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Board to Board Connector
Industrial, IT Datacom
Most PCB assemblies assume perfect alignment between two boards. In production, that assumption fails more often than you’d expect. Solder reflow warps the board. Placement machines have tolerances. Thermal expansion shifts components during operation. Standard connectors ignore these realities—they simply break or fatigue when misalignment occurs.
CONSHARE’s floating BTB connector is designed to absorb that misalignment. Instead of resisting movement, the female receptacle allows controlled travel in the X and Y axes, compensating for positional errors before they reach your solder joints. For a 60‑pin configuration, this is not optional. With 60 individual contacts, the cumulative tolerance stack‑up is significant; without floating, you are gambling on perfect alignment every time.
The connector housing is moulded from polyamide with a UL94V‑0 rating. This material doesn’t just resist flame—it withstands the thermal shock of lead‑free reflow without warping or releasing contaminants that could foul your oven. At 265°C peak temperature for 40 seconds, the housing maintains its geometry, ensuring consistent coplanarity across all 60 contacts.
Phosphor bronze provides the ideal spring temper for reliable contact force over thousands of mating cycles. Gold plating is applied selectively: the contact interface gets a durable gold layer for low, stable resistance, while the solder tails receive a flash gold coating—just enough to ensure excellent wetting without wasting precious metal. A 50µ" minimum nickel underplate acts as a diffusion barrier, preventing copper migration and preserving solder joint integrity.
Brass ground contacts are plated with 80µ" minimum matte tin over the same nickel underplate. Tin is chosen for its solderability and cost‑effectiveness, making assembly straightforward. The nickel layer again serves as a barrier, ensuring that the tin does not react with the brass base, which could lead to brittle intermetallics over time.
Parameter | Rating / Value | Design Implication |
|---|---|---|
Current per pin | 0.5A | 60 pins = 30A total capacity; derate based on adjacent signal activity |
Voltage rating | 125V AC/DC | Suitable for most logic and low‑power control signals |
Contact resistance | 65mΩ max | Worst‑case limit; gold‑nickel interface typically yields lower values |
Insulation resistance | ≥1000MΩ @ 250V DC | Dielectric integrity check; robust against humidity and contamination |
Max reflow temperature | 265°C for 40s | Compatible with SAC305 lead‑free profiles; supports double‑sided reflow |
Floating range | 0.7mm max (X‑Y) | Absorbs PCB misalignment from placement and thermal expansion |
Housing material | Polyamide, UL94V‑0 | Flame‑rated, dimensionally stable through solder reflow |
Contact material | Phosphor bronze, Au/Ni plated | High fatigue life, low oxidation, reliable soldering |
Ground material | Brass, Sn/Ni plated | Solderable, cost‑effective, barrier‑protected |
All values are guaranteed minimums or maximums per the product specification.
The current and voltage ratings give you a safe operating window, but the real design constraint is often contact resistance. At 65mΩ maximum per contact, you can calculate worst‑case voltage drop across your signal chain. For high‑speed or sensitive analog paths, the gold‑plated interface ensures that resistance stays stable over time, unlike bare copper or tin‑only finishes that oxidise and drift.
Insulation resistance at 250V DC is a pass‑fail test that confirms the housing and spacing provide adequate isolation. It matters most in applications where condensation or dust may be present—medical and industrial environments, for example. Passing this test means leakage currents will remain negligible, protecting both your signals and your safety circuits.
The 265°C / 40s maximum processing temperature is your process window for lead‑free soldering. But beyond the reflow profile, this spec tells you that the connector can handle the heat of multiple reflow passes if you have double‑sided assembly. The polyamide housing does not soften or creep at typical soldering temperatures, and the nickel underplate prevents gold from dissolving into the solder—a common cause of brittle joints (gold embrittlement). This means you can run your standard SAC305 profile without worrying about connector degradation.
The connector’s physical footprint is designed to scale consistently across pin counts. For the 60‑pin version, the overall length follows a fixed formula based on the number of single‑row pins plus a constant offset. This predictable scaling allows you to design a single PCB land pattern that can accommodate multiple variants (20, 30, 40, 50, or 60 pins) with minimal layout changes—a significant advantage when you are developing a product family.
The vertical SMT orientation supports vacuum pickup during automated assembly. The flat top surface of the housing does not require a removable pick‑up cap, reducing handling steps and eliminating the risk of losing small parts. The connector is supplied in tape‑and‑reel packaging, ready for your feeders.
