ZIF Sockets

[brian_mk]

I rexcently bought a 14pin ZIF socket (TFXTDOL).

I am guessing these are Chinese copies of the original TEXTOOL ZIF sockets but they altered the name.

The intention was to mount the socket on a PCB and cut a rectangular hole an aluminium panel so that the top part of the socket and lever protrudes through the panel.

I was hoping to fit the ZIF socket onto an IC socket (or perhaps a couple stacked on top of each other)  to provide additional height for a few components to be mounted on the top side of the PCB behind the panel.
The problem is that the rectangular pins of the ZIF socket are to wide to fit conventional IC sockets.
It looks like the width of the pins may even be a problem when inserting directly into the holes in a PCB.
The pins measure 0.8mm in thickness. I am unable to get a micrometer between the pins to measure the thinner dimension.

I could mount the components on the underside if I use a double sided PCB but I would still need clearance to prevent the soldered pads from shorting on the aluminium panel.

Has anyone else found this problem? Is there a solution?

What I really need is a way to extend the ZIF socket pins.
I don't have space to allow the ZIF socket to be mounted above the PCB on a small daughter board.

BTW, ZIF sockets from other manufacturers such as 3M appear to have the same oversize pins.

[Ian.M]

Solder it to a 14 pin DIL header, preferably *NOT* turned pin as they are a lot more fragile than a stamped pin.  As long as your ZIF socket pins are <0.6mm for the thinner dimension, and the two rows are reasonably close to 0.3" apart, Aries 14-600-10 (tin) or 14-600-11 (gold) would do the job, extending the pins by approx 7.5 mm.

[jpanhalt]

The PICStart Plus (Microchip) uses an Aries ZIP soldered directly to the back of the PCB.  There are few if any TH components.  None of the SMDs are particularly small.  No problem with clearance to a plastic case.  If you use thin metal for the case, consider fish paper between the PCB and top. 

[brian_mk]

Good suggestion.

I soldered it to a ribbon cable header.
It meant bending the ZIF socket pins to create a 50 thou' offset to match the header.
Now I can fit the ZIF socket into a standard IC socket (or stack more than one if necessary).

[wobbly]

Be prepared for fatigued and broken solder joints with this approach!

Take a fresh (unsoldered) ZIF socket and look closely at the pins on the bottom when you move the locking lever.  Often, the pins tilt over to one side slightly, perhaps 5 or 10 degrees, due to the internal spring mechanism.

Repeated flexing of solder joints will eventually cause faulty or intermittent joints.

[Ian.M]

Good point, but if you haven't got space for individually soldered (and heatshrunk) wires or some other resilient contact system, you are going to have a solder joint under stress no matter what you do.  I did suggest the Aries header with bifurcated (fork) terminals so the joint is on both sides of each ZIF pin to reduce the risk of failure. 

The IDC header Brian chose to use is likely to be less satisfactory as it will have much smaller joint area and only on one side of each pin, and also bending the pins may have loosened them slightly in the socket body, increasing the risk of fatigue.