Edge connector

<h2 id="socket-design">Socket design</h2>
<p>Edge connector sockets consist of a plastic "box" open on one side, with pins on one or both sides of the longer edges, sprung to push into the middle of the open center. Connectors are often <a href="/facts/Key_(engineering)/9dnFkg1U">keyed</a> to ensure the correct <a href="/facts/Electrical_polarity/fGRB4SGP">polarity</a>, and may contain bumps or notches both for polarity and to ensure that the wrong type of device is not inserted. The socket's width is chosen to fit to the thickness of the connecting PCB.
</p><p>The opposite side of the socket is often an <a href="/facts/Insulation-piercing_connector/AUbBoRM4">insulation-piercing connector</a> which is clamped onto a <a href="/facts/Ribbon_cable/edXPXe9U">ribbon cable</a>. Alternatively, the other side may be <a href="/facts/Soldering/fod6dLHD">soldered</a> to a <a href="/facts/Motherboard/GXB10heG">motherboard</a> or <a href="/facts/Daughtercard/QkWAPnxJ">daughtercard</a>.
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<h2 id="uses">Uses</h2>

<p>Edge connectors are commonly used in <a href="/facts/Personal_computer/koaYfNce">personal computers</a> for connecting <a href="/facts/Expansion_card/QkWAPnxJ">expansion cards</a> and <a href="/facts/Computer_memory/hQKVQ51J">computer memory</a> to the <a href="/facts/System_bus/p1mxHpbb">system bus</a>. Example expansion peripheral technologies which use edge connectors include <a href="/facts/Peripheral_Component_Interconnect/n6CGuFvP">PCI</a>, <a href="/facts/PCI_Express/ADhsLCUK">PCI Express</a>, and <a href="/facts/Accelerated_Graphics_Port/kmrNmn8U">AGP</a>. <a href="/facts/Slot_1/DT8bw2a9">Slot 1</a> and <a href="/facts/Slot_A/8wMUTN80">Slot A</a> also used edge connectors; the <a href="/facts/Central_processing_unit/Jxp1bqMV">processor</a> being mounted on a card with an edge connector, instead of directly to the motherboard as before and since.
</p><p><a href="/facts/IBM_PC/yhcJGMPL">IBM PCs</a> used edge connector sockets attached to ribbon cables to connect 5.25" <a href="/facts/Floppy_disk_drive/rShxfuxa">floppy disk drives</a>. 3.5" drives use a pin connector instead.
</p><p><a href="/facts/Video_game_cartridge/mWLcNez7">Video game cartridges</a> typically take the form of a PCB with an edge connector: the socket is located within the console itself. The <a href="/facts/Nintendo_Entertainment_System/YD59GCQQ">Nintendo Entertainment System</a> was unusual in that it was designed to use a <a href="/facts/Zero_insertion_force/6Ef7CIEe">zero insertion force</a> edge connector:<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> instead of the user forcing the cartridge into the socket directly, the cartridge was first placed in a bay and then mechanically lowered into position.
</p><p>Starting with the <a href="/facts/Amiga_1000/GwPJnr0t">Amiga 1000</a> in 1985, various Amiga models used the 86-pin Zorro I edge connector, which was later reshaped into the internal 100-pin <a href="/facts/Amiga_Zorro_II/7xWtMhLx">Zorro II</a> slot on the <a href="/facts/Amiga_2000/4J34uy5v">Amiga 2000</a> and later upmarket models.
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<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Pin_header/dnsYKYpn">Pin header</a> connector</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Insulation-displacement_connector/AUbBoRM4">Insulation-displacement connector</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>"Lance Barr Interview". Nintendo News, Previews, Reviews, Editorials and Interaction. Nintendojo.com. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2011. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120313182357/http://www.nintendojo.com/archives/interviews/view_item.php?1130801472" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20120313182357/http://www.nintendojo.com/archives/interviews/view_item.php?1130801472</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>

Edge connector open-in-new

Edge connector