In the year 2015, for the new development of the HAMILTON‑C6, Hamilton Medical was looking for a robust and cost-optimized
solution for connecting two components – or more precisely, for connecting the ventilation unit with the
interaction panel (power consumption approx. 55 W) and the data connection (Ethernet with 100 MBit/s).
To
guarantee the customer a choice of different cable lengths of up to 10 metres, the solution had to be pluggable
on both sides of the unit.
The challenge inside of the unit was to develop a connection between the sockets, which had to be mechanically
fixed to the housing, and the PCB that could transmit the high currents of the power supply and also have good
signal transmission properties for the Ethernet signal.
In addition, all external components should be resistant
to the cleaning substances commonly used in the clinical environment and all connectors should be leak-proof
between the contact area and the internal connection area when unplugged.
Solution with Y-Circ P
connector components
In addition to a hybrid pin layout, a rear sealing in the connection area and overmoulded bend protection on the
cable, Yamaichi created a customized housing for the device socket. In addition, there was the competence to
develop and supply a customized Rigid-Flex Board for the internal connections (device socket to PCB) for power
supply and high-speed data. Yamaichi also took responsibility for maintaining the specifications of the complete
interconnect solution from the PCB in the Ventilation Unit to the PCB in the Interaction Panel.
Yamaichi defined
the required tests, created the necessary test adapters and tested the connection – both for signal integrity of
the Ethernet connection and for power drop and heating at full load during operation.
The HAMILTON-C6 and thus the connection solution from Yamaichi is used today in intensive care units around the
world to ventilate critically ill patients.
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Whitepaper: Success Story
