Lighter Interconnect Solutions

As the market trends towards miniaturization, FPC connectors have been developed to meet the challenges of this expanding market, which demands smaller centerline or pitch spacing, lower profile heights, and lighter interconnect solutions. TE's FPC solutions are reliable interconnects that use an actuator to secure the cable termination, and are field terminatable (require no tooling) and are available in centerline spacing of 0.25mm, 0.3mm, 0.5mm, 1.0mm, and 1.25mm, and incorporate a low profile height and light-weight features.

Features

FPC Connectors
  • Can accommodate FPC/FFC cable
  • Available in ZIF and non-ZIF styles
  • Variety of centerline spacing options
  • Available in SMT and T/H PCB termination
  • Requires no tooling
  • Available in right-angle and vertical mounting orientations
  • Right-angle version available with top, bottom, or dual contact
  • Solder pads and kinked legs for PCB retention
  • Locking feature provides high retention force

Low profile height

$

Cost effective solution

Save Time

  1. Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC) Connectors

Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC) Connectors have been developed to meet the challenges of this expanding market, which demands smaller centerline or pitch spacing, lower profile heights, and lighter interconnect solutions. View video to explore FPC connectors' capabilities.

Miniaturization

Engineering a Connected Future of Everything: IoT Connectivity Solution from TE

Our new FPC connectors enable the design flexibility our customers need. In addition, they allow for low profile height, space savings and reduced assembly time.
Joseph Proffitt,
Product Manager, TE Connectivity
Versatile and low profile FPC Connectors.

Applications

FPC Connectors
  • Flat flex printed cable
  • LC displays 
  • Game consoles
  • Tablets
  • Wearables
  • Cameras
  • Inkjet, laser, and 3D printers
  • Personal computers
  • Mobile and smart phones
  • GPS devices
  • Set top boxes
  • Disk drives
  • Copiers
  • Medical equipment

 

Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC) Connector

Centerline Options

  • 0.25mm pitch Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC) Connector
  • 0.3mm Pitch FPC Connector
  • 0.5mm Pitch FPC Connector
  • 1.0mm Pitch FPC Connector
  • 1.25mm Pitch FPC Connector
FPC Figure A&B
All of our fine pitch FPC products feature a staggered tail orientation. This orientation type means that the layout of the front and rear contacts are staggered as illustrated in Figure A. When the tail orientation is staggered, it is important to remember that you can measure the centerline by measuring the distance between the center of the front contact and the center of the rear contact as illustrated in Figure B.
FPC Basics Figure C
Figure C | Centerline can be measured many different ways, however, in general it is simply the spacing between the center of one contact and the center of the contact next to it. You can note the centerline of our fine pitch FPC product by looking at the contacts of the connector itself, shown in Figure C, or by the method already described in Figure B.

 All of our fine pitch FPC connectors incorporate a flip lock actuator for greater printed circuit retention. This termination method also allows for zero insertion force, which is why this product is commonly referred to as a ZIF connector. The operation of a flip-lock actuator can be seen in the images below.

Front Flip-Lock Actuator

                                             

Front Flip-Lock Actuator Step 1
Step One: Open flip-lock actuator
Front Flip-Lock Actuator Step 2
Step Two: Insert the FPC into the connector
Front Flip-Lock Actuator Step 3
Step Three: With the FPC inserted, close the flip-lock actuator.
Front Flip-Lock Actuator Step 4
Step Four: Your FPC is now securely mated with the connector
Back Flip-Lock Actuator

                        

Back Flip-Lock Actuator - Step 1
Step One: Open flip-lock actuator.
Back Flip-Lock Actuator - Step 2
Step Two: Insert the FPC into the connector
Back Flip-Lock Actuator - Step 3
Step Three: With the FPC inserted, close the flip-lock actuator.
Back Flip-Lock Actuator - Step 4
Step Four: Your FPC is now securely mated with the connector.
Stuffer Actuator (Plunger Style)

                       

Stuffer Actuator (Plunger Style)- Step 1
Step One: Starting state
Stuffer Actuator (Plunger Style) - Step 2
Step Two: Slide stuffer forward to open
Stuffer Actuator (Plunger Style) - Step 3
Step Three: Insert the FPC into the connector & slide stuffer backward to close
Stuffer Actuator (Plunger Style) - Step 4
Step Four: Your FPC is now securely mated with the connector.
FPC Contact Types
Many of our fine pitch FPC products are available in top, bottom, or dual contact versions. This attribute represents which portion of the contact the FPC interacts with. As you can see from the image below, the FPC contacts are formed in a “U” shape. Only one prong of that U-shaped contact interfaces with the FPC contacts. Choosing the correct contact design is generally based on the orientation of the flexible printed circuit, as described below.

Advantages

              

FPC Straight insertion
Straight Insertion: Typically FPCs are inserted straight into the interconnect (or parallel to the PCB). This insertion method uses valuable real estate in front of the interconnect, which can be a problem as today’s devices are trending towards miniaturization.
FPC Angled insertion:
Angled Insertion: With the angled or slanted insertion you can see how the FPC enters the interconnect from an angle. This insertion method frees up the space in front of the interconnect that would not have been available using the standard insertion method.
FPC Advantage of angled insertion
Advantage of Angled Insertion: In this image, you can see how the saved board space can be optimized when using the angled insertion interconnect. You can easily use the freed board space to run a group of FPC connectors or to place anything in this space on the PCB.

Frequently Asked Questions

Standard & Fine Pitch

 

Q: What position sizes can TE Connectivity provide?

A: We offer odd number position sizes only, unless otherwise stated on the product drawing. We can also offer up to 71P in our 0.3mm series and up to 61P in our 0.25mm pitch series.

 

Q: What is the advantage of angled flexible printed circuit insertion?

A: Being able to insert and mate the FPC into the connector at an angle makes it possible to mount the FPC connector almost anywhere on your PCB as there is much less clearance needed in front of the connector during mating and unmating.

 

READ MORE ABOUT FLEXIBLE PRINTED CIRCUIT (FPC) CONNECTORS