What should be considered regarding the electrical contact mechanism of RF coaxial connectors? An RF coaxial connector is essentially a coaxial transmission line: a coaxial transmission line with separable electrical contact mechanisms, connection mechanisms, and other mechanical components (such as mounting mechanisms and end cable mechanisms). The structure of an RF coaxial connector must have at least internal and external conductors, connected to the internal and external conductors of the coaxial transmission line respectively, and using insulating supports (usually made of PTFE) to maintain the coaxiality (concentricity) of the internal and external conductors. To consolidate their market share, all communication equipment manufacturers have designed their own dedicated connectors, resulting in a wide variety of connectors. In China, NEC connectors, Fujitsu connectors, Siemens connectors, AT&T connectors, and Ericsson connectors are widely used in digital cabling. This article mainly introduces the L9 connector, which is widely used in China, has mature production technology, and is primarily used by our company.
Its production process can be roughly divided into seven steps, among which four are crucial: material inspection, parts manufacturing, product assembly, and finished product inspection. Parts manufacturing, including machining and electroplating, is the core of coaxial connector production and quality assurance. Incoming materials include: insulators, rubber seals and other non-metallic components, as well as some metal parts that require processing, such as inner and outer conductors, compression sleeves and housings. The structural characteristic of an RF coaxial transmission line is that the central axes of the inner and outer conductors coincide, hence the term coaxial. Therefore, the thickness of the insulation layer (insulator) between the outer conductors should be uniform to maintain the coaxiality of the inner and outer conductors.