DEMO — fictional range. Local brief only, NOT SENT. No personal data is collected or transmitted.
RATING
A current rating is a temperature limit.
Current does not damage a connector. Heat does. A rating is the current at which the hottest point of the assembly stays below a declared temperature in a declared arrangement.
- Current
- Per contact, and derated when several contacts carry current at once
- Voltage
- Set by the creepage and clearance, which the divider between ways holds
- Temperature
- The ambient plus the rise, against the limit of the hottest material
- Mating cycles
- How many times the plating survives before the resistance rises
- Sealing
- An ingress rating, which applies only when mated and correctly coupled
- Vibration
- Whether the contact stays in contact, which is a retention question
Illustrative rating record
| Rating | Set by | What changes it |
|---|---|---|
| Current | The temperature rise of the hottest contact | How many contacts carry current, and the wire gauge |
| Voltage | Creepage and clearance | Altitude, pollution degree and the divider |
| Temperature | The lowest-rated material in the assembly | The body, the seal or the plating |
| Mating cycles | Plating thickness and contact design | Whether the surfaces slide or wipe on mating |
Why the derating matters most.
Because a rating quoted per contact assumes the others are not carrying current. An assembly with every contact loaded runs hotter than the datasheet describes, and the margin is usually already spent.
The question worth asking instead.
What the temperature rise is with all contacts loaded, at the ambient in the enclosure. A supplier who can answer that has tested the assembly rather than the contact.