EEVblog Electronics Community Forum
Electronics => Beginners => Topic started by: Saimoun on October 02, 2022, 09:54:29 am
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Hello everybody 8)
I have a (almost) finished project with a metal case. I intend to design an external module for it which will be plastic, and will have plastic clips to be fermly attached to it.
What would you recommend to connect the module to the main device? There should only be 4 lines only: VCC, GND, and UART TX/RX.
Because the module is attached and not "dangling" there should not be any strain on the cable. So I was thinking using simple pin headers, maybe with a clip to make sure the cable is set the correct way and fermly attached? (i.e. won't come off)
Thanks!
Simon
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I was thinking panel-mount M10 style connectors, they come with different pin counts and you only need a round hole in your metal cases (easy to drill).
https://lcsc.com/product-detail/Circular-Connectors-Cable-Connectors_Liansheng-HKT-00006_C2876034.html
https://lcsc.com/product-detail/Circular-Connectors-Cable-Connectors_Liansheng-HKT-00003_C2876035.html
If you want to use a cable: that'll work.
If you want to skip the cable and mate box directly to box: one gender is normally not panel mount, but two nuts will probably fix that. Sadly I think they'll unscrew their nuts if someone uses the two cases for leverage. If you don't line them up perfectly rotationally in every unit then this will be a problem.
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You could skip the (external) cable entirely and use “blind mating” connectors (often denoted as “BMI”, for “blind mating interface”). They self-align so you can, for example, screw on an external case and the plug on the case plugs directly on the jack on the main unit.
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Thanks guys ;D
I was thinking of maybe something a bit smaller :)
My idea was to have a connector inside the box, so that the users will actually need to open the box to connect the module.
And yes I love the mating solution but then the pins will be exposed (so they will need ESD protection, and make sure nobody shorts 5V and GND together :D )
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You could skip the (external) cable entirely and use “blind mating” connectors (often denoted as “BMI”, for “blind mating interface”). They self-align so you can, for example, screw on an external case and the plug on the case plugs directly on the jack on the main unit.
Ok I googled that a bit and it does look really awesome. My problem (the ones I found at least) is still the size, I mean if no module is attached I want the device to still look decent, without a massive plug on the side :D