What Is a Wire-To-Board Connector?
A wire-to-board connector, also called a board-to-board connector, is a component used to electrically couple circuits on two printed circuit boards.
Board-to-wire connectors are mounted directly on both printed circuit boards to be connected and are bridged by cables with connectors attached to both ends.
For example, a male connector on the printed circuit board and a female connector on both ends of the cable are used to connect the two boards together, thereby directly connecting them electrically.
Uses of Wire-To-Board Connectors
Wire-to-board connectors are available in various sizes of signal cables and connector pins, depending on the location of use and the required current capacity.
The requirements for wire-to-board connectors are how many signal cables can be accommodated in the connector and how well they can maintain a stable electrical and physical connection.
Wire-to-board connectors are almost certainly used in a variety of devices that use printed circuit boards, including most consumer and commercial equipment.
Without exception, these devices are becoming increasingly sophisticated and high-performance, and with this trend comes the need to reduce board space, and as a result, the need for all electrical components, including wire-to-board connectors, to be smaller, thinner, and lighter.
Principle of Wire-To-Board Connectors
As mentioned above, the purpose of the wire-to-board connector is to electrically and directly connect two printed circuit boards.
Originally, this method was considered the most cost-effective and inexpensive, since a wire-to-board connector would not be necessary if all functions could be achieved on a single board.
However, in order to implement all required functions within the limited physical space of a device, it is practical to divide the board into multiple boards of appropriate sizes and insert them into the device to secure space inside the device.
In addition, there are significant advantages to be gained by dividing PCBs by function, which ultimately leads to cost reductions in the equipment.
By dividing a printed circuit board into multiple boards for each functional unit and combining these multiple boards, it is possible to simultaneously realize a wide variety of products with various functions. In this case, wire-to-board connectors that combine multiple boards are effective.
For example, suppose there are three boards to realize the necessary functions in designing a certain product: Board A for basic functions, Board B for additional functions, and Board C for additional functions.
By using only Board A, a product with the most basic functions can be realized, and by using Boards A+B, a product with added function B, A+C, and A+B+C, a product with added function B, and a product with added function B+C, respectively, can be realized.
In other words, four types of products can be realized by preparing boards with three functional units and combining them.