Q: What is the longest jumper circuit PHI can make?
A: 275mm (10.8 inches) is now the longest single piece.
Q: How much force does a dot require to make good contact?
A: This is application dependent. As little as 10 grams is fine for some Integrated
circuit test applications. Small, light-weight connection systems have been
fielded at about 20 grams. Systems designed for the highest reliability in harsh
environments may require 80 grams or more.
Q: How much Z-axis displacement is required to achieve
the minimum force?
A: Most elastomer systems need about 0.5mm travel to get to the minimum load.
Q: How much force can the dots withstand?
A: Systems have been tested and fully qualified with more than 200 grams average
contact force per dot. Overload cases are very rare.
Q: Do Gold Dot density claims for "lines
per inch" include only the contact area or the entire system? Also, are the
ground dots included in the calculations?
A: The density we report for all Gold Dot systems is the actual "signals" per
inch including the entire system. That is, when we claim 125 lines per inch,
that means you can connect at least 1250 true signals between PCB's in a 10"
span.
Q: What are the planarity requirements for the PCB's?
A: Our normal planarity spec is 0.010"/in non-accumulating.
Q: What PCB thicknesses can be used?
A: Our off-the-shelf products are set up for 0.062" thick boards. The Online-Design
Guide allows designers to select among 4 popular choices, but there is really
no technical limitation. Generally we accommodate all sizes between 0.032" and
0.250".
Q: Is a stiffener required below PCB to support the loads?
A: The standard products are sold with stiffeners to support the PCB in the
contact area, although the miniature products have passed the standard testing
without stiffeners. In some cases the stiffener has been integrated with existing
hardware (case, etc.).
Q: What are the positional tolerances of the holes, bumps,
etc.?
A: PHI bases our tolerance stackups on a positional tolerance of about 0.1mm
between holes and the dots. This is a guideline. The tolerances vary with distance
and must be calculated to compensate for CTE and other dimensional variations
