Opportunities for Clipzin™ in Industrial Applications

The Clipzin™ connector from EDAC is a brand-new innovation in board-to-board connection technology. Designed to provide rapid and secure connection of castellated modules, such as the new Raspberry Pi® Pico board, Clipzin™ expands on the versatility and benefits of familiar card-edge technology to fit modern, space-constrained applications.

Clipzin™, the patent-pending PCB-mounted edge connector, allows single board modules to be simply fixed to a host PCB. The extensively tested, low-profile, surface mount Clipzin™ enables an easy and rapid connection, as well as disconnection of a PCB module, with a retention clip to ensure the board will not shake free during use. This makes Clipzin™ the ideal solution for the development environment, whilst also providing the reliability required in mass production applications.

What makes Clipzin™ different from traditional board-to-board connectors is that it is a single piece system. Most conventional alternatives require two parts – usually in a plug and socket arrangement. In contrast, Clipzin™ is a single-piece device, the modern evolution to the card-edge connector, that mates directly with contacts on the PCB itself using pads (castellations) around the edge of the PCB.

A Clipzin-compatible module therefore does not require a connector or any additional components to achieve a connection. This simplifies and reduces the cost of manufacture for the modules, makes the entire assembly slimmer and lower in profile and, without connector pins protruding, there is no risk these can be damaged.

New Variants Offer New Functionality

Whilst Clipzin™ was designed specifically for the Raspberry Pi® market, its design features, along with the release of new 6-way, 8-way and 17-way (suitable for Arduino® Nano Connect) versions make it hugely attractive for many applications across a range of industries.

In the highly competitive electronics environment, any technology that delivers a faster design process and easier manufacturing and customisation brings huge commercial benefits. Clipzin™ is ideal for development engineers who need to test multiple iterations of their designs quickly. A common base board, packed with all the features and functionality required, can be fitted with Clipzin™ connectors to provide an easy method of interchanging replaceable microcontrollers. This allows rapid testing of alternative designs, accelerating the iterative process, and delivering a faster time to market.

Clipzin™ also has a powerful role to play once a device enters production.Many manufacturers need to expand the capabilities of their equipment by offering alternative functionality for different roles, regions and markets. This could include different options for wireless communication, or the installation of greater memory or processing capacity. Whilst modern software development takes advantage of reusable code libraries that can be switched in and out, until Clipzin™ it has not been possible to do so with the same ease for hardware. Clipzin™ unlocks the potential of customised systems by clipping in building blocks of functionality, be they sensors, comms, AI, crypto or computer modules.

In addition, previous designs may have used unique connector interfaces for each hardware type and connectors were bulky or had to be fitted to both host and every module. Clipzin™ introduces the open Clipz standard, meaning that manufacturers can design all of their add-on boards to be Clipzin™ compatible. By fitting their core design with Clipzin™ connectors, an engineer creates a product that can be easily modified in any number of ways. The flexibility of the final product is limited only by the number of Clipzin™ connectors fitted and therefore the number of upgrade slots provided.

Making Modifications Easy

This versatility also allows customers to quickly modify equipment that must conform to local regulations. For markets that require different wireless frequencies or voltage ratings, for example, the core product can be easily adjusted by removing one Clipzin-compatible module and replacing it with another.

Clipzin™ therefore allows manufacturers to market a single, universal standard version of their equipment that can be easily customised, if necessary “just-in-time”, to provide the range of functionality demanded by a hugely diverse, global customer base.

Even after production has been completed and the equipment has been delivered, Clipzin™ has a role to play. The current pace of innovation in the world of electronics means that many customers want to adopt equipment that can be upgraded as new features become available. While new software or operating systems can be easily delivered via the cloud, new hardware can be harder to integrate, especially in field-installed systems that are found in the remotest areas of the world. Clipzin™ improves environmental and sustainable credentials by allowing a manufacturer to offer an upgrade path, where modules can be upgraded and reused rather than replaced with the manufacture of an entire new PCB and the old one scrapped.

Upgrading for the Future

This process can be made simpler with the use of Clipzin™. The connectors themselves can be mounted to the printed circuit board in preparation for future upgrades. The physical design of the connector takes up little space on the board, and even allows the mounting of components between them and thus under the modules. This means that the designer can exploit the third dimension to make efficient use of the space on the board that would be blocked by other conventional connectors.

An upgrade, whether it features additional memory capacity, new board-mounted antennae or even a new microcontroller, can be mounted on a standardised Clipzin-compatible card. As they are slim and do not require bulky connectors, these cards are easy to ship around the world. The simple interface of the Clipzin™ allows users to install these upgrade modules on-site, while the robust, vibration-proof design means that the upgrade modules will provide many more years of reliable service in even the most demanding applications.

Clipzin™ may have its origins in the world of the Raspberry Pi® single-board computer, but its reliability and versatility offer enormous benefits for electronic design engineers across almost all industries. Rigorous testing throughout its design and development guarantees quality and its robust, low-profile design and its ease of use makes it the ideal solution for development, production and extended life upgrades in a huge range of applications.

Resources

Clipzin™ SMT Card Edge Connector Product Page

EDAC Product Catalog