High Cycle Life Automated Testing
Inline manufacturing test environments are some of the most demanding test environments in the Test and Measurement industry. With thousands of devices under test and minimal downtime allotted for maintenance, test equipment can quickly fall into disrepair and require frequent replacement. To address this need, Romex customers have used VTAC contacts when other contacts simply cannot withstand the rigors of test. VTAC contacts are sexless and have low insertion force. Their paddle design establishes a polishing effect, which reduces the amount of gold wear over time. When paired with VPC’s high cycle iDock Series interface, high quantities of VTAC can be used in a moderate-float interface to achieve life cycles that extend to 200,000 mates. VTAC inserts provide extreme signal density. Since each insert is designed to hold 4 differential pairs, each insert can host eight 3 amp signal contacts. In an iDockSeries D3 configuration, three VTAC solutions afford a test engineer up to 816 signal test points in a single interface, or 272 signal test points per module.
Configuring VTAC for Signal Speed Use
VTAC inserts can be configured as a set of eight 3 amp signal contact where extremely high mating cycles are required. Using a 34-position high speed module, a VTAC solution can be configured with 272 signal contacts.
Sacrificial Inserts
Pass-Thru inserts house a double-ended VTAC grid. The Pass-Thru inserts act as a sacrificial insert that completes the mating cycle and protects the insert mounted on the board. When the contacts on the Pass-Thru insert wear down, the inserts can be easily replaced, virtually eliminating downtime.
Ease of Maintenance
There are two ways that these solutions improve maintenance of equipment. For PCB use, the standard VTAC insert can be configured as right angle connector to adapt a signal for commercial cables. As the commercial cabling wears out, they can be replaced relatively quickly, easily, and inexpensively while the board solution is ready for immediate re-use. Since VTAC-solutions use a Pass-Thru insert as a sacrificial insert, the Pass-Thru inserts are expendable and inexpensively replaced. This is an immediate cost savings over the alternative of replacing crimp contacts in a custom cable or replacing custom cabling altogether.
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