Harwin Unveils New Twisted & Shielded Cabling Solutions for Gecko Products

Portsmouth, UK, 3 November 2020 – To address safety and mission critical applications, where continued data integrity is of paramount importance, Harwin now offers additional cable assembly services for its popular Gecko series. Produced on-demand, these assemblies provide greater resilience against ambient electro-magnetic interference (EMI) and crosstalk from neighbouring wiring.

Engineers can now specify double-ended cables with either twisted pair wiring (different colours being applied to each to ease identification) or fully shielded mesh braidings (with metal backshells on the connectors). They are also able to benefit from cabling that has a combination of both of these mechanisms – to maximise protection, as well as enhance mechanical robustness via the sturdy housings used.

These new cable assemblies are available for Gecko-SL connectors which rely on jackscrew locking. Here female-to-female, male-to-female (featuring either standard or reverse-fix orientations on the male connector) and male-to-male (again with standard and reverse-fix orientation options) are all covered. Likewise, these assemblies can be offered with the female-to-female, male-to-female and male-to-male variants based on the latched-type Gecko. For maximum design flexibility, single-ended options in both male and female are also offered. These cables are twisted at the point of manufacture, so they will not unravel. This means that no additional clamp or tape needs to be attached on the free end. Lengths up to 10m can be specified.

Optimised for use in high-density electronics where there is little free space, the Gecko connectors present a compact and lightweight alternative to bulkier and heavier Micro-D units. They are being incorporated into a wide range of aerospace and defence systems, as well as proving of value in robotics, satellites, medical equipment and other applications. For quality assurance, these Harwin cable assemblies are subject to rigorous testing and inspection procedures prior to shipment.

“Thanks to these new cable assemblies, the space-saving principles that are core to our Gecko product portfolio are maintained, while also safeguarding against any potential threat of data disruption occurring,” states Ryan Smart, NPI Manager at Harwin.