Board to Board Connectors
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Please select the pitch you require for your board to board connector.
Purpose »
Connector stlyes » Connector row types »Connector pitches »
Voided pin
Voided contacts »
PCB orientation »
Connector orientation »
Plastic insulator
Lead style »
Profile »
Stacking height »
Bottom entry socket »
Post and tail length
Post or pin size »
Locating pegs »
Kinked pins »
Contact type »
Contact plating
Plastics »
Packaging (T+R) »
Approvals
Board to board connectors (also referred to as BTB, B2B, headers & sockets, male and female headers)
Purpose
To allow electrical connection of two or more Printed Circuit Boards (PCB’s).
Connector styles
Board to board connectors are manufactured in the following type:
- Pin header (also known as male header):
- Elevated pin header (also known as stacked, stacker, mezzanine and PC104 headers):
- Shrouded header (also known as box header):
- Socket (also known as female header or receptacle):
- Elevated socket (also known as stacked, stacker, mezzanine and PC104 sockets):
- Custom connector – Imperial design & manufacture board to board connectors to suit customer specific applications
Connector row types
Board to board connectors are available in a choice of row types and can be selected by the customer to best suit their application:
- Single row (SIL)
- Dual row (DIL)
- Triple row
- Custom connector – Imperial design & manufacture board to board connectors to suit customer specific applications
Connector pitches
Standard pitches are:
Voided Pin
Larger pitches can be created by selective loading (i.e. a 2.54mm (0.1”) pitch pin header with every 2nd pin omitted = 5.08mm (0.02”) pitch). Voided pin (also known as selective loading or polarization) can be applied to all types of board to board connector.
Example of a voided pin:
Voided Contacts
As above but with reference to sockets (also known as voided contact or polarization)
Example of a voided contact:
PCB Orientation
Dependant on the customer application PCB’s can be oriented in a variety of ways:
- Vertical (also known as right angle, daughter card or perpendicular)
- Horizontal (also known as planar or butt ended)
- Stacked (also known as mezzanine, parallel or sandwich)
Connector Orientation
In order to be able to connect the differing types of PCB orientation board to board connectors have been developed to suit.
In most applications a pin header (male) 
and socket (female) 
would be used as a pair to simplify assembly and allow disconnection/reconnection (mating cycle) as required.
To achieve a connection between a pair of right angled PCB’s two part combinations could be used:
- Straight (also known as vertical) pin header and right angled socket.
- Right angled (also known as or horizontal) pin header and straight socket.
To achieve a connection between a pair of stacked (mezzanine) PCB’s only one part combination can be used:
- Straight pin header and straight socket.
To achieve a connection between a pair of horizontal (planar) PCB’s only one part
combination can be used:
- Right angled pin header and right angled socket.
In applications where repeated mating cycles are not required a single pin header could be used and soldered directly to both PCB’s.
Plastic Insulator
All board to board connectors use plastics to insulate the metal conductors.
For pin headers this plastic part is referred to as the insulator, for sockets it is referred to as the insulator or housing.
Lead style
Through hole (TH) or Surface Mount (SMT or SMD) dependant on part selected.
Profile
The board to board connector height from the PCB face to its highest insulator point above the PCB is known as its profile.
Stacking Height
When an exact distance is required between PCB’s it is common to use a stacking pin header and regular socket arrangement.
For example, if a PCB separation distance of 20mm is required a 5.00mm profile socket and 15mm stacking height elevated pin header could be used:
Bottom entry socket
A bottom entry socket (also known as pass through) allows mating with a pin header from the underside rather than the top side.
When bottom entry sockets are used, holes must be made in the PCB to allow the pin header to pass through.
Typical bottom entry PCB layout:
Bottom entry sockets can be used to reduce distance between stacked PCB’s.
Post and tail length
Post length (also known as post height) is the length of pin above the plastic insulator that mates with the socket (only applicable to pin headers):
Tail length is the length of pin below the insulator that is used to solder to the PCB. Tail length is applicable to pin headers and sockets but only in through hole format:
Post or pin size (mm²)
Post/pin size is the cross section of the conductor measured in mm².
Each different pitch has a different post size:
- 1.00mm/0.039”pitch = 0.30mm²/0.012”²
- 1.27mm/0.05” pitch = 0.40mm²/0.016”²
- 2.00mm/0.079” pitch = 0.50mm²/0.020”²
- 2.54mm/0.1” pitch = 0.64mm²/0.025”²
- Custom connector – Imperial design & manufacture board to board connectors to suit customer specific applications
Locating pegs
Locating pegs (also referred to as locating posts, alignment pins or board locks) are used to assist alignment of connectors to the PCB. Locating pegs are particularly useful when using surface mount components.
Example of locating pegs on a surface mount socket:
Kinked Pins
Kinked pins (also known as locking leads) are used as a method of fastening a through hole pin header or socket to a PCB prior to soldering.
Kinked pins are particularly useful when using tall components and/or wave soldering process that may cause the connector to move out of position before it can be soldered in place.
Example of a kinked pin:
Contact Type
Imperial manufacture 4 types of contacts for use in sockets:
- Stamped tuning fork
- Dual beam spring contact
- Triple beam spring contact
- Four sided spring contact
Please see individual datasheets for contact types used in each range.
Contact Plating
All metal components are manufactured using copper alloys (brass or phosphor bronze).
These parts are nickel plated and then re-plated in lead free tin, gold or a combination. Combination plating using tin and gold is called selective or duplex plating.
Please see individual datasheets for plating options in each range.
Plastics
All plastic parts are manufactured using UL approved high temperature thermoplastic 94V-0 materials.
Please see individual datasheets for plastics used in each range and suitability for use in lead free IR soldering process.
Packaging (T&R)
Board to board connectors are available in a variety of packaging options:
- Loose in bag
- Loose in box
- Tray
- Tube
- Tube with pick and place (P+P) cap
- Tape and reel (T+R) with pick and place (P+P) cap
Please see individual datasheets for packaging option available for each series.
Approvals
All our board to board connectors are compliant to: