TE Connectivity (TE) has unveiled its new Mini-ETH single pair ethernet system for commercial aircraft.

The company claims the new system offers “substantial weight savings, more bandwidth and simpler installation and maintenance by using proven technologies from other markets”.

As designers search for greater efficiency onboard aircraft, TE Connectivity’s new Mini-ETH system has been designed to offer them up to 73 per cent weight savings in cables and up to 41 per cent weight savings in connectors compared to standard eight-wire cables and rectangular connectors.

Using ethernet over single pair protocols derived from the automotive market, the system delivers its weight savings by employing a two-wire cable design, which was recently standardised under the ARINC 854 cabin equipment network bus standard.

Two-wire cables and corresponding 369 connectors help reduce termination time by up to 50 per cent compared to standard quadrax connectors. The reduction in wires within TE’s Mini-ETH system can also simplify maintenance when compared to quadrax connectors.

These efficiencies come in a versatile package that is qualified to 100Mb/s with the ability to support up to 1Gb/s in future applications. The Mini-ETH system is currently designed for use in IFE systems, seat power and lighting controls.

TE Connectivity global aerospace business development manager for aerospace, defense and marine division, Russell Graves, said: “The Mini-ETH single pair ethernet system adapts to what customers need from it, so they can retrofit an existing aircraft with Mini-ETH products to achieve savings or design it into a future system as some customers are doing.

“TE is pleased to be one of the first manufacturers to offer an ethernet over single pair solution for the commercial aerospace market.”

TE’s Mini-ETH system consists of a range of time-tested TE products, including:

• 369 shielded connectors
• DEUTSCH DMC-M connectors (EN4165)
• Cheminax twinax high speed copper cables
• End to End Ethernet assemblies

For more information, visit te.com.