands of connector and contact configurations, including products compatible with Mil-Spec contact requirements. Applications span semiconductor test equipment, PGA applications, medical equipment, military and aerospace systems, as well as commercial and industrial equipment.
Nick Wheeler, Sales Director of Lane Electronics, said: “This agreement representsan important opportunity for Lane Electronics and our customers. IEH’s extensive range of high-reliability connector and contact technologies strengthens our ability to support both established and emerging applications across aerospace, defence, space and other reliability-critical markets, including motorsport, medical and high-end test equipment.”
A number of IEH products also provide competitively priced alternatives and potential drop-in replacements for products from established connector manufacturers, providing designers with additional sourcing options where supply availability, cost or lifecycle considerations are important.
Lane Electronics will be able to support the IEH range with locally held stock, providing customers with greater flexibility of supply and enhanced support for ongoing programmes and projects.
The addition of IEH further strengthens Lane Electronics’ portfolio of high-reliability interconnect solutions. Supported by established quality, reliability and traceability procedures, Lane Electronics provides next-day delivery on more than 90% of its standard products.
For non-standard requirements, Lane Electronics can also provide rapid in-house development, assembly and testing of specialist military, industrial and motorsport circular connector solutions. This engineering capability enables customer-specific requirements to be addressed with lead times that can be significantly shorter than those associated with conventional connector supply channels.
