By thinking laterally, engineers can solve problems with the existing pieces by seeking to change the very pieces of the problem.
Isabell is inspired by opportunities. Every problem is a challenge to learn, to make things better and to innovate – and each problem calls for creativity. A senior material scientist with a PhD in metallurgy from the University of Stuttgart, Isabell spends her days evaluating and developing new material systems and coatings that make connector contacts and terminals more reliable and fit for future purpose. Her three decades of professional experience in metals, surface and plating technology enables her to understand which features make materials special and the intricacies of producing materials cost-efficiently using sustainable manufacturing processes. For Isabell, innovation begins with understanding what the customer wants, how a company operates and how it develops a specific product, including the design background, performance history, and production process, which leads to innovation. Isabell approaches problem solving by lateral thinking, by “thinking outside of the box” and not only with the 5-Whys approach. This helps her ideate through difficult objects rejecting the status quo of ideas and conceiving entirely new ways of looking at a problem. Her resilient agility is honed through passion for competitive sports. A skilled skier who raced on the German junior and national teams, Isabell attributes her successes in sports with helping her develop the persistence, endurance, and dedication needed to solve difficult problems and think agilely when developing solutions for advanced materials.
Which technology trends projects are you watching?
Miniaturization in electric and electromechanical components and increasing power and performance at lower cost. Market forces want more functions in smaller spaces. Achieving this requires higher functionality or power density, miniaturized parts, and weight reduction.
Also, designing materials and coatings for higher ambient and peak temperatures is a significant opportunity because not doing so involves the consequence that unpredictable processes and reactions within materials and interfaces could lead to unknown failure mechanisms. In today's market, these trends are not possible to solve with existing solutions because of the performance and availability of the materials and processes; improvements of standard materials and processes are necessary beside new solutions.
What are the challenges in developing materials for miniaturized contacts?
With miniaturization, it's all about making electronic components smaller as well as lighter. Miniaturization helps to reduce space on the board or a component. This implies on the other side reduced contact normal forces, smaller contact areas, an increase in local stress distribution while forming this part, combined with a higher sensitivity to zero-defect materials. Innovative materials, surfaces and coatings and the production processes therefore are the key to be successful.
Think about this: Small pores or voids – the inhomogeneities and impurities – within a material can lead to a failure in a component, which could cause serious consequences. To avoid this, you must focus on the base materials, especially the interfaces, surfaces and coatings, to ensure the material is fulfilling the specifications and the life time functionality.
You also need to carefully examine the microstructure of the material, particularly its grain size, grain boundaries, precipitations and the interfaces between the base material and the coating. This is crucial for achieving a zero-defect material with the needed forming and plating properties.
One example: small voids in the interface, between the base material and the tin coating in the initial condition, can lead to problems later on at elevated temperatures. Delamination of the coatings can occur in heavy-formed small contact areas as temperature stress increases, such as within the electrical stress-test. To avoid this, we use very specific methods for analyzing the details . For this investigation, we closely monitor and examine both the processes and the chemical reactions within materials. We use high-resolution equipment like FIB (= Focus Ion Beam) and GDOES (= Glow Discharge Optical Emission Spectroskopy) to understand the interaction between the single constituents.
What are the challenges in developing charger inlets and contacts for electric vehicle applications?
Since e-mobility is driving change in our core business, in T&C, in a way never seen before, we are looking at the increasing requirements on connector contacts concerning insertion cycles for charger terminals or high temperature applications. For E-mobility, we must design for mating-cycle requirements up to 10000 at charging connectors or temperatures up to 180-200°C at contact points.
To address this, we are developing coating systems and plating processes which can fulfill the new demands. This requires us to look beyond the horizon and consider associated academic disciplines, particularly from other industrial sectors and fields of science. This enables us to accelerate our work during the ideation phase, to run first tests within feasibility studies getting an impression of what might – in principal – be possible to achieve. We are focused to achieve success in cross-functional development, using open innovations and agile teams. An established R&D infrastructure is quite helpful, especially when quick time-to-market and cost pressures are critical requirements.
What is your team working on to enable technological innovation in automotive?
Right now, the automotive and electronic markets are dynamic and undergoing a fundamental shift. Success will come to those companies that focus now on optimizing design and processes, shortening development cycles, and bringing down cost. These are required to compete with the best. Doing these means working to achieve supply chain reliability even with new suppliers, faster time-to-market, simplified processes and products, and owning an R&D infrastructure focused on preparing for the future. This last point is crucial for better time-to-market performance and operational strength.
