Panasonic Corporation 2013©
Panasonic Corporation Automation Controls Buisiness Division
industrial.panasonic.com/ac/e/
Notes on Using FPC Connectors
–5–
ACCTB13E 201306-T
Notes on Using FPC Connectors
■ PC board design
• Design the recommended foot pattern in order to secure the
mechanical strength in the soldered areas of the terminal.
• In order to facilitate the connector mount, make sure to design
the board with reduced warpage.
• Please design and pay attention to the distance from the board
edge to the pattern. When cutting the v-cut board, do not give an
excessive stress to the connector, which risks damaging the
connector.
■ FPC and equipment design
• Design the FPC based with recommended dimensions to
ensure the required connector performance.
• When using back lock type, secure enough space for closing
the lever and for open-close operation of the lever.
• Make sure that connector positioning and FPC length are
appropriate to prevent diagonal insertion of the FPC. Due to the
FPC size, weight, or the reaction force of the routed FPC, FPC
may be removed. Carefully check the equipment design. Take
required measures to prevent the FPC from being removed due
to a fall, vibration, or other impact.
• Make sure to design the FPC insertion part with reduced
warpage. Otherwise, the warpage may adversely affect the FPC
insertion.
(Y3BW/Y5BW)
■ The holding contacts cannot be used as conductors.
The holding contacts are located on both ends of the contacts,
and the shape of the soldered portions is the same as that of the
other contacts.
Use caution to ensure connect identification.
(Y3BL)
■ Soldering terminal structure
Since soldering terminals touch FPC, note that the short circuit
may occur when the metal parts exposed on side of FPC.
■ Connector mounting
Excessive mounter chucking force may deform the molded or
metal part of the connector. Consult us in advance if chucking is
to be applied.
■ Soldering
1) Manual soldering
• Due to the connector’s compact size, if an excessive amount of
solder is applied during manual soldering, the solder may creep
up and flux wicking near the contact points, or solder
interference may cause contact failure.
• Make sure that the soldering iron tip is heated within the
temperature and time limits indicated in the specifications.
• Flux from the solder wire may adhere to the contact surfaces
during soldering operations. After soldering, carefully check the
contact surfaces and cleans off any flux solder use.
• Be aware that a load applied to the connector terminals while
soldering may displace the contact.
• Thoroughly clean the iron tip.
2) Reflow soldering
• Screen-printing is recommended for printing paste solder.
• To achieve the appropriate soldering state, make sure that the
reflow temperature, PC board foot pattern, window size and
thickness of metal mask are recommended condition.
• Note that excess solder on the terminals prevents complete
insertion of the FPC, and causes flux climbing up.
• A screen thickness of 120µm is recommended during cream
solder printing.
• Consult us when using a screen-printing thickness other than
that recommended.
• Depending on the size of the connector being used, self
alignment may not be possible. Accordingly, carefully position
the terminal with the PC board pattern.
• The recommended reflow temperature profile is given in the
figure below.
• The temperature is measured on the surface of the PC board
near the connector terminals.
• Depending on reflow condition, poor contact may occur by
solder and flux wicking.
Please set the reflow conditions that considering the
characteristics of solder and flux. Also please make
consideration in setting the reflow times and O
2 concentration to
prevent poor contact by solder and flux wicking.
• When performing reflow soldering on the back of the PC board
after reflow soldering the connector, secure the connector using,
for example, an adhesive.
(Double reflow soldering on the same side is possible.)
Do not touch the lever or apply any load to the lever until the
second reflow soldering. Otherwise, contact deflection occurs
and the terminals may be deformed by reflow heating.
3) Reworking on a soldered portion
• Finish reworking in one operation.
• For reworking of the solder bridge, use a soldering iron with a
flat tip.
Do not add flux, otherwise the flux may creep to the contact
parts.
When adding the solder for reworking, do not add an excessive
solder. Otherwise, solder and flux may creep up and solder
bridges may occur.
• Use a soldering iron whose tip temperature is within the
temperature range specified in the specifications.
■ Do not drop or handle the connector carelessly.
Otherwise, the terminals may become deformed due to
excessive force or applied solderability may be during
reflow degrade.
■ Do not open/close the lever or insert/remove an FPC until
the connector is soldered. Forcibly applied external
pressure on the terminals can weaken the adherence of the
terminals to the molded part or cause the terminals to lose
their evenness. In addition, do not insert an FPC into the
connector before soldering the connector.
■ When cutting or bending the PC board after mounting the
connector, be careful that the soldered sections are
subjected to excessive force.
150°C
180°C
230°C
220°C
200°C
260°C
Te mperature
Upper limit (Soldering heat resistance)
Lower limit (Solder wettability)
Preheating
Peak temperature
Time
25 sec.
70 sec.60 to 120 sec.
The soldered areas should not be subjected to force.
