WECO — SMarTconn Power Terminal Blocks

The SMarTconn® line of compact surface-mount power terminal blocks from WECO Electrical Connectors Inc is capable of handling maximum currents ranging from 8 A to 17.5 A, and is available in versions with from two to 12 poles. These features make the terminal blocks suitable for power connections in the complex IoT control boards used in large automated factories.

The SMarTconn terminal blocks meet the growing need for miniature surface-mount power components in industrial automation applications. Larger power connectors with a pitch of more than 2.54 mm are subjected to greater mechanical stress than other smaller passive or active electronic components.

Soldering larger power terminal blocks using reflow processes poses several difficulties in a manufacturing environment:

• The manufacturer must make a secure solder joint when using the same solder paste thickness with both larger and smaller surface-mount components.
• Variation in components’ coefficient of thermal expansion heightens the risk of solder joints failing.

WECO’s floating pin technology ensures a sound connection to the board and maintains a high peel-off force for large surface-mount terminal blocks. The design takes account of key parameters such as size, weight, the coplanarity of a larger device relative to the PCB, and the coefficient of thermal expansion between the connectors and the board.

The principle of a floating contact allows proper alignment to the board as the capillary action of the solder paste aligns each contact independently. This eliminates the mismatch in thermal expansion between the board and the terminal block during the reflow process.

As a result, the SMarTconn terminal blocks provide a secure and reliable power termination in space-constrained industrial system designs. Optimized insulation maintains safe operation even in severe environmental conditions.