Edge Card Connectors Product Roundup

By AJ Born | April 26, 2022

This week’s Product Roundup highlights edge card connectors from leading suppliers.

Edge Card Connectors  

Eclipta connector series

Smiths Interconnect’s Eclipta connector series incorporates an innovative, double-ended, edge card contact system featuring a PCB as the contact on the disposable connector side. This eliminates the cost of the contact system on that side. In addition, its plug-and-play design provides effortless termination and virtually eliminates the potential contact damage associated with the termination process. Additional benefits include mass termination of catheter wires directly to the PCB in the disposable and reusable sides, scalability, customization, and the possibility to be re-worked on the reusable side. Eclipta’s easy assembly and high density interconnect design make it ideal for use with mapping and ablation catheters, RF generators, home healthcare devices, value medical systems and many other disposable medical devices. Eclipta’s edge card contact module, in the reusable connector body, is designed for high mating cycles, providing reliable connection over the life of the reusable device.

 

Amphenol Communications Solutions’ 0.80 mm pitch Double Density Cool Edge connectorsAmphenol Communications Solutions’ 0.80 mm pitch Double Density Cool Edge connectors and cable assemblies offer a compact design with two rows of contacts. This highly configurable single-piece connector can accommodate both high speed and low speed signal and power. This hybrid connector reduces more than half of the PCB footprint when compared to 1.00 mm PCIe Cool Edge. It supports PCIe Gen 5 and is designed for multiple Add-In-Card thicknesses. Double Density Cool Edge connectors save much more space compared to most of the card edge connectors on the market.

 

TE Connectivity’s NanoRF Edge Launch connector

TE Connectivity’s NanoRF Edge Launch connector is the only solution that can integrate the RF above an optical interconnect for military and radar RF embedded computing applications. The NanoRF connector meets the rigorous requirements of VITA 67.3 to provide a simple and standardized interface with VPX plug-in computing modules, including RF switches, tuners, software-defined radios, and other embedded computing systems. The NanoRF Edge Launch connector reduces space requirements, which eliminates the need for cables and results in a more rugged product. This smaller size comes without sacrificing performance, providing high density and high frequency up to 70 Ghz. The NanoRF’s bullet adapter reduces tolerances and helps to allow for decreased mating force, which is required for stacked boards.

 

Cinch Edge Card Connectors

Cinch Edge Card Connectors are available in a variety of styles on both .100 and .156 center spacing. Cinch provides three product series: .100 Cardcon Connectors, 0.156 Cardcon Connectors, and 0.156 Commercial Connectors. Product offerings also include accessories for these connectors, such as card guides and polarizing keys.

 

The Viking low profile .100” contact center connectors, supplied by CDM Electronics

The Viking low profile .100” contact center connectors, supplied by CDM Electronics, accept 1/16” PCBs. All popular sizes from 6 to 50 positions are available with either pierced eyelet or dip solder terminations. The termination row spacing is .145”. Bifurcated, full-bellows contacts give the best performance in conditions of repeated insertions and withdrawal of the PCB. The variety of possible material combinations allows for a choice of emphasis on performance or cost savings.

 

Samtec HSEC6-DV micro edge card connector

The new Samtec HSEC6-DV micro edge card connector is a 0.60 mm pitch high-speed edge card connector. HSEC6-DV is PCIe® 5.0 capable and compliant to SFF-TA-1002:  x4 (1C), x8 (2C), x16 (4C and 4C+). HSEC6-DV also meets Gen-Z™ specifications. The differential pair contact system is rated at 56 Gb/s PAM4 performance. The rugged Edge Rate® contacts are optimized for signal integrity performance and cycle life. The edge card socket is available with 28, 42, 70, and 84 positions per row, and mates with 1.60 mm (.062”) thick PCB edge cards. Optional weld tabs are available to increase the mechanical strength of the connector to the board. The HSEC6-DV is RoHS compliant, lead-free solderable, is rated at 300 VAC, and the current rating is 0.8A with 12 pins energized. It is the latest in a full-line of high-speed edge card connectors, rated up to 56 Gb/s PAM4, on 0.80, and 1.00 mm centerline. These products are available in vertical, right angle, edge mount, and pass-through orientations. They are also available in power/signal combos, with press-fit tails, locks, and latches.

