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What are the advantages of this gold finger shape?

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40

3

$begingroup$

Some PCBs, like the PCI card specification have gold fingers which start very narrow near the bottom edge, and gain their usual width much higher, where the actual contact is expected to be made.

What is the advantage of having the narrow part?

Why not make the pad fully wide all the way to bottom, like ISA cards, DDR, etc.? Or simply make the finger shorter, only in the area of contact? What is better in gradually increasing the width?

My speculation:

• 
  To connect ground pins first - All the pins have this shape.


• 
  Resistance against peeling the pad off - The smaller trace seems much more susceptible to damage


• 
  Insertion force - I expect the narrow part to be made of equally thick gold, which would require the same amount of force.


• Insertion force - Can it be that some number of the connector contacts (in motherboard) get pushed sideways in each stage as the card goes in, lessening the amount of force needed to insert the board?

Can't seem to find any evidence or description why this is designed this way. Some high frequency high pin count stuff (DDR modules) use rectangular pads.

Note: See page 196 of the linked PCI card specification document.

pcb-design connector pci

share|improve this question

asked 2 days ago

akwkyakwky

34833 silver badges88 bronze badges

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  my guess is less of a blunt edge on the insertion vector to prevent the copper from eventually peeling up from the FR-4
  $endgroup$
  – justing
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  2
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  Another guess, copper that extends out to the board edge sometimes has a risk of damage during the profile cutout, and increasing the gaps between adjacent copper regions at the edge may reduce risk of short from any damage incurred during fabrication.
  $endgroup$
  – a sandwhich
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

40

3

$begingroup$

Some PCBs, like the PCI card specification have gold fingers which start very narrow near the bottom edge, and gain their usual width much higher, where the actual contact is expected to be made.

What is the advantage of having the narrow part?

Why not make the pad fully wide all the way to bottom, like ISA cards, DDR, etc.? Or simply make the finger shorter, only in the area of contact? What is better in gradually increasing the width?

My speculation:

• 
  To connect ground pins first - All the pins have this shape.


• 
  Resistance against peeling the pad off - The smaller trace seems much more susceptible to damage


• 
  Insertion force - I expect the narrow part to be made of equally thick gold, which would require the same amount of force.


• Insertion force - Can it be that some number of the connector contacts (in motherboard) get pushed sideways in each stage as the card goes in, lessening the amount of force needed to insert the board?

Can't seem to find any evidence or description why this is designed this way. Some high frequency high pin count stuff (DDR modules) use rectangular pads.

Note: See page 196 of the linked PCI card specification document.

pcb-design connector pci

share|improve this question

asked 2 days ago

akwkyakwky

34833 silver badges88 bronze badges

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  my guess is less of a blunt edge on the insertion vector to prevent the copper from eventually peeling up from the FR-4
  $endgroup$
  – justing
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  2
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  Another guess, copper that extends out to the board edge sometimes has a risk of damage during the profile cutout, and increasing the gaps between adjacent copper regions at the edge may reduce risk of short from any damage incurred during fabrication.
  $endgroup$
  – a sandwhich
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

$begingroup$

Some PCBs, like the PCI card specification have gold fingers which start very narrow near the bottom edge, and gain their usual width much higher, where the actual contact is expected to be made.

What is the advantage of having the narrow part?

Why not make the pad fully wide all the way to bottom, like ISA cards, DDR, etc.? Or simply make the finger shorter, only in the area of contact? What is better in gradually increasing the width?

My speculation:

• 
  To connect ground pins first - All the pins have this shape.


• 
  Resistance against peeling the pad off - The smaller trace seems much more susceptible to damage


• 
  Insertion force - I expect the narrow part to be made of equally thick gold, which would require the same amount of force.


• Insertion force - Can it be that some number of the connector contacts (in motherboard) get pushed sideways in each stage as the card goes in, lessening the amount of force needed to insert the board?

Can't seem to find any evidence or description why this is designed this way. Some high frequency high pin count stuff (DDR modules) use rectangular pads.

Note: See page 196 of the linked PCI card specification document.

pcb-design connector pci

share|improve this question

asked 2 days ago

akwkyakwky

34833 silver badges88 bronze badges

$endgroup$

share|improve this question

asked 2 days ago

akwkyakwky

34833 silver badges88 bronze badges

share|improve this question

asked 2 days ago

akwkyakwky

34833 silver badges88 bronze badges

asked 2 days ago

akwkyakwky

34833 silver badges88 bronze badges

asked 2 days ago

akwkyakwky

34833 silver badges88 bronze badges

3 Answers
3

active

oldest

votes

53

$begingroup$

To electroplate the fingers with gold they must all be joined together electrically. This is done with a "plating bar" trace outside the final board area, which is cut off afterwards.

