New electronic solutions for harsh environments

Industry 4.0 has found its way from the factory floor to lone workers or rescue teams in the field. When it comes to the associated electronic infrastructure, there is a clear trend away from individual components towards powerful and lightweight all-round solutions from a single source. At the same time, however, harsh environmental conditions place high demands on the robustness and sealing of the components.

Fischer Connectors offers a wide range of connectivity solutions and meets the highest requirements for miniaturization and high-speed data transmission. The portfolio now includes passive electronic circuit components and active modules through to IP switches and USB hub systems.

All-round protection for data

One example is the robust, sealed Fischer Rugged Flash Drives from the Fischer UltiMate™, Fischer MiniMax™ and Fischer Freedom™ series. These were developed as a complete solution specifically for the secure storage and transportation of sensitive data in harsh environments with high vibration. They feature flash memory solutions with up to 256 GB capacity and are available in USB 3.1 Gen 1 or USB 2.0 versions. The unique connector interface combined with robust encapsulation technology guarantees secure access and data security in the event of loss or theft of the data carrier.

The miniaturized inline adapter modules from Fischer Connectors were developed for the secure conversion of data that is sent from one data protocol to another via a special circuit board. They are suitable for use in USB Ethernet radios, computer peripherals and medical scanners, for example. The Fischer Adapter modules serve as upconverters for protocol conversion, for example as USB/Ethernet to RS422 converters. They can be easily adapted to individual protocol requirements.

Fischer Connectors also offers Full Gigabit Ethernet switches, for example, which provide up to 240 W of power for active PoE- (802.3af) and PoE+ (802.3at) devices.

Reliable under extreme conditions

In March 2024, another solution for harsh environments was added to the portfolio: the new Fischer KEYSTONE™ 4 (read the news). The data and power hub with 4 ports was developed on the basis of the military version Fischer KEYSTONE™ 6 for applications where miniaturization, weight and reliable performance are important. The Fischer KEYSTONE 4 has two PAN ports, one EUD HOST port and one RADIO BATT port. It efficiently and reliably supplies up to two connected devices with power (100 W total, 5 A at 20 V DC) while seamlessly transferring data (USB 2.0).

The hub can be easily adapted to different operating configurations. The housing of the Fischer KEYSTONE 4 is particularly compact with a length of 69.2 mm, width of 38 mm and height of 17 mm. It weighs just 125 g and, together with its connectors and cable assemblies, is sealed to IP68 for -2m/24. Other MIL-STD-810G environmental features include an operating temperature of -32 °C to +55 °C, operating altitude of up to 9,754 m, shock resistance of 40 G / 11 ms and vibration resistance of 7.7 Grms / 1 h per axis. Thanks to its particularly high resistance, the Fischer KEYSTONE is robust against weather influences such as sunlight, salt, sand and dust, heavy rain and water. The Fischer KEYSTONE 4 is reliable, flexible, can be used as a plug-and-play device without training and is maintenance-free.