Keep your feet on the ground

Aerco's business development manager Tony Stephens explains that distributors have to keep their feet on the ground in order to be successful in the aerospace industry.

Aerco was founded in 1956 and as its original name of Aviation Electrical and Radio Company implies, the aerospace industry was at the heart of its conception and has been a prime target market ever since.

For some time now, high quality connector products have been the largest single product type supplied by Aerco to the aerospace industry, a sector that has always posed special challenges. The obvious aspect is the sheer quality and reliability demanded of connectors and other components but there are other factors that put pressure on suppliers and distributors serving the industry.

Aerospace has always been at the forefront of technology and set the highest quality standards, but allied to this is the long design to manufacturing cycle of complex development projects. A programme will often take several years from the design stage to full production quantities and during this time many changes in specification may occur. Over this period a distributor has to be flexible, patient and highly reactive as well as having deep reserves of commercial stamina.

Change with the times

Although traditional circular connectors such Mil-C 5015, Mil-C-26482 and M83723 are still very popular in the industry, there have been many new developments over the past decade.

One such development is the trend towards more PCB-based connectors and a constant driving force is that these should be smaller with higher contact densities to help the perpetual quest to reduce size and weight. This has led to the design of new products like the HPH connectors from Hypertac that have double the contact density compared to those of just of few years ago and have been designed to meet the needs of applications where environmental immunity and connection reliability is of paramount importance such as in fighter aircraft and missiles. Also, with size and weight in mind, Hypertac has developed its HDLP range of low profile surface-mount PCB connectors also targeted at airborne applications.

Over the past few years there has been a demand for multi-purpose connectors that carry power, signal, high speed contacts, RF and Ethernet within a single connector. This has led to products like Harwin's Datamate Mix-Tek that have the additional advantage of being custom designed so that they can be tailored to meet different specifications while still falling within the same size envelope.

Even traditional products are changing in format with connectors like the ubiquitous D38999 circular connectors, a tried and trusted product that has become the standard of the industry, being produced in PCB-mount versions and with high-speed quadrax contacts. At Aerco we are also seeing a growth in demand for miniature coaxial connectors like those from Telegärtner and rack and panel power connectors from Winchester Electronics.

The growth in the use of composite materials in the general electronics industry has also been reflected in aerospace and, although the emphasis is still on strength for airframe and engine controls, there is a growth in the use of composites in commercial aircraft for lighter and less robust equipment for applications like in-flight entertainment systems.
It is the distributors' job to react to these demands and for one customer Aerco provides a complete interface assembly that converts standard wire to fibre optic for distributing signals throughout the aircraft.

Flying off the shelf

Standards have always been a driving force within the aerospace industry. ESA set standards for space projects and companies such as Airbus and Boeing have their own specifications while also expecting suppliers to work to military specifications.

There is a growing demand from within the industry for commercial off the shelf (COTS) products and this has led to the development of micro-D38999 connectors from AB Connectors and Glenair's ‘Mighty Mouse' range, both of which offer similar performance to traditional products but are not released to MIL-spec.

The move to COTS products has already run into problems with the change to pure tin solder since the use of lead was banned in commercial products. The well-documented problem of ‘tin-whiskers' causing electronic failure in aerospace applications means that special production lines have to be set up for products used in this industry.

In common with all industries, aerospace is changing in terms of the manner in which it works and operates. The shape of the industry has altered significantly over the past decade with manufacturers tending to outsource production and with in-house activities being more assembly biased. In addition, and in common with the rest of the manufacturing industries, there is now strong emphasis on vendor reduction programmes while minimising stockholdings.

This means that manufacturers deal with fewer suppliers but these suppliers are expected to provide a wider range of products on shorter lead-times. This requires distributors like Aerco to forward order and hold up to three years of stock as well as being willing to deliver at a few days' notice. The logistics of doing this is testing and it takes a lot of investment, skill and forward planning to manage it successfully.

In addition to holding large stocks, distributors have to add more value. One area this can be achieved is in connector assembly. At Aerco we now assemble connectors for Hypertac, AB Connectors and Deutsch to service both new designs and products moving towards the end of their life cycles required for spares, repairs or upgrades.

This service also allows connector manufacturers to concentrate on strategic business rather than diverting resources into costly, time-consuming small build projects. Strategic focus is now a prime consideration for connector manufacturers as they recognise the need to gain best advantage from their distribution partners expecting them to hold more stock and supply high quantities to major customers while providing top level technical support. This is a great opportunity for distributors prepared to meet these demands as it allows them to move up the food chain.

The task ahead

There are many challenges to face over the next few years, one of which is the difficult task of keeping up to date with the restructuring of an ever more complex industry. There will be a shifting balance between subcontractors, assemblers and aircraft manufacturers and this will result in a changing pattern of gaps in technical knowledge, experience and supply. It is our job to fill those gaps.

We have to keep our feet on the ground, remain flexible, be prepared to invest and foster increasingly closer relationships with our suppliers and the key players in the changing industry that we serve.

www.aerco.co.uk

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