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Secure 'Plug-n-Play' SKEDD direct connection technology makes device design more flexible By Pia Horstmann, Product marketing for PCB connection technology, Phoenix Contact GmbH & Co. KG, Blomberg, Germany and James Dunbar, Product Marketing Manager for PCB Connection Technology, Phoenix Contact USA, Middletown, Pa., USA More Flexibility Thanks to SKEDD Technology The innovative direct connection technology SKEDD—Swedish for "it is done"—makes direct pluggable and detachable PCB connections at any position on the PCB possible for the first time. New PCB connectors featuring SKEDD technology eliminate the need for headers. They can be plugged directly onto the PCB by hand, via tin-plated through-holes. The advantage: In the past, the electronics manufacturer needed to combine application-specific connection technology such as PCB terminal blocks or headers with the PCB using a permanent soldering process. SKEDD direct connection technology makes this process unnecessary; only the corresponding plated through-holes need to be provided in the PCB manufacturing process. In this way, the PCB does not become thermally loaded again. Currently, many PCBs are processed first in an SMD reflow solder method, and PCB terminal blocks or headers are soldered on as the second step in a wave soldering process. Eliminating the second soldering process will reduce process and component costs. This also makes all logistics and materials planning for the headers unnecessary. It also reduces equipment costs and feeder space requirements when using the SMD soldering process. When the header is eliminated from the board, there is more space for additional components. In an ideal case, additional modules can even be produced on a single system without conversion. | 20 | Figure 1: The first direct connector in the world with a push-in spring connection allows application-specific device designs with just a few PCB layouts. (Source: Phoenix Contact) Executive Summary Intelligent automation structures, such as HVAC systems in building technology or compact controllers in industrial applications, require functionally embedded systems. This poses a challenge to device manufacturers to develop universally operational solutions for specific tasks and ambient conditions. SKEDD direct connection technology is the next innovation in PCB connection technology (Figure 1). Increased device flexibility—that is to say, adaptability—means that fewer versions need to be produced and made available, and overall unit costs are lower. PCBs and connection components are the central nervous system of electronics and as such have a large impact on the performance and flexibility of electrical devices.

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