®®

March ‘97

Multi-Contact

Editorial by Dr. Peter Dusson customer satisfaction

Page 2

New products:2mm safety lab systemsets new standards.New safety leadsup to 1000V, CATIIIand lots more

Page 5

New CataloguesTrade Show Dates

last Page

What do photovoltaicshave to do with theOlympic Games —Answer on

Page 6

Export Newsby J.P. Kritter

Page 2 – 3

The sealed contact thatperforms well in outdoor,aggressive atmospheressuch as saline fogMC®-SEALconTACT

Page 4

HCK®-News:Test instruments

Leads

New cable extruder(among other things)

Page 8 – 11

Information for customers, associates, employees and friends of MC® and HCK®

2

Customer satisfaction

In a sluggish market it gets muchharder and more expensive towin over new customers. Whichmakes it that much moreimportant to hold on to existingones by taking really good careof them.Customers like suppliers whokeep them satisfied. In otherwords, satisfaction is thefoundation of a long-lastingcustomer relationship.

What leads to satisfaction?

First of all, of course, is a positiveexperience with the product.The user must receive anoptimal product, based on acustomized solution, for hisapplication.The product must be suppliedwith unchanging high qualityfrom start to finish.The supplier must be able tomeet the user’s needs(quantities and delivery dates).Equally important areproblem-solving and service,aspects that have lately movedto center stage.For the past few years we’ve

been living with low economic growth. Jobs are beingslashed left and right under the banner of “globalization”.Lots of companies are scaling down to achieve a leanorganization, restructuring, splitting off divisions, closingdown plants, merging, being taken over, etc...

For us, this means that longstanding business relations aredisappearing overnight or that people we’ve dealt with foryears are suddenly assigned different responsibilities.

Usually this goes hand-in-hand with a loss of knowledge. All

of a sudden there’s sand in thegears of what used to be smoothand efficient ordering andadministrative procedures.Technical knowledge gets lost.Or nobody can remember whyproduct A is used instead ofproduct B.

In these cases, our on-the-spotadvice becomes more importantthan ever.

Nothing is worse than adissatisfied customer who is leftalone with his problems.

It’s not unusual for a customerrelationship to be strengthenedby the solution of such aproblem, because customerslove to see their problems takenseriously. This is extremelyimportant within the frameworkof quality management, and wehave set ourselves the goal ofkeeping YOU, the customer,satisfied.

SincerelyDr. Peter DussManaging Director

Serbia and Montenegro

Starting on January 1, 1997, Blazic Electronics began representingour entire product line in Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). BlazicElectronics was established in 1991 as a private company as theresult of technology and know-how transfer from Germany toYugoslavia.

The company manufactures and markets mainly test probes foroscilloscopes, high-frequency test accessories and coaxial plugconnectors.

The head office is located in the center of Belgrade (Photo below).

Export – Newsby J.P.Kritter, Marketing and Export Manager

Representatives

A WELCOME

to our new

Address:

Blazic ElektronicTrg Nikole Pasica 1Y – 11000 Belgrad

Tel. +381/11/324 34 0or +381/11/323 15 97Fax +381/11/323 81 83

Blazic Electronics marketing activitiesinclude attractive trade show exhibits

Editorial

Nothing is worse than adissatisfied customer who is left

alone with his problems

3

Turkey

In Turkey, Mentor Elektronik began representing our Test Accessoriesproduct line (MC® & HCK®) starting on January 1, 1997.

Established in 1996, Mentor Elektronik is a young enterpriseconcentrating mainly on the import and sale of electronic componentsand test accessories. Its customers include well-known firms likeAselsan, Telkom, Enko. Turkish Petroleum, etc.

Address:

Mentor ElektronikYüksel Cad. 8/10TR-06650 Kizilay/Ankara

Tel. 0090/312/418 09 22Fax 0090/312/418 93 50

The team of Mentor Elektronik aroundthe General Manager E. Özkar (middle)

MC®-BENELUX

After doing business for 4 years, MC®-Benelux has now undergone a management change. Mr. Rolf Zeller left as General Manager inDecember 1996. We wish to thank Mr. Zeller for the work he put into building up the company. In future, two people will be responsiblefor carrying on in his place:

➻Mrs. Martine Meessemann, Administrative Manager

➻Mr. Paul Verheijen, Engineering and Sales Manager

Mrs. M. Meessemann lives in Gent. A graduate of Ecole Supérieure d‘Administration deLangues in Gent, she is fluent in 4 languages. Mrs. Meessemann brings with her manyyears of experience as a secretary to top management. Having been with MC®-Beneluxfrom the beginning, she is familiar with all aspects of administration, quotations, andorder processing.

