Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best. I can’t describe how many times I sat across from an engineer describing his exotic approach to an interconnect challenge, only to show him that there is a much simpler, easier and cost effective approach to achieving the same result. It’s not the fault of the engineer, he […]

Many, many moons ago, as a young PCB designer, I remember my boss yelling at me to hurry up with my design. He kept barking “don’t worry about the connector, we’ll deal with it later, just put a ‘keep out’ area in that location and run the signals to dummy IO points.” There were so […]

One of the biggest challenges facing assembly of SMT interconnects is maintaining lead coplanarity over a distance. The greater the distance, the more likely the PCB surface may display the effects of warp, twist, and thickness tolerances. If the device lead is seated too high above the solder paste, then this will be either a […]

Socket receptacle carriers are probably one of the least known, least understood methods of creating ultra-low profile socket locations onto a PCB. A socket carrier looks just like a single-in-line or dual-in-line device, however closer inspection finds the individual receptacles are temporarily being held in position for PCB placement and soldering. Typically tail-less socket receptacles […]

Horizontal mount screw machine pin-and-socket receptacle interconnects sit parallel to the surface of a printed circuit board. One reason why they’re so advantageous from a product design standpoint is that their mating centerline is low profile to the PCB. These horizontal mount interconnects can come in two configurations: surface-mount and right-angle through-hole. The primary advantage […]