Terms
.032" PCB Card Slot
Thickness of daughter card the edgecard will accept.
.062" PCB Card Slot
Thickness of daughter card the edgecard will accept.
.093" PCB Card Slot
Thickness of daughter card the edgecard will accept.
.125" PCB Card Slot
Thickness of daughter card the edgecard will accept.
Adjustable Insertion Force
A style of edgecard where the insertion force can be adjusted by pulling the pin deeper or not as deep to achieve different insertion forces.
Adjustable Row Spacing
A style of edgecard where the pins are such that an added operation can change the row spacing as needed per customer requirements.
Back Up Spring
In half loaded parts, these would be pins installed on the unused side of the connector to act as springs to maintain an acceptable insertion force for the daughter card.
Bi-Level
A connector containing two levels of contacts. This connector has two halves that have pins that mesh together, creating a double density connector with staggering upper and lower pins.
Cantilever
A pin style where there is only one flex point on the pin.
Card Edge
A connector style where the connector acts as the mechanical interface between the mother and daughter cards in a multi-board assembly.
Card Extender Termination
A termination style where the pins will straddle the motherboard on both sides. Is attached on the edge of the board horizontally.
Card Slot
The part of an edgecard connector that the daughter card is plugged into.
Connector
A device that is used to achieve electrical connections between other devices, such as circuit boards.
Contact
The pin enclosed in a connector that carries the electrical signal.
Contact Area
The area of the pin that makes contact with the mating connector/PCB.
Contact Center
The distance between contacts on a connector, as measured in the length.
Contact Material
The material that the pin or contact is made from. The most common contact materials used by Sullins is Phosphor bronze is standard for operating temperatures up to 125oC and Beryllium Copper for operating temperatures up to 150oC when using high termperature plastic.
Contact Point
The small point of a pin that is where the actual contact of the pin is making contact with the mating connector/PCB.
Cross Competitors Part Numbers
The Sullins equivalent part that can be used as a replacement of a competitor’s part.
Cycle
The number of times a daughter card can be inserted and withdrawn from an edgecard connector before failure of the edgecard will occur.
Daughter Card
The circuit board that is plugged into the cardslot side of an edgecard connector.
Dip Solder Termination
A termination style where the pins are usually short and straight. These are used for direct soldering into a motherboard.
Dual Row
A connector that contains two rows of pins.
Edgecard
A connector style where the connector acts as the mechanical interface between the mother and daughter cards in a multi-board assembly.
Eyelet Contacts
A type of termination where the pin has a hole through it for the purpose of soldering a wire to the contact.
Full Loop Contacts
A contact type where the head of the contact loops around in a manner that the pin has three points.
Hairpin Contacts
A contact type where the head has one loop over the top and comes down.
Half Load
Edgecard where only one row of pins are loaded. This is used for situations where the customers daughter card is only one-sided.
HAST Testing (85/85)
Part can be tested in in a range of temperatures in 85% humidity. Housing can not use PBT material. Requires PPS material.
Header
A connector style that consists of straight pins (male) to insert into a socket header (female).
High Cycle
A connector that can withstand a large amount (usually 500 or more) insertions and withdraws of the mating connector/daughter card before failure starts.
High Density
Connectors that have a small pin pitch; the pins are close together. Usually .050” or closer.
High Profile
The connector series of edgecards that have a height of .610".
High Temp or Hi-Temp
A connector that can withstand temperatures of 150°C or higher.
Injection Molding
The method used to create the connector housings. Molten plastic is pushed into a mold and cooled to a solid.
Insertion Force
The amount of force (usually measured in ounces) it takes to insert a daughter card into an edgecard, or amount of force for a connector set to be mated.
Insulator
The plastic housing which holds and insulates the contact pins from each other. Usually made of a combination of plastic and glass. Specific type depends on temperature and customer requirements.
Lead Time
The time it takes from the time an order is taken to the time the order is shipped to the customer.
Low Insertion Force
A connector where the force required to install the mating connector/PCB is lower then normal. This is usually achieved by a spread head operation.
Low Profile
The connector series of edgecards that have an overall height of .431".
Mold
The steel tool that the molten plastic is injected into to create the connector housing.
Mold Tooling
The pieces of steel that make up the mold.
Molded Key
Where, in the place of a pin, the cavity has plastic in its place. This is most commonly used as a clocking feature of the connector, allowing the daughter card to be installed in only one direction.
Mounting Styles
The style of "ears" that are on the connector. These are on the ends of the connector. Different styles are available depending how the customer wants to mount the connector to their PCB.
Nickel Under plating
A coating of Nickel that is applied to the connector pins. This is the first coating to be applied to protect the pin from corrosion, stop the copper from contaminating the gold/tin and help the gold/tin adhere better.
Open Cardslot
An edgecard where there are no lengthwise walls on the cardslot. This is used by customers who wish to have a long flat edge on their daughter card, and also for mounting end to end to make a long edgecard that could not be molded as one unit.
Part Marking
The application of ink to the edgecard to identify its part number, Sullins' website and the distinct 4-digit lot number for that part.
PCB
Stands for "Printed Circuit Board." A flat plastic or fiberglass board on which interconnected circuits and Pitch.
Plating
The coating applied over the bare contact material to increase its electrical carrying capacity, protect the contact from corrosion and give a material that the end user can solder to the PCB with.
Position
The number of "sets" of pins on an edgecard connector.
Press Fit
A connector that has a pin shape, such that it has an interference fit with the PCB during installation, allowing the customer to not have to use solder for connection.
Private Label
Mark part with customer label instead of manufacturer. This can be done with permission and under special p/n that gives the instructions on how to mark.
Right Angle Termination
A connector or edgecard, where the pins on the termination side are bent at a 90° angle so that the connector/edgecard sits parallel with the motherboard.
Row Spacing
The distance between the pins, located within the same position of an edgecard connector.
Seater
A piece of production tooling that is used to set the pins in their proper position during the assembly procedures.
Selective Plating
The process of plating one area of a pin with gold and another section with alternate plating. Most common, has gold on the area of the pin that makes contact with the mating PCB/daughter card, and tin plating on the termination portion that is soldered to the PCB.
Single Row
An edgecard where there are both rows where the daughter card is inserted, but the termination side exits the insulator as a single row of pins.
Spread Head
An assembly operation used for either lowering the insertion force of a connector to be within specification if it is too high, or lowering it to a required level as specified by the customer. Spread head is not a preferable operation as it degrades the life of the connector.
Stand-Off
The plastic that raises the connector from resting flat on the PCB when using straight contacts in a thru hole application.
Surface Mount
A connector that has a pin shape allowing the component to be solder-ed to the PCB without its terminations having to go through the PCB.
Tail Length
The length of the tail(termination area) from the insulator. The measurement can be listed in catalog or dwg from side or bottom of body or from bottom of Standoff.
Termination
The shape of the pin on the bottom side (side to be soldered to the PCB).
Tooling
The tools that are used to mold or assemble a connector.
Traceability
Being able to track a part assembly from a barcode or serial number back to where the components came from and whom they where purchased from. Also used in the upward direction of being able to know all connectors and customers a compon- ent has gone through.
Wire Wrap Termination
A termination where the customer will be soldering wires to the termination pins of the connector. They are usually longer then other terminations. These pins are square, so that the corners of the square pins will “dig” into the customers' wire and provide an electrically better solder joint.
Withdrawal Force
The amount of force that is required to remove a daughter card connector from an edgecard connector.