What is an interfacing component/spring contact?

Spring contacts and lands for PCB interconnection and a wide range of data, power and battery charging applications including:

• charging batteries in portable instruments
• power and data transfer pins in a docking station
• integral compliant contacts, such as for an antenna contact in a mobile phone
• board to board spring contacts for use in computerised gaming systems and telecommunications units
• The spring loaded contact consists of a gold plated tubular metal barrel, spring and plunger as a one piece item. The tip of the spring loaded plunger will provide a reliable electrical contact to the target, whose distance away or position may well be uncertain.

The diagram to the right shows one of our spring contacts (PD10JS). On this particular spring contact, the barrel has a barb halfway down its length. The barb holds the spring contact tightly in place when inserted into a plastic block or housing. The collar acts as a stop enabling the spring contact to be mounted at a set position. Some spring contacts in our range have a tail which will enable them to be soldered to a PCB.

Typically a mating contact land is used as the mating surface. The tip of the plunger will usually be rounded in shape (radius) which will prevent damage or significant wear to the contact land.