EEVblog Electronics Community Forum
Products => Other Equipment & Products => Topic started by: smbaker on May 05, 2017, 08:06:46 pm
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I recall seeing a product somewhere, but I can't remember the name of it. The product was designed for breakout boards, where you want your board to have the same pin size as a standard DIP IC, so your breakout board can perfectly plug into a DIP socket. It was some pins that came with a plastic applicator. You'd solder the assembly in place and then discard the applicator.
Has anyone else seen this product?
If not, is there a good alternative? IIRC 0.100 headers just don't plug into DIP sockets that well.
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Something like this?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-Pcs-SOP16-SSOP16-TSSOP16-0-65-1-27mm-IC-to-DIP-PCB-Adapter-Board-/252921413441 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-Pcs-SOP16-SSOP16-TSSOP16-0-65-1-27mm-IC-to-DIP-PCB-Adapter-Board-/252921413441)
You can get them in various sizes (often 2 different sizes per side) and pin counts - search DIP Adapter
or this?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SOP28-to-DIP28-Socket-Adapter-Converter-Programmer-IC-Test-Socket-1Pc-/262725947752 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SOP28-to-DIP28-Socket-Adapter-Converter-Programmer-IC-Test-Socket-1Pc-/262725947752)
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Use a turned pin header (M-M). However they are quite pricey compared to regular square pin headers and the pins are far more fragile.
Another approach is to set up a jig that lets you use ordinary solid copper wire. Stack enough layers of perfboard or veroboard for the pin length you want with a sheet of something solid and reasonably heat-resistant at the bottom. Take a length of tinned copper wire of an appropriate diameter and stretch it to get it straight and work hardened. Chop it into convenient lengths, insert through the breakout board till it bottoms in the jig, solder and trim excess wire from above the joint.
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Something like this maybe?
https://www.reddit.com/r/electronics/comments/3subiy/does_anyone_know_what_this_iswhat_its_used_for/ (https://www.reddit.com/r/electronics/comments/3subiy/does_anyone_know_what_this_iswhat_its_used_for/)
I couldn't find any actually for sale anywhere. Maybe they're obsolete now.
I also remember seeing a similar product where the frame was made of a water soluble material that would dissolve when the pcb was cleaned leaving nothing but the pins.
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There are also specialised flat pins with a F shaped head that fit directly to the board edge. They are most usually found on pinned COG or bare glass LCD modules and on ceramic substrate hybrids but can be used with ordinary PCBs. The PCB edge needs to be straight or castellated, with pads top and bottom, and the right width, so if its got PTH pads, you'd need to mill some off to the centerline of the holes. %DEITY% only knows where you'd buy them from in less than 10K quantities though.
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I found them, "flip pins" by fliptronics, sold at sparkfun (https://www.sparkfun.com/products/14087 (https://www.sparkfun.com/products/14087)):
(https://cdn.sparkfun.com//assets/parts/1/1/9/5/2/Flip_Pins-04.jpg)
Unfortunately, there's a disclaimer that says "Flip-Pins might not be compatible with IC sockets that have a round entry hole for the IC pin". I need to mate them to machine-tooled sockets, so these are probably a no-go for me. A good idea though.
As for "turned headers", this one, https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/harwin-inc/D01-9922046/952-1900-ND/3727867 (https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/harwin-inc/D01-9922046/952-1900-ND/3727867) ? pricey at $3.80 each.
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*Might* not be compatible. Unless Fliptronics are really sloppy with their tolerances, any turned pin socket that has problems with 0.0157" square pins is likely to have problems with some makes of DIP IC. The only other possible issue is that tin plated brass may be weaker than a normal IC pin.
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To mate with machined contact DIP sockets, I use machine contact headers like this.
They are a bit fragile, but plentiful on eBay or Samtec etc.
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To mate with machined contact DIP sockets, I use machine contact headers like this.
They are a bit fragile, but plentiful on eBay or Samtec etc.
These are what I ended up ordering, from a New York eBay seller who insists his parts are "Genuine USA parts", "not Chinese Counterfeit". Part of his description text is identical to the Chinese sellers... Anyhow, I'm willing to pay a little premium to get them here 2-3 weeks earlier.
I'll report back on how well these work out in my application.
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from a New York eBay seller who insists his parts are "Genuine USA parts", "not Chinese Counterfeit"
ask him who the maker is - cheeky bastard.
problem is, the u.s. - like europe, has hardly any of these type of industry's left - even if you wanted to buy "national" products.
unless you want to pay insane price.
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Turned pin headers are not fragile because they are made in China, they are fragile because they are machined - a free-cutting brass tends to be fairly hard to start with and if bent the resulting work-hardening usually results in the pin snapping when straightened. A more malleable alloy would make it very difficult to machine the fine features required. A cheaper, less pure and harder alloy would also make them more difficult to machine, increasing production losses.
The Fliptronics Flip-Pins are likely to have the advantage here because punching from sheet favours a more malleable alloy.
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To mate with machined contact DIP sockets, I use machine contact headers like this.
They are a bit fragile, but plentiful on eBay or Samtec etc.
I always make sure to have a good stock of these on-hand, in addition to the female pin sockets (SIP not DIP). They are very handy.
I have also done the trick described by Ian.M by soldering lengths of wire into the board. I place a piece of kapton tape over a machined pin socket, then place the PCB over that. I insert the wire through the PCB and through the tape into the socket then solder. The tape prevents the solder from wicking down into the socket, its very effective if you have a good 2-second soldering technique in the first place. After finishing, pry the PCB from the socket and you have a perfect super-low-profile DIP pluggable thingy. I will use the leads from unneeded cheap components such as that bag of a thousand 1 A rectifiers or varactors that I'll never use up. The leads are pre-tinned so won't corrode like bare copper wire. This is great for making SOIC-to-DIP adapters where you can't afford the extra height imposed by the SIP machined pins.
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Counterfeit pins! Damn those cheating bastards! Genuine pin header is the only way to go. Who has the patent on these things, anyway? :) Even if there is a patent on certain ones, I doubt these patents are owned by the country of USA. Patent on something like this may be owned by an American company.... which is still going to make them in China. :)