Life in the Fast Lane
Hylec-APL has provided plug and socket connectors for the floodlights that were used for the Singapore Grand Prix, which is the first night-time Grand Prix in F1’s history. Hylec’s products proved to be advantageous for the project as they provide ingress protection of IP68 and in house pre-wiring capabilities which greatly reduce installation time and reduce installation errors on site.
Last year’s Singapore Grand Prix has earned its place in the record books as being the first ever night time Grand Prix in Formula 1’s history. The timing of the event was intended to ensure that the large European audience would be able to view the event live during ‘normal’ hours. In order to ensure the safety of the drivers and quality of the television coverage it was essential that the lighting system used produced near daylight conditions without creating glare in wet weather.
“The event was held at the end of the Southeast Monsoon season.” Singapore is an equatorial country with a climate characterised by high temperature, humidity and abundant rainfall. Afternoon thunderstorms are
frequent and humidity can often reach 100% after heavy rainfall. The event, which was held on the 28th September, fell at the end of the Southeast Monsoon season which meant that all lighting equipment had to be capable of surviving in the wettest weather conditions.
Older designs of waterproof connectors can be very bulky and installers using them in very wet conditions will often resort to taping the sockets to ensure ingress protection is not compromised. However, in a sport
that operates on speed and efficiency this lengthy process would not be suitable. It was essential that the sockets they used would have a speedy installation time while guaranteeing protection from the extremely high levels of moisture that were likely to be present. Hylec-APL supplied a 5 pole plug and socket connector with the reliability necessary for such a high profile project.
The plug and socket connectors are a part of the TEEPLUG range. The range is available with a variety of ingress protection which reaches IP68, ensuring protection from total submersion in water. They are inline connectors comprising of two parts, a male and female, which allows customers to pre-wire the product in house, this reduces installation time and minimises installation errors on site. The sockets use a double seal arrangement to achieve the ingress protection, an o-ring seal on the male part of the socket and an end seal in the female side. The connector has a close tolerance interference fit and then a simple twist
lock collar to secure the connection.
To ensure ease of use there are red gaskets to make identification easier. The materials, being silicone, have an excellent tensile E-Modulus and ageing resistance to provide longevity of the product. A fast locking/unlocking version is also available (IP65) as well as a panel/chassis mount option for use with
enclosures or bulkheads (IP68). There are also interchangeable TEEPLUG plug-socket connections available, adding even greater versatility to the range.
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