Mr. Paul Verheijen (53) is married, has two sons,and lives in Ouderkerk on the IJssel, a little villageoutside of Rotterdam. Mr. Verheijen, an electrical engineer,is well known to MC®, because up to 1982 he was a sales engineerwith Mechalectron, our representative at the time. He has spent the last 14 yearsworking as a sales engineer for Sprecher & Schuh / Allen Bradley. Mr. Verheijen’s longexperience in electrical engineering and electronics equips him perfectly for advising customers on allaspects of contact technology. He will have his office in Ouderkirk, which places him well for our Dutchcustomers.

Tel. (private) 31 – (0) 180 – 682306 Multi-Contact Benelux N.V./S.A.Fax (private) 31 – (0) 180 – 682306 Xavier de Cocklaan 72Mobile Phone 31 – (0) 653 – 885603 B – St. Martens-Latem

Tel. 32 – (0) 9 – 281 07 50Fax 32 – (0) 9 – 281 07 55

We wish Mrs. Meessemann continued success and Mr. Verheijen a good start

4

MC®-SEALconTACT offers a broad application range

in both low-voltage and high-voltage substations.

For instance, it is used for connecting busbars in indoor or outdoor applications, where users look for years and even decades of low,unchanging connection resistances with low losses and no contact breakdowns as a result of oxidation or corrosion.

Other applications include electroplating, chemical plants, overhead supply of rail-bound vehicles, connections for tram and railway rails,etc.

Outdoor substation

Saline fog resistance of outdoor installations

MC®SEALconTACT protects the contact surface in outdoor installations,even in highly polluted industrial atmospheres or saline-fog conditions atthe seaside. The environmental test reproduced below attests to itssaline fog resistance. A bus connection is generally considered to havefailed when the resistance factor ku reaches 10.

Support module

Contact module (MC®-SEALconTACT patented)

Contact module

Copper bus connections to high-voltage outdoor transformerRated current I = 1480A

MC®-SEALconTACT-Applicationsfor busbar connections in

outdoor substations

without MC -SEAL TACT® con

with MC -SEAL TACT® con

Res

ista

nce

Fact

ork u

0 5 10 15 20 25 30Number Of Cycles

10,09,08,07,06,05,04,03,02,01,00,0

Saline FogDIN IEC 68, Part 2–52, severity 230 cycles1 cycle: 24 hoursAverage from 10 specimens

20

860

SEALconTACT

5

2mm Safety System

The new 2mm Safety System is usedwherever the available space is toocramped for the popular 4mm system.

Typical applications are found in controltechnology and in power electronics (e.g.PLC’s and their countless applications).

In school laboratories and electricalengineering colleges, more and moretest work is done on cramped wiringboards with dangerously high voltages.

Ordinary commercial 2mm connectorhardware without special protection nolonger offers the necessary safety.

And here are the components of the 2mm safety system

1 2mm safety lead withclip in a variety oflengths and colours

2 Adapter from 4mmsafety system to2mm safety system

3 2mm safety testprobe withgold-plated springwire clamp

4 Tip protector; doesdouble duty toprevent slippage incontacting IC legs

5 2mm safety testprobe (up to 1000VCATII)

6 2mm safety socket, threaded

7 2mm safety socket, press-fit

8 2mm safety leads, highly flexible with axial 2mm safety plugs

9 Adapter from uninsulated 2mm system to the 2mm safety system

10 2mm safety lead, highly flexible, with stackable 2mm safety plugs

11 90° adapter from 4mm safety sockets to 2mm safety plugs

12 2mm safety clip with gripping teeth and fine-wire surface

Launchof a new dimension

in measurement technologywith the new touch-protected 2mm

Safety Laboratory System from MC® & HCK®

ultralight – touch protected – space saving

Safe, precise measurement on aclosely packed board. For sizecomparison: on the left a 4mm safetytest probe from HCK®

This can not happen any more:Dead weight of lab lead and cliphas pulled down the wiringboards.

