By Doug Wilkinson
 These fine-pitch (0.5 mm) solder-laden lead frames are stamped in continuous strips with selective gold striping. |
How many assessments of the electronics industry have there been lately? Third-generation cell phones...e-commerce...Bluetooth...global positioning systems. They are all "hot" topics. But, there is another subject that is hotter than ever that is rarely mentioned in these pontifications on the industry: connectors.
Connectors are basically perceived as a commodity product by many of the cognoscenti of the industry (though the readers of this publication know better). But, as interconnections become smaller to meet ever-increasing demands for higher density and performance, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in today's microelectronic marketplace are turning to highly specialized contract manufacturers that can provide miniaturized stamped interconnection components for automated assembly.
These strategic partnerships are shaping the future of miniaturized interconnections involving stamped parts such as pins, ferrules and springs. These contract manufacturers specialize in forming — integrating shaped features into miniaturized metal connectors. Connectors are now being used that measure 0.750" long X 0.375" wide, yet that can offer twice the number of connections of traditional DIN and D-subminiature connectors, some of which are becoming too large for cutting-edge applications.
Connectors and Stampings Converge
What is happening, and will continue to happen more and more in the years to come, is a convergence of connector and metal stamping technology to provide the increasingly smaller scale miniaturization required for the increasingly more compact, higher density interconnections of products ranging from next-generation cellular phones to harsh environment space applications. One example is pins and sockets as small as 0.011" (front) and 0.018" (back) being stamped for placement in a connector housing to be used in the Hubble telescope to send pictures from the cameras to the photo digitizers.
Pins are being produced for military avionics applications, such as next-generation fighter jets, that are only half the length of the connector housing presently being used. A stamped spring that is the centerpiece of a spring-ferrule-sleeve assembly used in aircraft and telecommunications base stations for high-reliability contacts, and a 0.025" centerline pin and socket assembly being produced for a manufacturer of nanominiature connectors and associated harness assemblies are other examples.
Automation is Key
Miniaturization plus automation equals true problem-solving solutions. Finding ways to stamp very small interconnection components and automate their assembly is a way that contract manufacturers can help OEMs to make better products. With the right technology and equipment, components can be produced on a strip and packaged in automatic tape-and-reel machines for ease of use in pick-and-place operations. Instead of having to produce the pin and socket assemblies one at a time, contract manufacturers provide the OEMs with the parts on a strip, allowing them to automate their assembly processes instead of doing them by hand.
A rolled pin can be stamped in a diameter of 0.012" out of flat metal, replacing a product that heretofore has been deep-drawn. This product can be used in applications where it has to separate under a certain amount of force, such as the cable going from the soldier's headset to his backpack in military headsets used by the infantry.
Other considerations are the automotive market where a modern automobile contains 2,500 to 2,700 connectors, with more being designed in every day. In many areas, miniaturized stamped interconnection products can simplify a design and manufacturing process. Linkless accelerators that eliminate the need for an accelerator cable via use of a stamped metal jumper tab are one example.
Jumper components made for an automotive supplier that use stamped lead frames containing solder slugs that are stamped on continuous strips are another example. No hand solder application is necessary. Because the jumper can carry current from one place to another, say a connection from the solder plug to the printed circuit board (PCB), soldering a loop of wire is no longer necessary.
Faster, Cheaper, Better
Miniaturized stamped interconnection assemblies are being produced via new automated processes right here in the United States and are proving to be more cost-effective than hand assemblies being done in Mexico, China or other countries with "cheap" labor costs. The scale of the miniaturization is unprecedented. Parts with 0.100" centerlines? Old hat! Processes and equipment are now in operation that can go to a 0.5 mm centerline in high-volume production. Even 0.4 mm leads are being produced for special applications. PCBs have to catch up!
Contract manufacturers providing real solutions for today's cutting-edge, high-density, small-scale interconnection applications are the ones finding ways to stamp very small interconnection components and automate their assembly. These are strategic partnerships beneficial to the design engineers, process engineers and product engineers who need miniaturized interconnections for the communications, control, avionics, military and automotive systems of today and tomorrow.
DOUG WILKINSON is Director, Sales and Marketing, Die-Tech Inc., 295 Sipe Rd., York Haven, PA 17370; (717) 938-6771; Fax: (717) 938-6099; E-mail: info@die-tech.com; Web site: www.die-tech.com.
