Globalisation: The mechanical engineering sector is becoming more global, with many manufacturers active across all continents. However, it might be misleading to talk about internationalisation in this case. "At the same time, we are observing factors which are increasingly different at a national and local level," says Guserle. Local standards need to be fulfilled in many markets, particularly UL certification in North America. Certain sectors also require special certification, such as wind and solar energy or the rail and food industries. Many products are suitable for a vast range of applications. Leading suppliers such as Lapp therefore always bear the very highest requirements in mind and then derive variants for various markets and sectors from this standard.
It helps that certain connectors have established themselves as standard equipment on a global level. Rectangular connectors have been commonplace for many years and continue to thrive in new applications worldwide. This is where Lapp can bring its talents to bear, with a global presence and the ability to supply the majority of over 40,000 standard catalogue products quickly - even to the farthest corners of the Earth. But how does the customer find the configuration that's right for them among the 138 million possible options that Lapp offers for the housings of its EPIC rectangular connectors alone?
Digitalisation: Using the online housing configurator from Lapp, the customer can create a connector housing that matches their individual needs. The order is then passed on to be manufactured immediately and the customer receives the products after five working days at the latest. Of course, digitalisation also means that more and more data connections are created everywhere in industry. Connectors for transmitting digital data at ever higher rates are therefore increasingly in demand. Various circular connectors are also suitable for this application. Standards among these include the thread sizes M23, M17 and - more and more often - the compact M12 connector, which garners praise in many different applications.
Sustainability: Connectors for industrial applications are not disposable products. They are occasionally intended to last for 30 years or even longer. Yet requirements have become much more stringent over the past few years as far as movement and vibration are concerned, to name just two examples. The number of moving applications is growing, and likewise the speed and acceleration of these applications - such as in drag chains or robots.
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