Your fast track to customized system solutions

Until now, this often required time-consuming coordination meetings with various partner companies. As a leading international supplier of connector systems, ODU has developed a flexible tooling system to address this issue. We can thus develop tailor-made system solutions that are adapted to different customer requirements and consist of the connectors with the matching assembled cables and customized overmoldings.

Until now, customer-specific overmoldings were generally only available for large orders. However, thanks to our new tool categories they can now also be realized for sample orders and small series. The focus here is on ensuring the rapid availability of customized connector solutions with tailored geometries at economical prices. Our customers can rely on our many years of experience and in-depth production expertise.

With our customized overmoldings we can cater to special requests in terms of the haptics, design, and even different color schemes. Company logos or explanatory symbols can also be integrated into the overmoldings in either a raised or recessed finish. Depending on the requirements, we can provide both straight and angled versions with extra strain relief and guaranteed kink protection at all times.

We can also offer relatively short lead times thanks to the use of newly developed, modular tool categories. In other words, our customers can take delivery of their new workpieces and inspect and test them within a very short time frame.

• Our prototype mold for up to 1,000 units is suitable for illustrative samples for laboratory tests, feasibility tests, as well as initial haptic trials. It includes simple geometries without inserts.
• Our small-series tool is designed for up to 5,000 units. It enables us to apply more complex geometries, holes, and ultra-fine contours, as well as coatings.
• For projects with a production quantity in excess of 5,000 units, a high-volume tool is available that also allows more elaborate features.

As your partner for complete solutions from a single source, ODU tailors its products to the current phase of our customers’ projects – whether you are developing a new idea from scratch or already deep into the execution phase and subject to the highest development standards.

The application areas for our customized overmoldings include medical and military technology. These customers often require special shapes for reasons of space, weight, or hygiene. Shielded solutions are also possible. Likewise, the devices in question may give rise to special cable-routing requirements that cannot be optimally met with standard solutions. And even if aesthetically pleasing work equipment is the order of the day, our customized molded complete systems offer a quick route to an appealing solution.

In addition to thermoplastic overmoldings, customized molds for silicone-overmolded system solutions are also possible. These are characterized, among other things, by extremely robust kink protection, good adhesion of the material to the cable jacket, and sterilizability for medical technology applications.

About the author

Rudolf Weidenspointner is the head of product management for cable assembly and technologies at ODU. He is responsible for the development of new products as well as market-driven and future-focused complete solutions.