FCI: SETTING
THE STANDARD
FOR CONNECTORS
With operations in
30 countries,FCI is a leading
manufacturer of connectors.
Our 13,500 employees
are commited to providing
customers with high-quality,
innovative products for
a wide range of consumer
and industrial applications.
CONTENTS
GENERAL INFORMATION
3
Headers, Signal, Right Angle, Pin-in-Paste
4
Headers, Power, Right Angle, Pin-in-Paste
6
Receptacles, Signal, Right Angle, Pin-in-Paste
7
Receptacles, Power, Right Angle, Pin-in-Paste
8
SOFIX
®,
Headers, Right Angle, Pin-in-Paste
9
NOTE
This application guide is a brief review in implementing through-hole connectors to
SMT-processes. The aim is to give information to all people involved in the process of
developing and manufacturing electronic hardware.
LIABILITY
We believe that the information contained in this publication is the best currently available
on the subject. It is offered as a possible helpful suggestion in any experimentation you
may care to undertake and is subject to revision as additional knowledge and experience
is gained. FCI makes no guarantee of results and assumes no obligation or liability what-
soever in connection with this information. This publication is not a license to operate
under, or intended to suggest infringement of, any existing patent. Information given on
the drawings in this document is not suitable for tooling design and construction.
To obtain the correct drawings for these purposes, contact your local FCI representative
.
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www.fci.com/metral
GENERAL INFORMATION
Board connectors for Pin-in-Paste processes
Description
Housing Design
The METRAL
®
modular interconnect system is a stand-
ardized 2 mm backplane interconnect system complying
with IEC 61076-4-104 that provides options to support
low and high speed signaling applications.
It features 4, 5 or 8 row of contacts with up to 5 mating
levels with stackable modules that provides flexibility
in integrating signal, power and coaxial connections at
backplane interface.
Standoffs raise the housing body slightly above the PCB
surface and thus allow the molten solder paste to flow
freely from its printed position into the board hole and
around the pin. The standoffs are correctly positioned
for a good solder paste deposit around the pin.
Please respect the stencil design guidelines below in
order to avoid paste deposits around the standoffs.
Pin-in-Paste
Pin-in-paste (PiP) technology allows the use of TMT
products in SMT manufacturing processes.
The connectors are automatically or manually placed on
the board , then soldered in the same operations as the
SMT components. Despite this, the mechanical strength
of the TMT soldering is maintained. This is an important
requirement for connectors nowadays in many indus-
trial or automotive applications.
FCI uses a solder tail length of 2.9mm +/-0.2mm for
METRAL
®
and SOFIX
®
Headers for a standard PCB
of 1.6 mm thickness nominal.
Pin Length
Packaging
In order to achieve compatibility with an automatic
pick&place equipment, vision systems and
reflow soldering processes connectors are adapted
meeting specific requirements like housing design,
holding features, plastic material and packaging.
METRAL
®
PiP products are moulded in high tempera-
ture resistant LCP.
Connector Design
For combining SMT and TMT components not only in
the soldering process, but also in the assembly process,
FCI proposes a choice of pick-and-place packaging for
PIP connectors. The most common part numbers are
available in tape-on-reel packaging, all others in tube.
Application Design Guidelines
For application in a Pin-in-Paste process, FCI recommends the application design guidelines below.
Stencil Design
The stencil design is crucial for a good solder joint.
It determines the quality of paste and the position of the
paste print on the board. each PCB hole has its own
stencil aperture with enough spacing in between in order
to have seperate solder deposits.
This prevents solder robbing from one hole to another
and guarantees the correct quantity of solder paste for
each hole. The print position is slightly asymmetrical so
as to optimise the flow of molten solder paste.
SOLDER PASTE
FINISHED PLATED HOLE
SQUEEGEE
STENCIL
1
SOLDER PASTE
2
Paste Application
The quantity of paste for each hole depends on the
soldering process parameters and the degree of hole
filling. For the squeegee, FCI recommends a 45
0
angle.
You can use a smaller angle for an even greater degree
of hole filling. The squeegee moves in parallel with the
shorter sides of the stencil apertures.
3
COMPONENT ASSEMBLED
REFLOW SOLDERED
The recommended finished hole diameter for METRAL
®
PiP product on daughtercards is between 0.65mm and
0.80mm. For automatic pick-and-place, lean towards the
upper end of the tolerance
Board Layout
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5
www.fci.com/metral
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