Our Collaborative Feedthrough Design Approach
At Douglas Electrical Components, we are experts in designing top-quality feedthroughs and are dedicated to working closely with our customers. Our collaborative approach ensures that every feedthrough we create fits your needs and specifications. We collaborate with you throughout the process to make sure every electrical and mechanical detail is accurate and meets your goals and expectations.
Throughout the feedthroughs design process starting from the concept to the final product, we place our customers at the center. Our dedicated team of engineers engage with our clients at each stage offering assistance and customized solutions. Here’s how our process works:
Consultation
Douglas Electrical Components sales engineers work directly with you to not only understand your request, but also make recommendations based on years of product, industry and application experience. Our teams collaborate to design plug-and-play solutions with a focus on your total cost of ownership. Each sales engineer has the experience and expertise in hermetics, mechanical, and electrical assemblies to provide input on how to approach your hermetic needs.
- Hermetically seal to connectors, circuits, wires, pins, or a combination of connection types
- Vacuum to 1×10-9 Torr
- Pressures as high as 15,000 psi
- Temperatures from -200°F to +400°F
- Wire gauges from 38 AWG to 500 MCM
- Conductor counts from a single wire to 3,200 in a single feedthrough
- Cable lengths from stubs to 2,000 meters
Design & Engineering
Once specifications are understood, our sales engineering team partners with an Application Engineer to document the feedthrough or assembly. We source high quality components with competitive pricing. Various calculations are made based on decades of experience to ensure the hermetic and electrical properties can be met with the combination of variables requested. Our teams will provide the quotation with a detailed drawing of the assembly with all specifications and ensure it meets all technical and functional requirements. The team believes in transparency and alignment before we begin manufacturing.
- Reduce number of electrical connections
- Dramatically increase density of conductors by integrating high conductor count cables
- Extremely robust – resistant to physical and thermal impact with reliable use 30+ years
- Ability to utilize customer furnished connectors, housings, cables, and sub-assemblies
- Standard and custom bulkhead mounting options in materials including MIL-certified stainless steel, brass, plated steel, or lightweight options of aluminium, titanium, and plastics.
- Specify exactly the connector, wire, optical fiber, or cable you require as well as rigid/flex/hybrid circuits and FFC cable with active and passive components
Prototyping
Once the design is finalized, we create prototypes to test and refine the feedthrough design. Epoxy technology enables the ability to do rapid prototyping with minimal tooling. Other technologies can require substantial up front tooling cost, creating unexpected fees and delays. As tooling is required, we machine it in-house. Our tooling department machines tooling and fixtures to ensure we produce the product as expected and when expected. Douglas is here to move your project forward with technology that is flexible enough to produce prototypes and at full scale.
- LEAN manufacturing operation and Made in USA
- Expedites down to 1 week lead times, even for custom designed products, are typically available
- In-house Tooling
Testing & Validation
The Douglas manufacturing process includes 100% testing on every assembly for mechanical and electrical performance. Vacuum and pressure testing are available in-house. Hipot testing of each conductor ensures a fully operational assembly. Finally, optical fiber testing is available for our OptiSeal feedthroughs.
- 100% quality control testing to IAW MIL-STD-810
- Leak Rate testing: <1×10-9 scc He/sec (std atm temp)
- Point-to-point continuity
- Insulation Resistance, Hipot testing
- Pressure testing >12,000 PSI
- Thermal cycling and thermal aging
- Optical insertion loss and back reflection
Production & Delivery
Once the feedthrough design is validated, we proceed to large scale production maintaining quality standards. Utilizing LEAN manufacturing in an ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 facility, Douglas focuses on quality and eliminating waste. Our production cells are extremely efficient and adept at producing various types of custom feedthroughs and assemblies. For OEM applications, Douglas will create a customized, dedicated production cell to produce consistent, quality parts.
Why Choose Douglas Electrical for Custom Feedthrough?
Choosing Douglas Electrical Components for your feedthrough design needs means benefiting from our 80 years of expertise and commitment to quality. Our experience with various types of epoxies ensures a hermetic seal, meeting customers’ demands for leak rates and pressures. We also employ a NASA-certified outgassing epoxy tested per ASTM E-595-93 (0.33% TML, 0.00% CVCM). Our technical application and sales engineers will work with you to provide the right solution for your end product. The Feedthrough design and assembly are performed by our IPC-620 certified technicians. Contact us today to discuss your requirements.
