Automotive

6 Reasons Why Automotive Components Aren’t Just For Cars

Here’s why:

1. Robust and secure: vehicle components have a tough life. They need to cope with huge variations in temperature, as well as constant vibrations and continue working under the most extreme climates in the world.
2. Lightweight: vehicles and their systems must be kept as lightweight as possible to maximise the useful load they can carry. Therefore manufacturers of automotive components aim to keep them small and lightweight to reduce their impact on the completed vehicle design. Small, lightweight components are useful in many other applications.
3. Waterproof: vehicle components, particularly switches and connectors, have to withstand splashing – or even full immersion in water. This means waterproofing is at the heart of automotive component design and special techniques such as multi-shot moulding of integrated seals have been developed to cope with automotive demands. Electronics products are potted or boxed to achieve this.
4. Mass produced: because components designed for automotive use are often produced in their millions, users for non-automotive applications also benefit in a number of ways, including easy availability, economies of scale, availability of tooling and familiarity with installation/construction/termination techniques.
5. Certification: automotive components are subject to stringent tests and approvals. If a component has automotive approval, it is a guarantee of performance. It means the product has been shaken, bashed, prodded, baked, splashed, frozen and generally abused, and still works just fine!
6. Latest innovations: the speed in which product developments take place is increased in the automotive component manufacturing sector due to a much bigger focus on (and investment in) research and development activities. These advanced products are often adopted into other relevant areas, such as lower power BLDC motor drives that are benefitting many applications which were initially developed for the electric vehicle market.