6

Photovoltaics are going Olympic!

1996 - the year of superlatives in the land whereanything is possible.In Atlanta, new world records were set on the track,such as Donovan Bailey’s (CAN) 9,84s in the100-meter dash and Michael Johnson’s (USA) 19,37sin the 200-meters.It was also a “first” for photovoltaics (PV), whoseOlympic debut featured 3000 m2 of building-integratedsolar cell area - a mind-boggling start quite appropriatefor the land of unlimited possibilities.An American photovolatic module manufacturerdecided in favour of Multi-Contact’s plug-in PV cablesystem – which was then able to demonstrate itsjobsite efficiency together with its safety features andcost-cutting aspects, all extremely important on aninstallation of this size.The installation is expected to have a service life ofseveral decades, as do other power generationfacilities requiring high capital investment.On this project, like other MW photovoltaic systemsusing the MC® plug-in system, quality and an attractiveprice were the decisive factors.The world is already looking forward to the games inthe year 2000 in Sydney, where photovoltaics willagain be used to supply power th the entire olympicvillage. Installations like this are helping to silence theskeptics.Like lots of things, this energy source was widelyconsidered just a dream until it started to becomereality. Nothing’s impossible, it may just be a little hardto imagine things before they arrive on the scene.

Let’s do it!

For further information on the MC® plug-in system forphotovoltaics, refer to our Catalogues Ho19 and PVPanel Sockets. Or stop at our stand at the 14thEuropean Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference inBarcelona from June 30 to July 4, 1997.

340kWp, integrated into the roof surface of the Georgia Tech’sswimming stadium in Atlanta, built with MSX120 solar modules,

also presented some challenging panel connection problems.(Photo: Solarex USA/Solarcenter Muntwyler CH)

The preassembled PV modules are simplyplugged together at site, saving assembly

(and unneeded repair) manhours.

Just plug ‘em in!!

7

New plug connectors for drawout units

The successful P1/100 and P1/63 plug connector series for drawoutunits have now been expanded with the new P1/30 series.(The numbers after the slash indicate the rated current.)Following the motto “never change a winning team”, we’re keeping tothe proven materials.insulation contact partsglassfiber-reinforced polycarbonate silver-plated brassFurther information:P1/30 leaflet

New Products

New highly-flexible safety leads: SLK425-F — SLK410-F/SIL — SLK4075-F/N

The new highly-flexible safety leads from MC®/HCK® withstackable 4mm safety plugs replace the existing versions ofsafety leads:SLK425-K, SLK410-K SIL, SLK425-K/TF

They comply with all requirements ofstandard IEC 1010-2-031 for 1000V ratedvoltage, even for overvoltage categoryCATIII

There are three versions:the high quality versions SLK425-F with double-insulated PVCstranded lead and gold-plated contacts, and the SLK425-F/SILwith gold-plated contacts and silicone-insulated lead.

And finally the very attractively priced versionSLK4075–F/N with double-insulated 0,75mm2 PVC lead andnickel-plated contacts.

More info:see leaflet on highly-flexible safety leads

Guide tab toprevent 180°reversal

2 plug lengths for mate-first/break-last contact

Touch protected in theunplugged condition

Marking feature

Screw terminal connection

Up to 10elements canbe ganged together

8

The multipole connector series(Catalogue Ho7c) has grown with marketneeds over the past years and due to itsfundamentally sound design has provenremarkably adaptable and flexible in theprocess.

HCK®-Messzubehör GmbH hasbeen accepted into the AFEprogramme by Fluke, based inEverett (USA) and Almelo(Netherlands).AFE stands for “Aim forExcellence”. This programme wasintroduced by Fluke some years agoin order to optimize the assessmentcriteria and evaluations forcollaboration with suppliers.At the present time, only FlukeEverett measures these criteria.Fluke Almelo, however, will shortlyfollow suit.The objective is to achieve 100%supply reliability and quality (ofsuppliers).The criteria for admission to the AFEprogramme are 90% on-timedelivery and a quality quotient of98,5%.HCK® achieved about 98% forreliability and nearly 100% as toquality.

