overmolding of the connector reduces the failure rate of the connector to 1/10 of the normal assembly due to the all-in-one sealing design. As a typical example of automotive electronics, the unpackaged connector develops contact corrosion (resistance rise > 20%) after only 500 hours in salt spray test (5% NaCl solution, 35 ° C), while the TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) overmolded connector still has a resistance deviation of < 2% after 1,000 hours. Meets the corrosion protection requirement of ISO 16750-5. Test data of a new energy vehicle company shows that the overmolding connector of the BMS achieves a 25,000 times (industry average of 5,000 times) plug and unplug life in a -40℃ to 125℃ cycle test, reducing the failure rate from 3.2% to 0.05% during the warranty period.
Environmental sealing was significantly improved. By in-molding molding process (pressure 80-120MPa), overmolding IP protection level up to IP68 (dust and waterproof), resists 60m water pressure (6bar for 72 hours) in deep sea robot application. The traditional epoxy potting products have a 37% failure rate under 40 meters of water pressure (4bar). TE Connectivity’s example illustrates that the insulation resistance of its overmolding Industrial Ethernet connector is still > 10GΩ (initial value 12GΩ) after 10,000 hours of operation at 95% humidity and 40 ° C, far exceeding the flame retardant level of UL 94 V-0.
Increased mechanical strength extends life directly. After overmolding, the bending strength of the medical device connector is improved from 50N to 200N (ASTM D790 standard), and the vibration resistance (20-2,000Hz random vibration) is up to MIL-STD-810G. An overmolding glass fiber reinforced PBT is applied by an endoscope manufacturer to provide the contact resistance fluctuation of the connector < 0.5mΩ (traditional structure > 5mΩ) in the 5G acceleration vibration test, and the surgical equipment repair rate reduces by 82%. For drone usage, Amphenol Micro-Fit connector overmolding maintains a contact force > 0.5N (design threshold 0.3N) upon 10,000 insertions with no loss of flight control system signals.
The cost benefit analysis indicates that even though initial mold investment of more than 50,000 is required in overmolding, the unit cost in mass production can be cut by as much as 402.3M. Multi-cavity mold design (1 mold 16 holes) that JAE auto connector employs decreases the production beat to 30 seconds/mold and enhances efficiency in the standard process by as much as 400%.
The chemical resistance provides a major advantage. The PPS (polyphenylene sulfide) overmolding material used in the connector is submerged in gasoline (ASTM D471, 23 ° C ×70h) with a retention of > 95% tensile strength, and the unpackaged metal connector contacts undergo vulcanization corrosion (15% contact resistance increase) for 48 hours in this condition. The example application in the chemistry industry showed that the overmolding connector seal integrity after the exposure of 98% sulfuric acid vapor (80℃) for 500 hours could still pass the helium mass spectrum leak detection (leakage rate < 5×10⁻⁸ mbar·L/s), which was much greater than the industrial valve standard ASME B16.34.
High-precision packaging is a signal integrity guarantee. The 5G AAU overmolding RF connector reduces the 28GHz band insertion loss from 0.8dB/m to 0.25dB/m using LCP material with dielectric constant (Dk=3.2±0.04) and loss factor (Df=0.002) controlled closely. Huawei’s test results show that the process extends the radius of coverage of the base station by 18% and reduces power consumption by 12%. In high-speed automotive Ethernet applications, Molex’s overmolding connector realizes crosstalk (XTalk) < -50dB at 25Gbps data rate, 15dB improved compared to non-packaged configurations.
Failure mode verification is necessary. NASA analysis of the satellite connector shows that the unpackaged D-sub interface failure rate due to space radiation (50krad TID) contact oxidation yields 22%, while the overmolding variant packaged with PEEK (polyether-ether-ketone) has a combined failure rate of < 0.001%/ 1000 hours. After overmolding optimization, Tesla BMS connector enhances solder joint fatigue life to 15,000 times (originally designed for 3,000 times) in 150℃ high temperature test cycle (IEC 60068-2-14), and corresponding battery pack warranty mileage is enhanced from 160,000 km to 240,000 km.
Industry standards and technology progress are driving forward. The IEC 61076-2-010 revision in 2023 raises the mechanical shock test energy for overmolding connectors from 50G to 100G (pulse width 6ms), whereas HARTING’s Han® series has recorded a measured shock resistance of 150G by optimizing the structure. Through the application of nano-modified materials (such as graphene-strengthened TPU), the thermal conductivity of the next-generation connector overmolding will exceed 5W/m·K (currently 0.2W/m·K), reducing the temperature increase of the electric vehicle fast-charging interface by 40%, and completely redefining the reliability threshold of the high-current connector.