Page 34 - 2021 Connectivity Components: Everything but the Connectors eBook

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The design study allows the designer to define the size of the contact according to the current required for the application. Qualified pressfits of different thicknesses and platings are used to meet customer specifications. The PCBA with its pressfit contacts is then assembled into a plastic housing. This solution reduces the cost of the connector function and provides a perfectly integrated unit.
Overmolded pressfit contacts
Overmolded connections to fit the customer’s needs can also be considered. The co-engineering phase plays an essential role in the definition of the product: optimization of the geometry of the parts with the help of rheology software and choice of materials (PA, PBT, PPS, PPA, and others) in relation to the various constraints.
The overmolding joins together a set of parts while guaranteeing mechanical integrity and providing resistance to a variety of conditions such as shock, abrasion, chemical products, radiation, temperature, and moisture ingress.
» Example of pressfit contacts integrated in an overmolded cable assembly
» In these examples of pressfits used for a cable assembly, the pitch (center distance) between two contacts can be different between a connector with a pressfit contact and an insert-type connector at the other end.
Complex interconnects without connectors
The use of connectors is not always required, even for complex links. Interesting alternative solutions can be implemented. Special housings with contacts crimped or soldered to an extruded cable, which is itself overmolded,