EMC Plug Connector Housings for Docking Systems

The new shielded and insulated plastichousing fits with the existing standardcontact inserts:

Size 1 and Size 2 forpanel thickness 10mm/14mm,panel spacing 37mm.

More info:see information sheet on Series Mconnector housings, shielded andshielded/insulated

Screen

Housing plastic

Pin

Socket

EMC-Threaded gland EMC-Threaded glandMC -Multilams®

HCK® receives Fluke AwardThat means that 98% of deliveriesarrive in Everett on time, where “ontime” means at most 5 days early or2 days late.

Quality assessment is influenced byall complaints that may arise inconnection with goods supplied.

About 30 orders per month fromFluke are processed.

98% reliability —nearly 100% quality

The certificate was presented –during the last business visit ofHCK®-Messzubehör GmbH to Flukein Everett – to Jürgen Klemm(Director) and Ton Clerkx (MarketingManager) by Mr. Harold Langseth(Corporate Purchasing andDistribution Manager).

®

Design layout of the shielded and insulated version

9

HCK® – a stranded lead specialist!

by J. Klemm,General Manager of HCK®-Messzubehör GmbHLots of satisfied, longstanding customers, especially inthe measurement and electrical installation fields,stand behind this claim. HCK®’s 40 years and more ofexperience in the production of PVC, silicone andTeflon®-FEP insulation has resulted in a high quality andmanufacturing standard in the stranded lead area.Intelligent selection and combination of suitable rawmaterials and steady modernization of its productionequipment have enabled HCK® to keep on expanding itsline and adapting it to new technical requirements andstandards.Now that HCK®-Messzubehör GmbH has become partof the Multi-Contact group, demands on the productline and on production efficiency have risen.

What’s special about HCK® leads?

The leads are made only from high-grade materials from selected suppliers who are ableto guarantee unchanging high-quality production.One example is the selection and processing of a special silicone insulation. In closecollaboration with Wacker-Chemie GmbH, Burgdorf, a special HTV silicone rubber wasdeveloped that suits HCK®’s requirements.A special feature of this silicone rubber is thermal resistance over a broad range:

➻resistance to steam up to 150°C

➻steady-state temperature resistance from -80°C up to +180°C

➻temperatures up to 300°C possible for short periods(soldering iron contact)

new PVC-Extruder

installation at HCK®

Of the many changes carried out at HCK®, oneof the most noteworthy is the start-up of thenew PVC extruder installation.(see photograph)

Developed by the KUKAMA company in Haan(NRW), the installation features two extrudersthat feed a “rotary Erocarb injection head”.

This makes it possible to extrude two differentcolours of insulation onto the stranded wire.Each insulation layer can be “spiralled-on” in upto three stripes.

One application for such special, highly flexibleleads with two-coloured insulation is in medicalequipment.

In rooms like operating theatres all electricalequipment has to be connected with a“green-yellow spiralled POAG lead”.

Of course the special POAG connectors comefrom Multi-Contact.

2 PVC extruders feed a rotaryErocarb injection-head, making it possible

to extrude two colours of insulationonto the stranded bare wire

10

Other features include excellent ageingresistance even under harsh conditions,good resistance to many chemicals,economic processing, and a wide rangeof colours. The blend used by HCK® hasextremely high

tear propagation resist-ance of 50N/mm and tearstrength of 10N/mm2

a good notched impact strength, a highresistance to abrasion and a highflexibility by temperature down to –50°C.All of this contributes to the highevaluation of the mechanical charac-teristics of the HCK®-Silicone cable.The outstanding electrical properties,such as high resistivity, dielectricconstant, place this particular siliconerubber at the top of the league of availableinsulation materials.The electrical properties change very littlewith changing temperature.Other positive attributes include flameretardant properties and a siliconeinsulation that is free from halogen.

Therefore, no corrosive substancies arereleased when it breaks down whichwould be especially troublesome in theelectrical industry.

flame retardent

halogen-free

The above positive properties of thissilicone rubber used by HCK® have beenconfirmed over the years in actualpractice. Demand for these leads hasincreased steadily in recent years.New products have been developed,such as the HCK®-Silischirm lead.Some silicone-insulated specialties fromHCK® are:

➻Silivolt (highly flexible leads ofvarious cross-sections for low tomedium currents)

➻Silischirm (shielded lead invarious colours)

➻Silistrom (up to 95mm2 for veryheavy currents)

➻Sili-HV (with extra-thick insulationfor high voltages)

Hence silicone rubber has established itself as a first-class problem-solver and is solidly entrenched at HCK®.Ask about the superb properties of silicone insulation, and request technical documentation on HCK® leads.