Usually the board edge will be chamfered for easier insertion in the socket. Since chamfering removes the lower part of the fingers they only have to be wide enough to carry the electroplating current. Making them narrower saves gold, which makes the board cheaper. If the board is not intended to be plugged in often then chamfering may not be applied, and then the narrow parts remain.

Gold plating for edge connectors

share|improve this answer

answered yesterday

Bruce AbbottBruce Abbott

28k11 gold badge2424 silver badges3939 bronze badges

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  One point that could help make the answer clearer is whether or not the 'stepped' pattern as shown in the OP photo is part of card functionality, or left over artifact of plating. [I'm kind of surprised they wouldn't shave more of the leads off for gold recovery if they're not actively part of the end-use connection. That small bit of gold has to add up over a few hundred thousand boards...]
  $endgroup$
  – TheLuckless
  59 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

6

$begingroup$

Some PCB manufacturers mention some specific design requirements for gold finger edge connectors:

1. No plated through holes are allowed in the plated area


2. No solder mask or silkscreening can be present in the plated area


3. For panelization, always place gold fingers facing outward from the panel center


4. Connect all gold fingers with a 0.008” conductor trace at the edge to allow for manufacturing


5. Features can be placed on one or both sides to a depth of 25mm from the outside edge

I am not sure about 4, but maybe they are referring to narrowing down the pads like on the picture you embedded?

share|improve this answer

answered yesterday

Rev1.0Rev1.0

7,87855 gold badges3333 silver badges7070 bronze badges

$endgroup$

add a comment | 

-2

$begingroup$

My guess is that it has to do with the characteristic impedance of the connections. Which depends on (among other things) the width of the traces. Looking at the gold fingers on the picture it looks like they increase in size in two steps, this is a very common technique when "matching" for instance a 75ohm trace to a 50ohm trace. It doesn't give a very good match, but it does better than if you didn't pay attention to it at all.

share|improve this answer

answered 2 days ago

VinzentVinzent

77311 silver badge88 bronze badges

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  7
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  but the contacting happens from atop of the wide area, so this is probably not the reason.
  $endgroup$
  – Marcus Müller
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

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53

$begingroup$

To electroplate the fingers with gold they must all be joined together electrically. This is done with a "plating bar" trace outside the final board area, which is cut off afterwards.

Usually the board edge will be chamfered for easier insertion in the socket. Since chamfering removes the lower part of the fingers they only have to be wide enough to carry the electroplating current. Making them narrower saves gold, which makes the board cheaper. If the board is not intended to be plugged in often then chamfering may not be applied, and then the narrow parts remain.

Gold plating for edge connectors

share|improve this answer

answered yesterday

Bruce AbbottBruce Abbott

28k11 gold badge2424 silver badges3939 bronze badges

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  One point that could help make the answer clearer is whether or not the 'stepped' pattern as shown in the OP photo is part of card functionality, or left over artifact of plating. [I'm kind of surprised they wouldn't shave more of the leads off for gold recovery if they're not actively part of the end-use connection. That small bit of gold has to add up over a few hundred thousand boards...]
  $endgroup$
  – TheLuckless
  59 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

53

$begingroup$

To electroplate the fingers with gold they must all be joined together electrically. This is done with a "plating bar" trace outside the final board area, which is cut off afterwards.

Usually the board edge will be chamfered for easier insertion in the socket. Since chamfering removes the lower part of the fingers they only have to be wide enough to carry the electroplating current. Making them narrower saves gold, which makes the board cheaper. If the board is not intended to be plugged in often then chamfering may not be applied, and then the narrow parts remain.

Gold plating for edge connectors

share|improve this answer

answered yesterday

Bruce AbbottBruce Abbott

28k11 gold badge2424 silver badges3939 bronze badges

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  One point that could help make the answer clearer is whether or not the 'stepped' pattern as shown in the OP photo is part of card functionality, or left over artifact of plating. [I'm kind of surprised they wouldn't shave more of the leads off for gold recovery if they're not actively part of the end-use connection. That small bit of gold has to add up over a few hundred thousand boards...]
  $endgroup$
  – TheLuckless
  59 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

$begingroup$

To electroplate the fingers with gold they must all be joined together electrically. This is done with a "plating bar" trace outside the final board area, which is cut off afterwards.

Usually the board edge will be chamfered for easier insertion in the socket. Since chamfering removes the lower part of the fingers they only have to be wide enough to carry the electroplating current. Making them narrower saves gold, which makes the board cheaper. If the board is not intended to be plugged in often then chamfering may not be applied, and then the narrow parts remain.