 

JPC Connectivity’s low insertion force, high-speed edge card series

JPC Connectivity’s low insertion force, high-speed edge card series is engineered to provide a smooth mating surface for your high mating cycle applications. Available in both low and high profile vertical models as well as right-angle versions while providing DIP, press fit, and SMD for soldering. Popular applications include servers, storage modules, RAID systems, switch, and high-performance computing (HPC). Also heavily used with SATA/SAS/PCIe devices and all meet Non-Volatile Memory Host Controller Interface Specification (NVMHCIS) association requirements.

 

New 9159-650 Series vertical, dual-row, top-entry card-edge connectors from KYOCERA AVX

The new 9159-650 Series vertical, dual-row, top-entry card-edge connectors from KYOCERA AVX provide significant functionality in a broad range of perpendicular, PCB-mating automotive, industrial, and lighting applications with harsh operating environments, the new 9159-650 Series features a high-temperature thermoplastic insulator rated for UL94 V-0 flammability performance. The 9159-650 series is equipped with KYOCERA AVX’s robust compression contact system, which employs gold-plated beryllium copper (BeCu) contacts to ensure high-reliability and high signal integrity in even challenging conditions. The vertical, dual-row, top-entry card-edge connectors are available with four to 12 contacts rated for a full 2.5 A each and arranged in a staggered, dual-row configuration that allows for twice the number of contact positions in roughly the same small form factor as the 00-9159 Series vertical, single-row, top-entry card-edge connectors, which have been field-proven in rugged automotive, industrial, and lighting applications since their market introduction in 2013. They also accept 1.6 mm-thick mating PCBs with gold-plated pads and offer options for both polarization, in which case the mating PCB layout is modified to form a key that prevents improper insertion, and compatibility with automated pick-and-place and SMT termination equipment, in which case Kapton tape is applied prior to reeling. In addition, the new 9159-650 Series vertical, dual-row, top-entry card-edge connectors are rated for 300 VAC and 10 cycles in operating temperatures extending from -40 °C to +125 °C.

 

ept’s EC.8 edge card connectors

With data transmission rates over 30 Gb/s, ept’s EC.8 edge card connectors can be relied on for a plethora of different applications – including automation technology, IoT devices, cloud computing, and beyond. With shorter and fewer transfer path changes, the EC.8 offers high data transmission rates and an enhanced signal. EC.8’s industry-proven 0.8 mm pitch is available in variations of 20 to 200 pins. EC.8 SMT edge card connectors tolerate an offset of 0.6 mm in the longitudinal axis and 0.7 mm in the transversal axis during insertion. ept offers as a standard a more rugged EC.8 edge card connector with protected pin tips that allow for a blunt card and stub free mating.

 

AirBorn’s M-Series Micro Dw microminiature connectors

AirBorn’s M-Series Micro Dw microminiature connectors offer male or female edge (or straddle) surface-mounted PCB-mounted connectors that have 2, 3, and 4 rows of contacts spaced at 0.050″. These connectors have a straight orientation and mount to the top and bottom surface at the edge of the PCB and are held in place with mounting brackets.  They are available in sizes ranging from 9 to 100 contacts.

 

Amphenol Pcd GladiatorGladiator, Amphenol PCD’s newest, small, lightweight, and flat connector is designed for soldier worn applications, including data sharing, battery charging, and peripheral connectivity. Plugs and receptacles fit through MOLLE pack straps. Receptacles are designed for panel mounting, clipped into MOLLE, or sewn into place. Magnetic mating orients and aligns connectors for fast, no-look mating. A rolling latch secures the connector in place, preventing inadvertent de-mating. Factory adjustable engage/disengage forces meet customer specific requirements. Spring pins (spring probes) maintain contact through shock and vibration. Silicone gasket interfacial seal seals individual contacts and the plug to receptacle. Gladiator supports USB2.0 Data, with 90 Ω impedance.

 

Like this article? Check out our other Product RoundupProduct News, and Connector Industry News features and our 2022 Article Archives.

To learn more about the companies mentioned in this article, visit the Preferred Supplier pages for Smiths Interconnect, AirBorn, Amphenol Communications Solutions, Cinch Connectivity Solutions, CDM Electronics Inc., ept, , JPC Connectivity, KYOCERA AVX, TE Connectivity, and Samtec Inc.

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AJ Born
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