HTV silicone rubber: brief contactwith the soldering iron at 300°C does

not damage the HCK® lead

To continue improving the quality of our test equipment andthe efficiency of our production, a new EMC lab has beeninstalled in the Test Equipment Dept. specifically for carryingout this EMC testing.

EMC tests during production

In future, tests carried out during development and spotchecks during production of our testing devices will behandled in-house.

Besides a wide range of testing equipment, the lab includes atotally shielded test room for measuring the emittedinterference of our testing equipment with high accuracy.

Our customers can order such a test record when theypurchase a testing device.

Besides these emission tests, the new EMC laboratory canalso carry out other HF testing (e.g. on our test probes).

New in-house EMC laboratory

All electrical apparatus marketed in the EU has to complywith the applicable EMC guidelines, i.e. meet the tests forimmunity to interference and emitted interference limits.

Since January 1997 all our PVC and Silicone insulated wires are UL approved andlisted as UL recognized AWM (Appliance Wiring Material)

EMC - Laboratoryby J. Kirchheim, Manager of Test Equipment Manufacturing

11

For the approaching 1997 Hanover Fair, HCK® has announced the introduction of a newseries of testers called Multi 2000 – though it could just as easily be named “thefuture-oriented allrounder”. Multi 2000 is a modular basic instrument that can beadapted to specific testing needs by adding the necessary software.

For example, the instrument can be equipped as a tester for electrical safety tests suchas insulation, protective conductor, and functional tests. But it can also be equipped toserve as a high-voltage tester.

The microprocessor-based concept simplifies operation of the instrument for the user,because all operating elements are identical and tests are carried out according to astandardized procedure.

Another feature is the ability to hook up the instrument with a PC via its serial interface forcontrol purposes or to operate several testers on a single bus (RS485 or IEEE).

Test Equipment Production Department — A Part Of The MC® Group

HCK®’s Test Equipment Production Dept.looks back on a long tradition. Productionstarted over 25 years ago, e.g. withdevices for pinpointing cable defects,with rolling mill electronics, and withhigh-voltage testers.In the meantime, a wide range ofstandardized testingunits for electricalsafety tests has beenfirmly established.

Productionstarted over25 years ago

In Essen, customizedtesters are built tomeet special require-ments. Electrical safe-ty tests are a must forelectrical apparatus,machines and produc-tion installations tomeet the EU’s low-voltage guidelinesand to receive the CEmark, without which electrical apparatuscannot be marketed in Europe.

The most important tests conducted withHCK® test equipment are:

In Essen customizedtesters are built to meetspecial requirements

Prior to shipment, every tester built byHCK® is itself tested, calibrated and fittedout with certificate and test plate.

All of the test equipment required for thisis calibrated by the PTB or the DKD.

HCK®’s Testing Equipment ProductionDept. complements the rest the productrange of the MC®-Group extremely well.Many users work with MC®/HCK® testaccessories in production testing. In therepair of electrical apparatus, etc., whereHCK® test instruments are also used.

Conversely, manyregular customers oftesting equipmentshould be also inter-ested in obtainingsafety test leads andclips.In the past, our Mr.Rambusch handledfield sales of testingequipment all overGermany.Now that HCK® hasbeen integrated intothe MC® group, Mr.Rambusch can counton strong supportfrom Multi-Contact’swell-organized fieldsales force.

More info: see HCK®’sbrochure TestingEquipment programme

The Multi 2000 can also serve to provide functions that weren’t available before. For instance, the measurement of leakage current andof power input to the specimen can be incorporated. All high-voltage testers can be equipped with zero-voltage switching in andzero-current switching out.Of course all test procedures are still carried out, secondarily, strictly according to VDE 0322.

