Quad-row board-to-board connectors

Molex announces the commercial availability of the Molex Quad-Row Board-to-Board Connectors, featuring the industry’s first staggered-circuit layout for 30% space savings over conventional connector designs. These patent-pending connectors offer product developers and device manufacturers greater freedom and flexibility to support compact form factors, including smartphones, smartwatches, wearables, game consoles and Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) devices. 

Molex’s long-standing collaboration with product developers from a major smartwatch manufacturer propelled the initial design of the Quad-Row Board-to-Board Connectors. Molex engineers also worked with experts from a global leader in the design, development and manufacturing of Flexible Printed Circuits (FPCs). Together, the engineering teams validated the first-ever, staggered circuit layout, which positions pins across four rows at a signal contact pitch of 0.175mm. The result delivers unprecedented space savings while enabling high-density circuit connectivity.

The Quad-Row Board-to-Board Connectors adhere to the 3.0A current rating, meeting customer requirements for high power in a compact form factor. Additionally, the product aligns with the standard, soldering pitch of 0.35mm to expedite volume manufacturing using typical Surface Mount Technology (SMT) processes. Reliable, robust performance is assured, thanks to interior armor and insert-molded power nail, which safeguard pins from damage during volume manufacturing and assembly. These capabilities, along with wide alignment, facilitate easy, secure mating and lower fallout rates.

The connectors also support a bigger reel size, which can facilitate production efficiencies, leading to improved production yield rates. 

In addition, the compact size and reliable performance of the Quad-Row Board-to-Board Connectors make them ideally suited for a variety of applications requiring increasingly smaller PCBs and flex assembles. The ability to meet product miniaturisation demands creates nearly limitless opportunities for AR/VR, automotive, communications, consumer, defense, IoT, medical and wearable applications.