How about using an edge mounted IDC header such as those found on many hard drives? You'd need about 3.5mm of clearance which is more than you wanted but it's far less labor intensive than stripping, tinning, and soldering a ribbon cable to 100 boards.
Paul Davis
On Fri, 02 Apr 2004 23:01:08 +0000, Phil wrote:
> I've seen this done and was wondering if anyone has some words of
> wisdom as to how to do it. Basically, I want to attach a ribbon
> cable directly to a PCB. The non-PCB end will use an IDC connector
> but I can't afford the size of header pins on the PCB. I've seen
> several LCDs that have 50 mil spacing hole/pads. The insulation
> was stripped of the ribbon cable, the wires inserted in the holes
> and soldered. The solder is about 1 mm high. I need 2-3 mm
> clearance so that works for me. Clearance on the bottom is a
> little less a problem but even SMT connectors are too big.
>
> Are there special tools for this? It sure looks tricky to do.
> What size holes/pads?
>
> Phil
>
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