Premier Farnell is trying to help electrical engineers that know what connector they need but don’t know how to find it. The electronics distributor recently introduced an online tool in partnership with Samtec that allows customers to modify Samtec’s connectors for a specific application and then order it online.
The Product Configurator ends up helping engineers source components and prototype products faster, said Chris Swetman, who oversees Premier Farnell’s technical product data experience. The tool is not for customizing connectors but it makes sorting through all the different variations of Samtec’s products less intimidating.
With it, Premier Farnell’s customers can modify connectors based on their requirements and then download 2D or 3D models. The tool spits out a manufacturer part number that reflects the modifications. The company, which is based in England but owned by American electronics giant Avnet, says that this only takes a few minutes.
“The Configurator tool allows the customer to quickly modify the pin count, lead style, plating, packaging, and much more to obtain the ideal solution for their application, and immediately download a model of the configured part in the format of their choice,” said Ashley Quinlan, Samtec’s strategic marketing director, in a statement.
The modified connector can be exported in more than a hundred file formats so that customers can upload the product model to whatever prototyping software they use. If the product is not in stock, then it usually will be shipped out within a week, Quinlan said. The new tool is now available in North America and the United Kingdom.
