Helping design and engineering professionals discover, evaluate and specify technologies and processes that shorten the design cycle and enable success.
Cut Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) Hallucinations by 50%
Most teams hit the same wall with enterprise AI: LLMs that hallucinate, pipelines that don’t scale, and infrastructure that’s harder to design than the models themselves.
What Is Intelligent BOM Management? A Guide to Smarter Product Development
Learn how intelligent Bill of Materials (BOM) management helps teams collaborate, reduce errors, and bring innovative products to market faster with cloud-based PLM tools.
At the Open Compute Project (OCP) Global Summit in October, a new, micro quick-disconnect connector, known as the Mini-QD, developed by Staubli, was introduced by Ciena as the enabler for Ciena’s liquid-cooled OSFP module. Additionally, Staubli will lead the standardization initiative for the Mini-QD, helping to advance applications that compact, high-performance liquid cooling.
OCP also announced the UQD v2 update, a revision of the original Universal Quick Disconnect (UQD) standard first developed in 2020 by a working group including Stäubli, Parker, and CPC.
The new Mini-QD technology enables the liquid cooling of next-generation optical pluggable modules such as OSFP and QSFP devices that are expected to reach up to 1.6 terabits per second by 2027, requiring a shift from traditional air cooling to liquid cooling.
By integrating liquid cooling directly into the pluggable optical module, the Mini-QD removes thermal constraints that limit bandwidth expansion and system density. The Mini-QD is designed for scalability and interchangeability, allowing other manufacturers to adopt a common interface once standardized.
“As compute densities and power levels rise, it’s no longer enough to innovate in isolation,” says Nicolas Monnier, head of IT Cooling at Stäubli. “The industry depends on open standards that evolve as quickly as the technologies they enable. Our work to lead the standardization of the Mini-QD with Ciena, and to help define the next generation of the UQD specification, shows how collaboration accelerates progress in a rapidly changing ecosystem.”
The UQD v2 update introduces testing protocols, tighter flow-performance limits, and standardized mechanical geometry for blind-mate and manual connectors, advancements that improve cross-compatibility across suppliers.
Together, the Mini-QD initiative and the UQD v2 specification support demand for interoperable liquid cooling components in AI and high-performance computing environments.
Stäubli will showcase its latest quick-disconnect technologies, including the UQD v2 portfolio, at the SC25 Supercomputing Conference in November in St. Louis at booth #1005
Stäubli is an engineering partner in the transition to liquid-cooled data centers, designing and manufacturing quick-disconnect connectors that deliver high-flow, zero-leak performance. With engineering and manufacturing in North America, Europe, and Asia, Stäubli supports OEMs, hyperscalers, and system integrators worldwide with deep ecosystem integration, and premium technical support.
Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.
DE's editors contribute news and new product announcements to Digital Engineering. Press releases may be sent to them via [email protected].
Follow DE
Join over 90,000 engineering professionals who get fresh engineering news as soon as it is published.
About Us · Contact Us · Editorial Team · Advertising · Privacy Policy · Subscriber Services · © 2026 Digital Engineering 24/7 · Peerless Media