Cases & enclosures


IMPLEMENTING BOARD-TO-BOARD INTERCONNECT IN SPACE- CONSTRAINED INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS


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here are many design considerations when creating an industrial automation control. In addition to the functional technical specification, there are the mechanical constraints of enclosure size. As factory floor space is at a premium, the space available for control cabinets is limited, so the pressure is on for


manufacturers to squeeze more and more functionality into a smaller space. A popular method of increasing circuit density is vertical and horizontal board stacking, segmenting an application with a ‘mother and daughter’ board arrangement. Not only does this improve space utilisation, but it also offers the opportunity for daughter board in-service upgrades and a more convenient approach for maintenance. However, this mechanical approach presents several challenges, especially for high-speed data signals between host processors and sub- systems. This article highlights the issues associated with maintaining signal integrity, maximising space efficiency, and accommodating manufacturing tolerances.


Figure 1: The Phoenix Contact FP 0.8 board-to-board connectors offer a versatile arrangement with a variety of stacking heights. (Source: Phoenix Contact)


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THE INTERCONNECT CHALLENGES OF SPACE-CONSTRAINED SYSTEMS As processors become increasingly sophisticated and highly integrated system-on-chip (SoC) ICs enable machine learning algorithms at the edge, industrial equipment designers seek to incorporate their powerful features into new products. For the engineering team, fully utilising the new SoC devices typically requires additional supporting components, which increases the board footprint. Many industrial applications are already space- constrained, with defined factory floor space limits on how many control cabinets each item of machinery is allowed. Squeezing more electronics- based systems into the available space of a control cabinet while providing ease of serviceability for


By Mark Patrick, Mouser Electronics


August 2023 Instrumentation Monthly


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