As Rapport hits a major milestone of 40 years as a leading provider of wiring harnesses and wholesale batteries, employees have been talking about the company’s origin and how it got to where it is today. Someone who has been involved from the very start is company President and CEO Kent Lehman. He recently shared some memories about the early years and observations on how the company has evolved. Bluebirds and the Blue Wirecutter in the Hall Rapport was founded by Kent’s mom, Sherry, in 1979. As the company grew, Kent’s dad, Dale, got involved. The couple worked hard Read More
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Rapport Celebrates 40 Years as an Electronics Manufacturing Leader
Rapport is thrilled to announce that this year the company is celebrating 40 years in business! Appropriately for what was, at the time, a woman-owned sole proprietorship, Sherry Lehman founded Rapport on Mother’s Day 1979. Little did she know that her company would evolve into a leader in wiring harnesses and wholesale batteries. The Early Years Sherry initially worked as an electronic manufacturer’s rep for printed circuit boards. She had to wear multiple hats in that role, selling the boards to OEMs both through inside sales (taking orders from customers) and outside sales (making sales calls). It was hard work Read More
QA at Rapport, Inc.: High Standards in Cable Assembly Production
When you work with a provider to produce electronic enclosure assemblies, value added services, battery packs or a certain type of cable assembly, there are a number of criteria you want them to meet. For example, the wiring harness should be designed and developed to effectively address your functional requirements (e.g. impedance or dielectric strength). In addition, the project — from design to prototype production to producing the cable assembly in quantity — should be cost-effective and stay on budget. What’s more, the completed product should be delivered according to your timeline. However, achieving all of these objectives is not Read More
What You Need to Know About Wire Harness Assembly Labeling
A wire harness assembly (also known as a cable harness, cable assembly, wire bundle, or wiring loom) is a group of electrical wires or cables held together with conduit, cable ties, straps or by other means. It is used to provide power or data to a particular device or system. While the fact that the wires are bound together makes it easier to decipher what should be connected at each end, it can still be very helpful to have the wires labeled. This can mean labelling individual wires within a group, multiple wires, or the entire bundle. What a Wire Read More
Cells and Batteries: Powering Up With Custom Battery Packs
A battery pack is a group of connected batteries designed to produce a particular voltage, power density, and capacity. Typically developed using one size or type of power source, a battery pack can be created from a wide variety of cells and batteries. Battery packs contain interconnects that channel the power through the series or string of batteries. How the batteries are linked plays a role in the performance characteristics of the group. Rechargeable batteries can be used to create a battery pack. When that is the case, the configuration typically contains a sensor that detects when the charging cycle Read More
Alkaline Batteries: What Battery Suppliers Consider Their Advantages
The proliferation of energy-hungry handheld devices has increased the need for lighter cells and batteries that have more energy and are rechargeable. In many cases, this means lithium chemistry. However, there is definitely still a need and many use cases for alkaline batteries, as battery suppliers will attest. Alkaline cells and batteries derive and deliver energy from the reaction between zinc metal and manganese dioxide. These batteries have a positive anode (the zinc end) and a negative cathode (the manganese end). Also called electrodes, these parts of a battery are the site of chemical reactions that occur due to their Read More
Cable Harness Heat Shrink Tubing: Important Attributes
A cable harness, also known as a cable assembly, wiring harness, wire bundle, or wiring assembly, is a collection of cables or wires that are secured into a single unit and have a connector at one or both ends. They are used to transmit power or informational signals in electronic devices. A cable harness serves many purposes. First, it makes it easier to install a group of wires. Technicians only have to make one connection rather than doing so for each individual wire. Second, a cable assembly is easier to locate and replace than multiple independent wires or cables. Also, Read More
What to Look for in Wire Harness Manufacturers
A wiring harness is a critical component in many types of electronic devices. Also known as a wire harness, cable assembly and wiring assembly, these units are groups of electrical wires or cables that transmit electrical power or digital signals within a device. The wires may be bound together in any number of ways including straps, cable ties, sleeves and wraps. The group of wires typically has a connector at both ends that is specific to its function. The work of getting wires, binding, and connectors all together is done by wire harness manufacturers. Some of the many advantages of Read More
Summer Heat and Battery Health: Insights from a Supplier of Wholesale Batteries
There is much to love about the warm-weather months—unless you are a battery. As the temperature goes from pleasantly warm to brutally hot, it can impact the health of your batteries. Read More
Wire Harness Assembly: How a Wiring Harness is Made
Any product that is electrically powered can likely make use of a wiring harness. Also called a cable harness, cable assembly or wiring assembly, a wiring harness is a group of wires that typically starts and terminates with a type of connector specific to its function. Read More