Many Samtec blogs discuss bleeding edge new technologies, new products, or provide guidelines on optimizing system performance. Having said that, one of our biggest selling product lines is standard pitch (2.54, 2.00, 1.27 mm) board-to-board interconnects. These are not as sexy as using an ultra-high-density interconnect with PAM4 to achieve 56 Gbps serial channels, but they look mighty appealing if your job is to identify and design-in reliable board-to-board interconnect systems.
Samtec has more ways to connect two or more boards than any other interconnect provider. This blog serves as a quick-reference to help you sort through a myriad of product choices so you can identify the right contact system and product series for your application. Selecting the right contact helps ensure your interconnect system will meet the standards it is supposed to meet – whether it is a high-cycle application, or high shock and vibration, or an interconnect that is going to see very little stress in its life.
HIGH RELIABILITY, HIGH CYCLE
The Tiger Eye™ contact system is designed for high reliability, high cycle applications. Tiger Eye is a multi-finger contact – with either three or four points of contacts – made of heat treated beryllium copper. BeCu provides a strong combination of mechanical and electrical properties for high reliability interconnections.
Popular Tiger Eye Products
| Pitch | Application | Socket | Cable | Terminal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.27 mm | Board Stacking | SFM | TFM | |
| 1.27 mm | IDC | FFSD | FTSH EHF | |
| 1.27 mm | Discrete Wire | SFSD | TFM | |
| 2.00 mm | Board Stacking | SMM | TMMH LTMM TW | |
| 2.00 m | Board Stacking | S2M | T2M | |
| 2.00 mm | IDC | TCSD | EHT TMMH | |
| 2.00 mm | Discrete Wire | S2SD | T2M |
Below are a few examples of Tiger Eye test reports pertaining to high cycle, high reliability:
SFM 1,000 cycles test report
SFM Mixed Flowing Gas test report
Samtec has other Tiger Eye products available; the ones listed here are our most popular series. For a more complete list of products, please visit our picture search, then . Select “Micro/Rugged,” then “Tiger Eye Systems.”
LOW PROFILE
Samtec’s Tiger Claw™ contact is a low-profile, dual-wipe, pass-through contact. The Tiger Claw contact is available in 1.00, 1.27, 2.00, and 2.54 mm pitch socket strips. The profile of the SMT version is usually 2.29 mm (.090”). Also, Tiger Claw is a pass-through contact, which allows designers pass the mating terminal strip through the top or bottom of the socket strip, and to connect three (or more) boards together.
Popular Tiger Claw Products
| Pitch | Application | Socket | Terminal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.00 mm | Board Stacking | CLM | FTM FTMH |
| 1.27 mm | Board Stacking | CLP | FTS FTSH |
| 2.00 mm | Board Stacking | CLT | TMM TMMH |
| 2.54 mm | Board Stacking | SSM BCS | TSM TSW |
HIGH RETENTION, COST EFFECTIVE
The Tiger Buy™ contact is popular because it is a simple dual-wipe design, high retention, and cost-effective. It’s not the most rugged contact we have but it’s durable. It’s not the least expensive contact we offer but it’s cost-effective. The long beams / extended insertion depth make it rugged. It is a big seller for Samtec because it’s one of the workhorses of our product line.
Popular Tiger Buy Products
| Pitch | Application | Socket | Terminal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.54 mm | Board Stacking | SSW SSQ | TSW HW |
| 2.54 mm | Board Stacking | ESW ESQ | TSW HW |
| 2.00 mm | Board Stacking | SQW SQT | TMMH TW |
RELIABLE, BEST COST
Tiger Beam™ is post-and-beam contact design. Being single beam, it is our most economical contact. But economical does not mean it’s unreliable; they are tested to 100 cycles. Tiger Beam is available in five pitches, and most contacts are gold-plated BeCu.
Popular Tiger Beam Products
| Pich | Application | Socket | Terminal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.54 mm | Board Stacking | HLE | TSM |
| 2.00 mm | Board Stacking | TLE | TMMH |
| 1.27 mm | Board Stacking | FLE | FTSH |
| 1.00 mm | Board Stacking | MLE | FTMH |
| 0.80 mm | Board Stacking | CLE | FTE |
THAT’S NOT ALL
The contact systems discussed above are four of our more popular, pin-and-socket systems for basic board stacking. We have not even discussed most of our micro pitch interconnect systems; we’ll save that for another day. Click here for an overview of all available Samtec contact systems.