❍ Breakdown tests with high voltage

❍ Insulating oil tests

❍ Insulation tests

❍ Protective conductor

❍ Burden measurements (secondary circuit)

Test instrument for routine tests of industrial machinesand electrial equipment during production

(according to IEC/EN/DIN VDE - standards and relevant test instructions)

“Multi 2000" — The Future-oriented Testing Equipment Concept

12

New MC®-Catalogues

The following Catalogues have beenupdated:

» Lab 4-SEdition 12/96,72 pages D-E-FSafety test accessories, touch-pro-tected according to IEC1010-2-31

» Flyer P1/30...Edition 4/96 2 pages, D-E-FSlide-in rack connectorsup to 30A

» Flyer GSRDEdition 4/96, 2 pages, D-E-F,Double fork plug for slide-in rackconnectors

» Flyer Round ConnectorsEdition 4/96, 2 pages, D-E-FØ 16mm with bayonet locking,insulated, touch-protected,1000V, up to 400A

» Model Review of MC®-ConnectorsEdition 10/96, 20 pages,D-E-F/I-S-P/Hung.-Roman.-Tschech.

» Flyer Plug Connector HousingsEdition 3/97, 4 pages, D-E-FSeries M shielded and shielded insu-lated for docking systems

New HCK®-Catalogues

» MezuEdition 5/96, (D), 22 pagesHCK®-Test accessories(not touch protected)

» Test Equipment-programmeEdition 11/96 (D,E,F), 4 pages

» Digital Current ClampEdition 8/96 (D), 4 pages

» Digimeg-Insulation TesterEdition 6/96 (D), 2 pages

Multi-Contact AG BaselStockbrunnenrain 8PostfachCH – 4123 Allschwil

Tel. 061/306 55 55Fax 061/306 55 56

Multi-Contact Deutschland GmbHHegeheimer Strasse 19Postfach 1606D – 79551 Weil am Rhein

Tel. 07621/667 – 0Fax 07621/667 – 100

HCK®-Messzubehör GmbHHövelstrasse 214Postfach 12 00 26D – 45311 Essen

Tel. 0201/8 31 05 – 0Fax 0201/8 31 05 – 99

ISO

900

1

ISO

9001

DIN EN ISO 9001:2000

QM-Zertifikat

® ®

New MC®/HCK®-Catalogues

» Lab SiEdition 4/96, 160 pagesSafety Test Equipment programmeaccording to IEC 1010-2-031

» Flyer Test Accessories for MedicalEquipmentEdition 8/96, 2 pages, D-E-FTouch protected 1,5mm plug con-nector systemaccording to DIN 42802,

» Lab 2-SEdition 9/96, 12 pages, D-E-FSafety connectors Ø 2mm, touchprotected and accessories

» Lab PEdition 10/96, 12 pagesModel review laboratory productgroup/test accessories

If you are interested in one of thecatalogues listed, don’t hesitate to fill inthe attached request card and fax or mailit to us.

Incidentally, you can also contact uson the Inernet:

Homepage:www.multi-contact.com

Mailbox:mailbox@multi-contact.com

Exhibition Europe

✦ Hannover MesseHannover 14.04. – 19.04.1997

✦ IntelMailand 22.05. – 26.05.1997

✦ 14th European PhotovoltaicConference and ExhibitionBarcelona 30.06. – 04.07.1997

✦ IneltecBasel 02.09. – 05.09.1997

✦ ElektrotechnikDortmund 03.09. – 06.09.1997

✦ ECIF Earls CourtLondon 07.09. – 18.09.1997

✦ VietWien 23.09. – 26.09.1997

✦ EltefaStuttgart 24.09. – 26.09.1997

✦ ElektrotechniekUtrecht 29.09. – 03.10.1997

✦ BelektroBerlin 05.11. – 07.11.1997

✦ ProductronicaMünchen 11.11. – 14.11.1997

Exhibition USA

✦ SouthconRaleigh 25.03. – 27.03.1997North Carolina

✦ Electronic IndustriesForum, Boston 06.05. – 08.05.1997Massachusetts

✦ Electronic DistributionShow, Las Vegas 03.05. – 15.05.1997Nevada

✦ Powersystems World(PCIM), Baltimore 09.09. – 11.09.1997Maryland

✦ NepconDallas 08.10. – 09.10.1997Texas

✦ WesconSan Jose 04.11. – 06.11. 1997California

MC®— always

a plug-length ahead!!