TE Connectivity 0.8MM Free Height Floating Connectors Conquer Vibration And Misalignment
In an ideal world, system components are perfectly aligned, and no vibration occurs. TE Connectivity's floating connectors provide developers with a new way to absorb inaccuracies in the board-to-board interconnect.
Floating connectors add flexibility to the connector construction. This permits "jiggling" and form adjustment during the mating process - the figure below, taken from the connector portfolio's brochure, provides an overview of how much flexibility designers can expect.
The datasheet, found at https://www.te.com/content/dam/te-com/documents/consumer-devices/global/ddn-fly-0.8mm-free-height-floating-en.pdf, goes on to give the following explanation of the internal structure:
Our connector housing contains both fixed part and the floating part, and they work together with spring contacts to support the movement.
TE Connectivity provides a wide range of connector options in the family. Firstly, all range from 30 to 120 positions, thereby allowing designers to select the optimal number of signals to be routed across the connector.
As for the actual plugs, they are available in both right-angle and vertical configurations. For the right-angle plug variety, the connector height is always 6.7 mm. The 30-position component can then be ordered via SKU 2487778-3, while the 120-signal version can be ordered via SKU 1-2487778-2.
For the vertical plug variety, multiple height classes are available; the height options range from 4.8mm to 19.7mm. For example, the smallest 30-position plug can be ordered using SKU 2487671-3, while the largest version is to be ordered using SKU 2487888-3. If an 80-position version of the floating connector is needed, use SKUs such as 1-2487671-0 or 2487888-8.
Conclusion
If a system needs to route signals over an area affected by vibration or placement inaccuracies, the TE Connectivity Floating Connector family provides a great solution. Thanks to the availability of high-density variants with more than 100 contacts, the connectors can handle highly complex signals effortlessly.