The floating range of 0.7mm maximum is the total travel available in both X and Y axes—enough to cover typical PCB placement tolerances (±0.1mm) plus thermal expansion. The floating mechanism is not a loose fit; it uses controlled spring elements that return the connector to its neutral position after mating, ensuring consistent contact pressure throughout the product’s life.
PLC backplanes and remote I/O modules often use 60‑pin interconnects to route power, signals, and fieldbus communications between stacked boards. The floating feature is critical here because industrial enclosures experience wide temperature swings—from cold starts in unheated factories to full‑load heat soak. Standard connectors would struggle with the differential expansion of large PCBs; CONSHARE’s design absorbs that movement.
Patient monitors and diagnostic devices demand ultra‑reliable interconnects. Gold‑plated contacts keep contact resistance stable, even after repeated mating cycles for cleaning or battery replacement. The UL94V‑0 housing adds fire safety, a regulatory requirement in many medical standards.
Navigation and entertainment systems are mounted in dashboards that experience vibration, thermal cycling, and occasional moisture ingress. The floating connector accommodates the relative movement between the main board and the display module, preventing solder fatigue that would otherwise lead to intermittent display failures.
Bench‑top instruments with modular architectures—oscilloscopes, signal generators, spectrum analyzers—use high‑pin‑count BTB connectors for backplane interconnection. The rigid entry guide on the connector prevents contact damage during angled insertion, which is common when engineers swap modules in the field.
Line cards in enterprise switches often use 60‑pin connectors for data and control signals. The 1.00mm pitch strikes a balance between density and manufacturing yield—tighter pitches like 0.5mm are harder to inspect and rework, while 1.00mm offers robust solder joints and easy optical inspection.
The 60‑pin variant is the highest in this series, but consider whether you truly need all 60 positions. A good rule of thumb is to allocate 10‑20% spare contacts for future expansion or for redundant grounds. Overspecifying adds unnecessary mating force—the total insertion force scales with pin count, so a 60‑pin connector will require more effort to mate than a 40‑pin. If your application requires frequent manual mating, a lower pin count may improve ergonomics.
The connector is designed for a specific PCB‑to‑PCB distance. This distance is defined in the mating connector drawing—do not assume that any board gap will work. Using the connector outside its designated gap reduces the floating mechanism’s effectiveness, and may even prevent full engagement of the contacts.
The floating operation’s cycle life is tied to the connector’s mating cycle rating. For applications that require frequent board swaps (e.g., field‑replaceable modules), verify that the rating matches your expected maintenance intervals. If you need more cycles, CONSHARE can discuss alternative plating options.
The standard gold‑flash solder tails are designed for good wetting without adding significant cost. For extremely cost‑sensitive projects, tin‑plated versions may be available, but note that tin can oxidise over time, potentially affecting solderability in long‑term storage. CONSHARE’s engineering team can advise based on your specific assembly process.
A: Yes. The connector provides floating travel in both axes simultaneously, so it compensates for diagonal misalignment as well as pure X or Y errors. The 0.7mm maximum is the total vector sum—not per axis.
A: You can, but the full floating benefit is only realised when both halves are designed as a floating pair. If you mate it with a fixed plug, the receptacle still offers some compliance, but the available travel may be reduced. For guaranteed performance, always use the recommended mating connector from CONSHARE.
A: The connector will still mate mechanically, but the stress will be transferred to the solder joints. This can cause cracking over time—especially with vibration or thermal cycling. If you consistently exceed the range, you should address your PCB manufacturing tolerances or consider a different interconnection method.
A: Yes, the voltage rating is for continuous operation at both AC and DC. However, always consider creepage and clearance requirements for your specific application, especially in high‑altitude or contaminated environments.
A: The housing is compatible with standard aqueous and semi‑aqueous cleaning processes. Avoid aggressive solvents that could attack the polyamide. For no‑clean flux, you may skip cleaning, but ensure that the flux is compatible with the housing material.
A: Yes. CONSHARE offers engineering samples for testing and validation. Contact our support team with your specific pin count and plating requirements.
CONSHARE understands that one size does not fit all. While the 60‑pin vertical SMT version is a standard offering, we support custom pin counts, modified board spacings, and alternative plating finishes. Our engineering team works with you to define the exact mechanical and electrical parameters for your unique design.
Every connector is manufactured under strict quality controls, with full traceability from raw material to finished product. CONSHARE’s commitment is to provide reliable, high‑performance interconnects that simplify your assembly process and enhance the long‑term durability of your equipment.
