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About PCB connectors
To connect PCBs to other electrical components, there are connectors or circuit board connectors. The connection can be made via terminal connections, screw connections or solder contacts. To select the correct selection for your connection to boards, click here.
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What was PCB connector?
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What was the connection
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Selection of PCB connectors
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Conclusion - extensive connection possibilities
What was PCB connector?
Boards are thin plates that contain electrical components and connections. For practical use, PCBs are connected to other electrical components or assemblies. These can be switches, dials, displays or other circuit boards, for example.
Such connections can be realized, for example, with cables that are soldered directly onto the board. However, it is difficult to remove these solder joints again and the heat input by soldering several times could damage components on the circuit board. In addition, some connection points on PCBs are very small or difficult to access .
In order to implement connections that can be released and easily accessed, there are PCB connectors. For direct connectors, the connection point is located directly on the board. They can be attached directly to other components or circuit boards with the corresponding connection. This system is located in computers (on graphics card, RAM module) or special industrial controllers, for example.
Indirect connectors are soldered to the board. There are various connection systems to establish a secure connection. The PCB connectors are connected to cables, connectors, or directly to other board connectors.
These circuit board connectors enable detachable connection points to various electrical components. The various types of connectors are available with straight and angled connectors .
What connection parts are available?
There are different connection options for PCBs. Important circuit board connectors and parts are:
Multipoint Connectors & Receptacles
Terminal strips are inserted into terminal blocks. There are pins on the terminal side of the terminal strips. Their counterpart, the female multipoint connectors, have sockets as a connection. They have connectors to attach them by soldering or plugging them onto circuit boards that are to be connected to each other.
These two types can be combined in many ways. In addition to the option of connecting two PCBs , there are also special connectors with which cables can be attached to the strips. When selecting, make sure that the strips come from the same manufacturer, as multi-vendor multi-pin and multi-pin connectors are usually not compatible with each other.
Socket boards, socket terminal strips
Circuit boards can be connected together with pin strips, individual cables can be connected or multi-wire connections can be made with plugs. The socket strips are the counterpart to the pin strips . The bars are available in many series and pole combinations.
Shorting Jumpers
Short-circuit bridges or "jumpers" are plugged onto pin strips to connect two of the contacts on one strip to each other – they are "bridged" . Thus, different switching states are set by simply bridging contacts. A well-known example of this is the control of older hard disks by defining a main (master) and a secondary hard disk (slave). This is achieved by means of a short-circuit bridge.
Soldering Tags & Pins
Solder lugs and solder pins are mounted on PCBs and serve as solder support points . They are usually soldered to PCBs, but there are also special plug versions. There are also connections via pins and eyelets, which are firmly connected to the circuit board by pressing. Several wires can be attached to these solder support points, increasing the solder stiffness . Plugs can also be attached to individual wires, which can be plugged directly onto solder pins.
PCB Terminals
PCB terminals allow wires to be attached by screwing or clamping. These connections can be easily loosened again. Wires can be easily replaced or otherwise clamped.
Pin Headers
Pin connectors are a form of pin strips used for plug connections. They have an insulating border and are coded to avoid incorrect insertion. An additional locking mechanism ensures a secure hold of the plug, which was necessary for strongly swinging devices such as washing machines.
Pin strip and socket strip systems
Pin strip and socket strip systems combine pin strips and socket strips designed for specific applications. There are as many pin strip and socket strip systems as there are many manufacturers and application scenarios. These can have different coding, number of poles, plug variants and housing types.
Accessories for pin strip and socket strip systems
There is also a wide range of accessories for the extensive range of pin strip and socket strip systems. This ranges from seals and housings via additional strain relief up to coding aids.
Select the correct PCB connector
To equip your board with connectors, there are a few points to consider when making the correct selection:
- The number of pins or connections and number of rows must fit on their circuit board.
- The maximum current of the connectors should be greater than the expected current strengths on their circuit board.
- Are only a few individual wires to be connected or multi-wire cables ? A solder socket or a simple pin strip is sometimes sufficient for a few wires. For multi-core applications, spring and male or pin and socket strips should be considered.
- For devices that oscillate strongly, pay attention to a plug lock.
- Seals and housings should be used in difficult conditions such as dust or moisture.
Conclusion – extensive connection possibilities
There is a wide range of connection options for connecting PCBs to other electrical components and assemblies. Circuit board connectors are used to protect the board and to make detachable connections.
There are various strips, solder connections and terminals that can be attached to PCBs. With these, it is possible to establish connections of individual wires, multi-wire cables or other circuit boards. A wide range of systems provide a suitable connector for every application.