Every day, Samtec’s Application Support Group answers questions about connector mechanical, thermal, and electrical specifications. Designers frequently ask how much current, voltage and power a Samtec connector can carry. Samtec Associate Dave Scopelliti prepared an excellent document with the goal of taking the confusion out of voltage and power ratings in specifications and in product information publications. SCOPE The paper is divided into three sections: RMS (Root … [Read more...]
Search Results for: galvanic
Top 10 Samtec Blog Posts In 2018 (So Far …)
THE REAL TOP 10, NOT FAKE NEWS Wow, so many important, world-shaping events have occured in the first six months of 2018. Mankind experienced the U.S. / North Korea Summit, the royal wedding, the World Cup, and 80+ blogs from Samtec, to name just a few. Since the mainstream media didn't give the Samtec blog the coverage it deserved, I'll proudly give you a brief, mid-year review of the Top 10 most popular Samtec blogs, year-to-date: DISSIMILAR METALS AND THE RISK OF GALVANIC … [Read more...]
How Samtec Uses A Scanning Electron Microscope To Ensure Quality Connectors
Samtec is one of the fortunate connector companies to own a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). We recently upgraded our SEM to a new Jeol, JSM-IT500, which has a 100,000 X magnification power. I spoke with Dave Scopelliti, our Test, Measurement, and Processing Guru, about this new equipment and how Samtec uses the SEM to improve the quality of our connector products and services. Danny: Dave, how does a connector manufacturer like Samtec use an Electron Microscope? Dave: … [Read more...]
Here They Are. The Top 10 Samtec Blog Posts of 2017.
2017 was another amazing year for Samtec as we continued to grow our reach and push the limits of technology in our industry. Along with that came hundreds of blog posts on The Samtec Blog with hundreds of thousands of visits. We've expanded beyond being just a "Samtec News" site to posting helpful how-to articles, industry news articles, and beyond. Ranked by pure traffic, here are our top blog posts of 2017. Enjoy! Top Samtec Blog Posts of 2017 1. Dissimilar Metals And The Risk of … [Read more...]
What Plating Option Is Best For My Connector?
Choosing the right plating is critical to the success of a connector system. Plating affects the connector's performance, life cycle, quality, and cost. Let’s begin with cost. A recent blog explains that the major costs in a connector are the plastic body, the pins, plating on the pins, the labor to assemble it, and the packaging. And with most connectors, the bigger ticket items are the pins and the plating. For example, on a micro pitch, high density interconnect product, the pin and … [Read more...]
Comparing Base Metals In Connectors
I’ll start this blog with two questions. First, what are the major costs to build a connector? Second, which of these are the bigger costs? In other words, what is the most expensive part of a connector? (Quick aside: I can’t speak for all connector companies when it comes to costs. The majority of examples I’m using in this blog relate to Samtec interconnects, but I bet the principles apply to other connector companies as well.) Connector Costs The major costs in a connector are … [Read more...]
Creepage and Clearance and Connectors
While creepage and clearance sounds like something that’s a misdemeanor in most states, we are asked about it frequently. Why all the questions? Either it’s not a crime in Indiana, or designers are asking about higher voltage connector systems. Creepage and clearance is ultimately about safety and meeting regulatory standards, regardless of the system design. And, the ongoing trends to reduce PCB size and increase density become a design challenge when these smaller, denser PCBs incorporate … [Read more...]
Multiple Connector Alignment On Mating PCBs
Design and Processing Engineers frequently contact our Interconnect Processing Group (IPG) to discuss multiple connector alignment issues on mating PCBs. Our standard response is “it’s easy, don't worry about the alignment, and we recommend you use as many mated connector sets as possible.” OK, I’m lying. The first part – that IPG receives a lot of inquiries – is true. The second part – it’s easy – is not 100% true. At times it can be complicated. When using multiple connectors per board, … [Read more...]
Calculating Connector Mating and Unmating Forces
We are asked all kinds of questions about both the electrical and mechanical properties of our mated connector sets. This makes sense because interconnects are obviously electromechanical components. On the electrical side, the two we answer the most are: what is the current rating of a connector?how does Samtec establish a voltage rating? Mechanical FAQs include: how many cycles will this connector handle?do you test to my specifications?what is the force required to mate or … [Read more...]
Fretting Over Fretting Corrosion
Last week I posted a blog about a paper on Interconnect Susceptibility To Galvanic Corrosion. The paper was prepared David Scopelliti, a longtime friend of Samtec. As I mentioned there, Dave has a wealth of test, application, industry, and processing knowledge, and is well-respected and well-known in the industry. That’s a polite way of saying he knows a lot and has been around forever (think Moses in a lab coat). See a picture of Dave to the right. He's either … [Read more...]