By thinking laterally, engineers can solve problems with the existing pieces by seeking to change the very pieces of the problem.
Isabell is inspired by opportunities. Every problem is a challenge to learn, to make things better and to innovate – and each problem calls for creativity. A senior material scientist with a PhD in metallurgy from the University of Stuttgart, Isabell spends her days evaluating and developing new material systems and coatings that make connector contacts and terminals more reliable and fit for future purpose. Her three decades of professional experience in metals, surface and plating technology enables her to understand which features make materials special and the intricacies of producing materials cost-efficiently using sustainable manufacturing processes. For Isabell, innovation begins with understanding what the customer wants, how a company operates and how it develops a specific product, including the design background, performance history, and production process, which leads to innovation. Isabell approaches problem solving by lateral thinking, by “thinking outside of the box” and not only with the 5-Whys approach. This helps her ideate through difficult objects rejecting the status quo of ideas and conceiving entirely new ways of looking at a problem. Her resilient agility is honed through passion for competitive sports. A skilled skier who raced on the German junior and national teams, Isabell attributes her successes in sports with helping her develop the persistence, endurance, and dedication needed to solve difficult problems and think agilely when developing solutions for advanced materials.
Which technology trends projects are you watching?
Miniaturization in electric and electromechanical components and increasing power and performance at lower cost. Market forces want more functions in smaller spaces. Achieving this requires higher functionality or power density, miniaturized parts, and weight reduction.
Also, designing materials and coatings for higher ambient and peak temperatures is a significant opportunity because not doing so involves the consequence that unpredictable processes and reactions within materials and interfaces could lead to unknown failure mechanisms. In today's market, these trends are not possible to solve with existing solutions because of the performance and availability of the materials and processes; improvements of standard materials and processes are necessary beside new solutions.
What are the challenges in developing materials for miniaturized contacts?
With miniaturization, it's all about making electronic components smaller as well as lighter. Miniaturization helps to reduce space on the board or a component. This implies on the other side reduced contact normal forces, smaller contact areas, an increase in local stress distribution while forming this part, combined with a higher sensitivity to zero-defect materials. Innovative materials, surfaces and coatings and the production processes therefore are the key to be successful.
Think about this: Small pores or voids – the inhomogeneities and impurities – within a material can lead to a failure in a component, which could cause serious consequences. To avoid this, you must focus on the base materials, especially the interfaces, surfaces and coatings, to ensure the material is fulfilling the specifications and the life time functionality.
You also need to carefully examine the microstructure of the material, particularly its grain size, grain boundaries, precipitations and the interfaces between the base material and the coating. This is crucial for achieving a zero-defect material with the needed forming and plating properties.
One example: small voids in the interface, between the base material and the tin coating in the initial condition, can lead to problems later on at elevated temperatures. Delamination of the coatings can occur in heavy-formed small contact areas as temperature stress increases, such as within the electrical stress-test. To avoid this, we use very specific methods for analyzing the details . For this investigation, we closely monitor and examine both the processes and the chemical reactions within materials. We use high-resolution equipment like FIB (= Focus Ion Beam) and GDOES (= Glow Discharge Optical Emission Spectroskopy) to understand the interaction between the single constituents.
What are the challenges in developing charger inlets and contacts for electric vehicle applications?
Since e-mobility is driving change in our core business, in T&C, in a way never seen before, we are looking at the increasing requirements on connector contacts concerning insertion cycles for charger terminals or high temperature applications. For E-mobility, we must design for mating-cycle requirements up to 10000 at charging connectors or temperatures up to 180-200°C at contact points.
To address this, we are developing coating systems and plating processes which can fulfill the new demands. This requires us to look beyond the horizon and consider associated academic disciplines, particularly from other industrial sectors and fields of science. This enables us to accelerate our work during the ideation phase, to run first tests within feasibility studies getting an impression of what might – in principal – be possible to achieve. We are focused to achieve success in cross-functional development, using open innovations and agile teams. An established R&D infrastructure is quite helpful, especially when quick time-to-market and cost pressures are critical requirements.
What is your team working on to enable technological innovation in automotive?
Right now, the automotive and electronic markets are dynamic and undergoing a fundamental shift. Success will come to those companies that focus now on optimizing design and processes, shortening development cycles, and bringing down cost. These are required to compete with the best. Doing these means working to achieve supply chain reliability even with new suppliers, faster time-to-market, simplified processes and products, and owning an R&D infrastructure focused on preparing for the future. This last point is crucial for better time-to-market performance and operational strength.
