The new NACS connector is here!
After two years of development, the time has finally come and the new NACS connector is now available on the market. It is available in three different versions: 300 A, 400 A and 800 A. Not only has the connector been given a new, modern design, but a newly developed cooling concept has also exceeded expectations regarding charging capacity. However, the journey to this point presented a number of challenges, such as a highly restrictive connector standard regarding connector dimensions, which made it very tricky to maintain minimum clearances for creepage distances. Furthermore, the contact geometry is virtually dictated by standards and leaves no scope for, say, additional reinforcements, which makes the choice of materials all the more important. Passing the demanding drop tests after 6 hours in a freezer was no easy feat and ultimately required a few iterations.
The combined support from product design, engineering, prototyping and project management – from initial concept right through to series production – once again demonstrates our strengths in cross-departmental development projects.
Just like a small child, you feel a sense of joy when a product you’ve poured your heart and soul into is launched. That is certainly the case here. The entire range of connectors was already unveiled to the public at the EXA trade fair in Australia, but now at least the NACS connector is on sale. Its counterpart, the CCS connector, is currently undergoing final certification tests and will no doubt follow soon.
The drop test requirements, in particular, proved particularly challenging towards the end. FEM simulations were used to calculate the drop tests in advance using various materials, resulting in a correspondingly high-quality material specification. Initial validation tests using parts dropped from a mould initially confirmed these simulations. However, the final tests were not passed on the first attempt in the test laboratory, so a painstaking search for the cause was undertaken. Over time, it became apparent that even the slightest differences in the conditioning of the PA 6 GF30 material, as well as possibly the orientation of the glass fibres, were sufficient to cause the tests to be failed. Ultimately, this prompted us to conduct further trials with alternative materials, such as PC with a partially lower modulus of elasticity. The PC material proved to be the right choice here. It confirmed, as is so often the case in physics, that stiffer is not always better. A certain degree of elasticity absorbs a great deal of shock energy and ultimately led to all tests being passed successfully.
It also confirmed the saying: “You never stop learning!”
