Manufactured by EDAC and designed by OpenLX SP, the Clipzin range initially targets the Raspberry Pi Pico and PicoW, and Arduino Connect modules, with more options set to follow.
Described as the edge connector for the IoT, the Clipzin simplifies manufacturing and is said to facilitate modularisation, encouraging sustainability by promoting easy in-service upgrades and reusability. It also allows customers to produce one design that can be customised for flexibility, and to offer variants, reducing design time and the need to stock multiple versions.
The Clipzin enables rapid connection and disconnection of sensor, communication and compute modules, such as Raspberry Pi’s new Pico. Designed for prototyping to production, a retention clip ensures that modules will not shake free after assembly or in-service but allows PCBs to be easily swapped later if required. This makes the solution suitable for developers, while also providing the security required for production.
Prior to Clipzin, modules like PicoW required users to solder through-hole connectors to the PicoW as well as fitting a connector to their PCB. Clipzin requires only a surface mount connector to be fitted to one PCB, greatly improving production efficiency.
Key benefits of the EDAC Clipzin PCB connectors include:
- 20 way is available at launch with 6, 8 and 17 way coming soon
- Ability to semi-permanently mount one PCB to another
- Quick, tool-less assembly with positive, confirming 'click'
- Suitable for surface mount soldering, dramatically improving production efficiency’
- Requires connector to be mounted on one side of one PCB only
- Gold plating for reliability.
Romain Soreau, Head of Single Board Computing at Farnell, said, “Clipzin is a genuinely innovative connector for the Raspberry PI Pico. It provides a new, solderless way of mounting the Raspberry Pi Pico to another PCB, which allows interchange between Pico models. We are pleased to be the exclusive distributor of this new product, which further supports our long-term commitment to Raspberry Pi and our extensive portfolio of their products and accessories.”
"With PiFace and CodeBug, we have a strong history of bringing innovative products to market with Farnell,” said Dr Andrew Robinson, Engineering Director at OpenLX SP. He continued, “Combined with EDAC's years of experience we’ve been able to develop a new connector that makes it easier for people to use and reuse the growing range of modules such as Raspberry Pi PicoW. Clipzin unlocks the efficiencies of surface mount manufacturing, over the cost and complexity of through hole assembly of existing header-pin solutions."
