For Delta Electronics, a manufacturing corporation based in Beverly, MA, the business of making electronic connectors has evolved from a "ground up" operation to one where its products deliver data across the globe. While a core operation for the business involves machining raw materials and rough stock, the products it creates -connectors- play a vital role in the delivery of communications for the avionics, military, wireless and test and measurement industries.

In operation since 1955, the company has seen its operations continually evolve, as have the industries it supplies connectors to. For example, smaller and higher frequencies are often utilized in communications to push a signal to a specific area of operation, such as radio frequencies required to reach satellites. Simultaneously, standard AM radio transmits in thousands of kilocycles, or KC; conversely, military and aerospace frequencies transmit in gigacycles. These smaller and higher frequencies require extremely tight manufacturing and performance tolerances Delta Electronics must meet. In fact, critical dimensions on equipment, which once had tolerances of .005 mm have reduced to .0001 mm.

Accordingly, Delta Electronics has evolved with the industry. In the 1950s, the company could manufacture connectors the size of a human hand. Today, they're comparatively tiny. For military communications for example, they must be installed in a manner that allows for absolutely no movement, which could disrupt communications occurring via radio signal.

Weighing in During Assembly

Fabricating connectors for aerospace use from raw materials requires the ability to adapt to often-shrinking and ever-stringent specifications. To do so, and to create a connector that allows absolutely no movement whatsoever, requires an epoxy with equally exacting specs.

Despite this continual technological push, Delta Electronics relies on a timeless instrument for a critical step in the process: the OHAUS Triple Beam Balance. Much like Delta Electronics, OHAUS, and the Triple Beam Balance are a fixture in their respective industries. On a daily basis, Delta Electronics personnel utilize the balance to mix a two-part epoxy utilized to prevent rotation of the contact and insulator in the connector body. A measurement that requires accurate, repeatable results to the gram, this two-part "recipe" is created by weighing each essential ingredient, which yields an epoxy strong enough for use in military communications applications. Simultaneously, the balance is relied upon to continually provide exact measurements, so each communication device performs consistently and optimally through its lifetime.

As the communications industries continue their evolution for smaller equipment capable of broadcasting ever-advancing frequencies, the manufacturing processes used to create equipment must advance alongside. While new and continually advanced machinery will allow for faster manufacturing and highly technical production, few products will remain a fixture in the manufacturing lab in the manner the OHAUS Triple Beam Balance has.