About connector friction corrosion and plating problems
It is well known that corrosive gases, high humidity and strong oscillations are three important conditions that cause oxidation and frictional corrosion and lead to connector failure. These environmental factors can have a significant impact on tin and lead-tin contact surfaces, as is the case with 90% of connector surfaces. Usually, people use electroplated precious metals, such as gold plating or silver plating, because these metals do not oxidize. The thickness of these coatings varies from 0.5 μm to 1.27 μm. However, unfortunately, because of the high price of these precious metals and their processing, such electroplating processes are expensive, so people use such electroplating materials as little as possible. In automotive electrical harness applications, only about 10% of the connection points use this type of metal. As a result, some major connector suppliers, such as FCI, have other alternative plating solutions (such as pure tin plating, Tin-Teflon, NXT, and press-fit t...