Mill-Max offers receptacles and pass-through sockets that include an Organic Fibre Plug® (OFP®) barrier at one end. This feature, also known as a ‘knockout bottom’, prevents solder, flux, or paste from entering the receptacle cavity and contaminating the contact surface during PCB placement and soldering.
Question: Given that Mill-Max OFP® products are available in tape/reel packing, are they compatible with automated pick-and-place procedures?
Answer: Yes, the OFP® feature creates a barrier at the bottom end of the cylinder, and this allows a pick-and-place vacuum head to pick up the piece from the top end which faces outward on the tape packing.
Note the statement, “The OFP® barrier permits the sockets to be vacuum picked from the tape prior to placement in a hole in the circuit board.” on the following Mill-Max page regarding SOLDER BARRIER PIN RECEPTACLES & SOCKETS WITH OFP® KNOCKOUT BOTTOM .
On the same page, there is an Application Note link to more details regarding the Assembly Sequence for Intrusive Reflow Soldering for OFP® Receptacles.
The two photos, below, show the basic sequence for using pick-and-place vacuum heads with Organic Fibre Plug® receptacles and sockets.
Searching for Organic Fiber Plug (rather than ‘Fibre’) gives the Mill-Max OFP results, and searching for Knockout Bottom includes a few other manufacturers along with the previous OFP products.
For many similar products, check out the Terminals – PC Pin Receptacles, Socket Connectors category, or search from the Digi-key Home Page.
For direct retrieval of the previous Mill-Max application note, use this file: Application Note - Assembly Sequence for Intrusive Reflow Soldering for OFP Receptacles.pdf (733.5 KB)
Relevant Manufacturer Product Codes on the Digi-key Site (at the post date of this article).
0479-0-67-80-34-27-10-0
4280-0-67-80-16-27-10-0
0337-0-67-80-15-27-10-0
5280-0-67-80-16-27-40-0
0321-0-67-80-08-27-10-0
0375-0-67-80-02-27-10-0
5359-0-67-80-10-27-10-0
0332-0-67-80-18-27-10-0
4428-0-43-15-04-14-10-0
0353-0-67-80-03-27-10-0
4015-0-67-80-30-27-10-0
0577-0-67-80-21-27-10-0
0384-0-67-80-23-27-10-0
0321-0-43-80-08-27-10-0
0479-0-43-80-34-27-10-0
0376-0-67-80-07-27-10-0
4280-0-43-80-16-27-10-0
0379-0-43-80-34-27-10-0
0384-0-43-80-23-27-10-0
4428-0-67-15-04-14-10-0
4015-0-43-80-30-27-10-0
0577-0-43-80-21-27-10-0
0353-0-43-80-03-27-10-0
9873-0-67-80-02-27-10-0
3435-0-43-80-47-27-04-0
5359-0-43-80-10-27-10-0
0375-0-43-80-02-27-10-0
0332-0-43-80-18-27-10-0
5280-0-43-80-16-27-40-0
0337-0-43-80-15-27-10-0
0376-0-43-80-07-27-10-0
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