Harwin Broadens Scope of its SMT PCB Socket Offering

December 2021 – Expanding its portfolio of board sockets, Harwin has introduced additional sizes for the popular Sycamore Contact range. These 6A current rated surface-mount PCB sockets allow engineers to accommodate different designs, placing individual sockets freely on a board without the constraint of connector housings.

Two additions complement the existing 3.87mm length sockets, which accept 0.8-1.3mm or 1.5-1.9mm mating pins. These new versions have longer body lengths of 5.87mm, which means that they are suitable for incorporation into deeper PCBs and capable of accommodating longer mating pins. Though both are bottom entry, they can be inverted in order to serve as top entry sockets.

Key to the design of these PCB sockets is the fact that they have three points of contact, as opposed to the two points of contact that other surface mount sockets feature. As a result, an electric connection is always maintained, with no risk of a break in continuity – even when subject to vibrational forces.

These sockets have gold plating to maximize conductivity and reduce mechanical wear, ensuring long-term operation with a 500 mating cycle durability. A working temperature range of -50°C to +125°C is supported due to its use of Beryllium Copper material. Applications where the latest Sycamore Contacts will be of value are: battery management systems of electric vehicles, solid state lighting panels, domestic and commercial grade gas detection systems, fire alarms, smart metering equipment, etc. As they are surface mount, and supplied on tape and reel, they are much simpler for PCB designers to apply to their products – especially when high-volume manufacturing processes are being employed. This means that a separate placement or soldering operation is not required, so production throughput is maintained at high levels.