High-voltage connectors refer to connectors with AC voltages above 1000V or DC voltages above 1500V, mainly used in vehicles, charging facilities, industrial equipment, medical equipment, etc.
Electric vehicles have very strict requirements on connector performance. High insertion and removal times, current carrying capacity, CTI value, flame retardant performance and vibration resistance are the key factors that enterprises need to consider in product development, and the power demand of electric drive units for new energy vehicles is increasing. Higher requirements are placed on working current and voltage. The traditional connection voltage is around 14V, while the voltage of electric vehicle high-voltage connectors reaches 400-600V.
At the same time, the sealing performance of high-pressure connectors is generally required to be at least IP67, and even IP6K9K is required when selecting models in some special occasions of automobiles to ensure that they can meet the requirements even during high-pressure washing.
Since new energy vehicles use a lot of power electronic equipment, the electromagnetic field generated by high voltage and large current will cause electromagnetic interference to other communication equipment. The whole vehicle and its parts must have anti-interference and anti-radiation capabilities.
When designing a high-voltage electrical connection system, it is required that the connector has a 360° shield and is effectively connected to the cable shield, covering the entire length of the connector to ensure adequate shielding function and minimize the resistance between the shields at the interface . The shield connection contact resistance is less than 10mΩ during the lifetime.
Therefore, the high-voltage connectors of new energy vehicles need to use new materials that are resistant to high temperature and high pressure. At the same time, they are also higher than traditional automotive connectors in terms of sealing, shielding and waterproofing, and have higher requirements for flame retardancy and CTI value, so the cost is higher than that of general industrial connectors. At present, most of the high-voltage connectors on the market use high-performance PBT, PA, etc.