There are many types of connectors, such as wire to board connectors, board to board connectors, pin headers, FPC connectors. Connectors are used to connect two boards or electronic devices for power or signal transmission. The connector can modularize the circuit, simplify the assembly process of electronic products, and make the product easy to maintain and upgrade. The selection of connectors plays a decisive role. So what should we consider the connector when choosing a connector?
1、pitch
Pitch is the basic basis for connector selection. The number of connectors that choose how many pin counts depends on the number of signals that need to be connected. Nowadays, electronic devices are becoming smaller and more precise, and the pitch of connectors is from 0.5 mm to 2.54 mm. The smaller the pitch, the higher the requirements for the production process. The spacing should be determined according to the company's production process level, blindly pursuing small pitch。
2、electrical performance
The electrical properties of the connector mainly include: limiting current, contact resistance, insulation resistance and so on. When connecting a high-power power supply, pay attention to the limit current of the connector; when transmitting high-frequency signals such as LVDS, PCIe, etc., pay attention to the contact resistance. The connector should have a low and constant contact resistance, typically tens of mΩ to hundreds of mΩ.
3、 environmental performance
The environmental performance of the connector mainly includes: temperature resistance, moisture resistance, salt spray resistance, vibration and the like. Choose according to the specific application environment. If the application environment is relatively humid, the requirements for moisture and salt spray resistance of the connector are high, and the metal contacts of the connector are prevented from being rusted. In the field of industrial control, the requirements for the vibration and shock resistance of the connector are high, so as to prevent the connector from falling off during the vibration process.
4、mechanical properties
The mechanical properties of the connector include the insertion and extraction force, mechanical foolproofing, and the like. Mechanical foolproof is very important to the connector. Once inserted, it is likely to cause irreversible damage to the circuit!
The insertion force is divided into insertion force and separation force. The maximum insertion force and the minimum separation force are specified in the relevant standards. From the point of view of use, the insertion force is small and the separation force is large. Too small separation force will reduce the reliability of contact. However, for connectors that often need to be plugged and unplugged, excessive separation force will increase the difficulty of pulling out and reduce the mechanical life.