Gold plating for edge connectors

share|improve this answer

answered yesterday

Bruce AbbottBruce Abbott

28k11 gold badge2424 silver badges3939 bronze badges

$endgroup$

share|improve this answer

answered yesterday

Bruce AbbottBruce Abbott

28k11 gold badge2424 silver badges3939 bronze badges

answered yesterday

Bruce AbbottBruce Abbott

28k11 gold badge2424 silver badges3939 bronze badges

answered yesterday

Bruce AbbottBruce Abbott

28k11 gold badge2424 silver badges3939 bronze badges

6

$begingroup$

Some PCB manufacturers mention some specific design requirements for gold finger edge connectors:

1. No plated through holes are allowed in the plated area


2. No solder mask or silkscreening can be present in the plated area


3. For panelization, always place gold fingers facing outward from the panel center


4. Connect all gold fingers with a 0.008” conductor trace at the edge to allow for manufacturing


5. Features can be placed on one or both sides to a depth of 25mm from the outside edge

I am not sure about 4, but maybe they are referring to narrowing down the pads like on the picture you embedded?

share|improve this answer

answered yesterday

Rev1.0Rev1.0

7,87855 gold badges3333 silver badges7070 bronze badges

$endgroup$

add a comment | 

6

$begingroup$

Some PCB manufacturers mention some specific design requirements for gold finger edge connectors:

1. No plated through holes are allowed in the plated area


2. No solder mask or silkscreening can be present in the plated area


3. For panelization, always place gold fingers facing outward from the panel center


4. Connect all gold fingers with a 0.008” conductor trace at the edge to allow for manufacturing


5. Features can be placed on one or both sides to a depth of 25mm from the outside edge

I am not sure about 4, but maybe they are referring to narrowing down the pads like on the picture you embedded?

share|improve this answer

answered yesterday

Rev1.0Rev1.0

7,87855 gold badges3333 silver badges7070 bronze badges

$endgroup$

add a comment | 

$begingroup$

Some PCB manufacturers mention some specific design requirements for gold finger edge connectors:

1. No plated through holes are allowed in the plated area


2. No solder mask or silkscreening can be present in the plated area


3. For panelization, always place gold fingers facing outward from the panel center


4. Connect all gold fingers with a 0.008” conductor trace at the edge to allow for manufacturing


5. Features can be placed on one or both sides to a depth of 25mm from the outside edge

I am not sure about 4, but maybe they are referring to narrowing down the pads like on the picture you embedded?

share|improve this answer

answered yesterday

Rev1.0Rev1.0

7,87855 gold badges3333 silver badges7070 bronze badges

$endgroup$

share|improve this answer

answered yesterday

Rev1.0Rev1.0

7,87855 gold badges3333 silver badges7070 bronze badges

answered yesterday

Rev1.0Rev1.0

7,87855 gold badges3333 silver badges7070 bronze badges

answered yesterday

Rev1.0Rev1.0

7,87855 gold badges3333 silver badges7070 bronze badges

-2

$begingroup$

My guess is that it has to do with the characteristic impedance of the connections. Which depends on (among other things) the width of the traces. Looking at the gold fingers on the picture it looks like they increase in size in two steps, this is a very common technique when "matching" for instance a 75ohm trace to a 50ohm trace. It doesn't give a very good match, but it does better than if you didn't pay attention to it at all.

share|improve this answer

answered 2 days ago

VinzentVinzent

77311 silver badge88 bronze badges

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  7
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  but the contacting happens from atop of the wide area, so this is probably not the reason.
  $endgroup$
  – Marcus Müller
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

-2

$begingroup$

My guess is that it has to do with the characteristic impedance of the connections. Which depends on (among other things) the width of the traces. Looking at the gold fingers on the picture it looks like they increase in size in two steps, this is a very common technique when "matching" for instance a 75ohm trace to a 50ohm trace. It doesn't give a very good match, but it does better than if you didn't pay attention to it at all.

share|improve this answer

answered 2 days ago

VinzentVinzent

77311 silver badge88 bronze badges

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  7
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  but the contacting happens from atop of the wide area, so this is probably not the reason.
  $endgroup$
  – Marcus Müller
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

$begingroup$

My guess is that it has to do with the characteristic impedance of the connections. Which depends on (among other things) the width of the traces. Looking at the gold fingers on the picture it looks like they increase in size in two steps, this is a very common technique when "matching" for instance a 75ohm trace to a 50ohm trace. It doesn't give a very good match, but it does better than if you didn't pay attention to it at all.

share|improve this answer

answered 2 days ago

VinzentVinzent

77311 silver badge88 bronze badges

$endgroup$

share|improve this answer

answered 2 days ago

VinzentVinzent

77311 silver badge88 bronze badges

answered 2 days ago

VinzentVinzent

77311 silver badge88 bronze badges

answered 2 days ago

VinzentVinzent

77311 silver badge88 bronze badges