Board-to-Board Connectors

PCB board to board connectors and SMD board to board connectors are used to
accurately interconnect printed circuit boards (PCBs) in a stackable manner. They
can accommodate various types of PCB orientations, relative distances, and space
constraints to allow for design flexibility. In addition, multiple materials,
plating finishes, and pitches are available to meet electrical and mechanical
specifications. Depending on the purpose of the interconnect, connectors are
further offered as high-speed, floating, or power. To achieve the desired
performance, all the above should be considered when designing an interconnect
system.

Board to Board Connector Types
Pin Headers
Pin headers (male) and female headers (socket) are used as a set. A male pin
header consists of one or more rows of metal pins molded into a plastic base. Due
to their simplicity, male pin headers are the most cost-effective.

Female Headers
Female headers are the sockets that male headers fit into. These connectors
complete the design by allowing the PCBs to be easily connected and easily
replaced should either of the headers become damaged.

Box Headers
Box header connectors are featured with a plastic shroud around the header. This
helps guide the connectors during the mating process to avoid mating errors.

High-Speed Connectors
High-Speed Connectors are specifically designed with robust terminals and high-
temperature resistance plastic to be used in industrial applications that require
high-speed transmission. The unique contact structure allows it to maintain a
steady impedance profile, which ultimately minimizes both the noise and signal
loss over the connectivity, with a potential secure data transmission of up to
4Gbps.

What are the orientation options for connectors?
PCB orientation is the relative position of two PCBs to be connected by BTB
connectors. Here are some of the common orientations of BTB connectors:

In order to cater various PCB orientations (Parallel, Horizontal, Perpendicular),
board-to-board connectors have been developed in straight, right angle and U-
shaped designs.

How do we stack PCBs?
Amid the trends of miniaturization, transitioning to light weight and high speed,
designers often face many constraints, both mechanically, and electrically.
Greenconn offers various solutions to accommodate all stacking options.

Vertical - Parallel, Mezzanine - Both connectors are in a vertical orientation.
This allows a PCB to be stacked on top of another, minimizing the surface area as
a result.

Horizontal - 180 Degree, Coplanar, Edge-to-Edge - Both connectors are in a
horizontal orientation. From the design standpoint, this keeps the mating
centerline low profile to the PCBs.

Perpendicular - Motherboard to Daughterboard - Connectors are perpendicular to one
another. This is commonly seen in hard drive applications where many
"Daughterboards” are stacked onto one motherboard, allowing the data storage
space to be efficiently expanded.

Here are some advantages of stacking PCBs: The design can be modularized into
smaller PCBs and the PCBs can be connected using BTB connectors later on during
assembly. This not only improves the design process but also allows modifications
to be made easily.

From the assembly perspective, it can improve the manufacturability of the
product, by operating with smaller PCBs rather than one large PCB.

Overall, properly stacking PCBs in layers can enhance the EMC (Electromagnetic
Compatibility) of the design.

What are connector pitches?
Connector Pitch is the measurement from the center of one contact to the center of
the next contact. When a connector has multiple rows, the pitch in each row and
the pitch between rows may be different.

There are numerous factors for the hardware designer to consider when choosing the
correct connector pitch:

Space Constraints - The smaller the pitch, the smaller the automotive board to
board connector can be. In addition, smaller pitch can offer a greater number of
contacts within the same space.
Electrical Parameter – Pitch size has a positive correlation to electrical
specifications such as current rating and dielectric withstanding.
Other Physical Constraints - Depending on the design, Greenconn offers numerous
low-profile connector options across all pitches. We also accept customization
requests.
Greenconn’s board to board pcb connector are available in the following rows:

Rows：

Greenconn offers headers and recepticles in single, double, triple, and quadruple
row configurations. Single and dual rows are popular choices, while triple and
quadruple rows are offered in a smaller number of pitch and style options.

What are the Connector Contact Materials and Plating?
Base Material

Our connectors typically use a copper alloy as the base material for their
contacts (pins). However, different alloy materials offer various levels of
conductivity performance and physical endurance.

Here’s a comparison of the common base materials offered at Greenconn:

Brass
Lowest cost
Good strength and spring properties
Good conductor
Phosphor Bronze
High level of strength and conductivity
Superior elasticity
Excellent fatigue resistance
Berylium Copper (Be-Cu)
High level of strength and conductivity
Highly expansive
Plating

Minimum Order: 1 gallons

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