The automotive industry is moving and it’s moving fast. Regulations ask for more performance, smaller vehicles and new technologies lead to increased underhood temperatures, fuel systems are seeing higher pressure and assembly lines are thirsty for ease and rapidity...
Fasteners overall, and fuel connectors in this case, have to adapt. You may know of ARaymond™ famous plastic Quick Connectors? Well they now have a stainless steel brother, the Metal P2L® (Push to Lock). Different material, same practicality.
Transposing a successful technology
The Push to Lock technology, or P2L®, used in many of our plastic Quick Connectors, is appreciated for its solid benefits, particularly on the assembly line. Our engineers have transposed it to metal, with a similar design offering the same strong features.
First, the design addresses the issue of incomplete insertion thanks to a visual indication of successful connection. Instead of relying on a secondary latch like many connectors on the market, the ARaymond™ P2L® system relies on an integrated lock system. A simple push and a click announce the connection is made. As the locker will not latch until the mating end form is fully engaged, the technology yields improved assembly quality.
The absence of a secondary latch not only translates in a gain of time and energy, it also means less space is needed to accommodate the connector.
Another greatly appreciated feature is that no special tool is required to release the connection (while the locker is resistant to dislodgement), leading to significant gains during service operations.
With the advantages of metal
While the Northern American OEMs have used metal connectors for a while, European ones are now taking on metal to replace plastic to address needs of more robust connections, particularly in the truck market or hot engine compartments. Stainless steel indeed comes with strong benefits.
With increased impact resistance, the Metal P2L® allows for better crash test performance, thus helping to meet increasingly demanding safety requirements.
There are major technical aspects that make a difference too. Metal offers both high temperature performance and higher pressure performance, making it more suitable for a great number of contemporary fuel systems.
Last but not least, metal connectors can be formed to various angles, i.e. 90 degree, 45 degree, etc. , suppressing the need for new molds every time this configuration happens, offering increased flexibility.
Applications involve liquid fuel hoses at the fuel rail connection as well as other targeted applications including transmission oil cooling (TOC), engine oil cooling (EOC), high temperature fuel delivery and high pressure fluid systems.
More about ARaymond™ Quick Connectors.
