AVX has introduced the first vertical, top mount, SMT, wire-to-board connector specifically designed to meet the configuration, performance, and cost goals faced by industrial and solid-state lighting design engineers. Featuring AVX’s industry-proven dual-beam, 3mm, high spring force box contacts packaged in a protective insulator, the new 9296 Series vertical, top mount, poke home connectors provide maximum mechanical stability and wire retention in addition to simple strip and insert wire loading and twist and pull wire removal. Designed to surface mount on the top of a PCB, the new one- to six-way 9296 connectors allow users to insert solid or stranded, plated or un-plated, 18-26AWG wires directly through the connector’s top aperture and are ideal for a variety of industrial applications, including: LED lighting, smart meters, building controls, fire and security systems, and industrial motor controls and drivers, among others.

“We designed our new 9296 vertical top mount SMT connector to satisfy a significant gap we identified in the industrial and solid state lighting wire-to-board markets,” said Tom Anderson, product manager at AVX. “No other vertical top mount connectors designed to provide robust performance in industrial grade applications are currently available and, moreover, many of the vertical through-board options that exist are not robust enough to satisfy the unique demands of industrial applications. With this latest addition to the 9296 Series, AVX now offers vertical top mount, bottom mount, and through hole poke home connectors that provide reliable off-the-shelf solutions specifically designed to meet the configuration, cost, and performance requirements for a broad range of industrial applications.”


AVX’s 9296 Series vertical top mount connectors feature RoHS-compliant coppery alloy contacts with tin over nickel plating and are rated for 300VAC, five-cycle durability, and temperatures ranging from -40°C to +125°C. Available in one to six positions, each connector will accept the entire wire gauge range for either solid or stranded wires at varying current ratings supported by each wire size; and, once inserted, wires can be easily removed or replaced by twisting, unscrewing, or using a small blade extraction tool.

Tape and reel packaged for automatic assembly, each 9296 Series vertical top mount connector is supplied with a small kapton tape on the top to aid with the pick and place process.