Plug connectors for AdvancedMC™ and MCH modules

When using a HARTING AdvancedMC(TM) Plug connector, the mating interface of the module is defined by the connector instead of the PCB edge. This leads to several advantages and provides a wide scope of possibilities for module development.

The Plug connector ensures a consistent quality of the gold contacts as opposed to the PCB card-edge gold pads, where the surface quality in terms of hardness and roughness is highly unstable. The special design of the insulator reduces mating forces and prevents wear and damage of the mating connector. The restriction of the PCB thickness to 1,6 mm +/-10% does not need to be considered any longer with the Plug connector. The maximum PCB thickness is only limited by the card guide for the AdvancedMC(TM) modules.

The connector is mounted on the PCB with the pin-in-hole reflow solder process (PIHR) and is pick-and-place compatible. This efficient and mechanically resilient termination offers the additional advantage of connector replacement. This way the cost of scrapping a module can be avoided if the mating interface is damaged in operation. Depending on the application, the surplus cost of the connector can be compensated by savings in the production process of the AdvancedMC(TM) module.

The HARTING Plug connector system for MicroTCA(TM) Carrier Hubs consists of two different Plug connectors. The AdvancedMC(TM) Plug is mated with the backplane MCH1 connector, the MCH Plug is mated with the MCH connectors two, three or four depending on the MicroTCA(TM) configuration. The HARTING Plug connectors are stacked like bricks to allow for two, three or four mating tongues. The connector stack is fixed by up to four metal pins for additional mechanical stability.