Mill-Max Manufacturing Corp., Inc. announces new additions to its Omniball spring-loaded contact product line with solder tail and solder-cup versions, offering options for different termination requirements. The unique Omniball spring-loaded contact (patent-pending) features a rolling ball interface, enabling mating components to engage in lateral, rotational, and angular alignments — while providing optimal electrical, mechanical, and structural reliability.

Joining the original surface-mount style Omniball contacts are through-hole mount and solder- cup termination styles. Two new through-hole mount contacts feature different tail lengths, making them suitable for use on PCBs of various thicknesses. P/N: 7945-1-15-20-09-14-11- 0 has a tail length of .079” (2 mm) while 7945-2-15-20-09-14-11-0 has a .118” (3 mm) long tail.

The solder-cup version, P/N: 7949-0-15-20-09-14-11-0, is designed to accept wire sizes up to 20 AWG. It has two press-fit features, a barb, and a knurl, allowing the pin to be pressed in from either direction. The knurl, an anti-rotation press-fit feature, is preferred when maintaining solder-cup alignment is critical.

Omniball contacts are spring-loaded pins in which the traditional plunger has been replaced by a gold plated, brass ball. They’re designed to simplify and improve the connections made between components that are mated together in a sliding or rotational motion rather than in an axial or vertical orientation.

When engaged, the ball compresses and rolls, allowing the mating surfaces to make contact and then easily slide parallel to each other while spring force acts to ensure consistent electrical contact is maintained. This rolling action alleviates the concerns of connector damage such as binding, premature wearing, and structural failure that may occur when using traditional plunger style spring pins in these types of applications.

Features of Omniball contacts include:

• A .030” (.762 mm) maximum stroke
• Gold-plating on all components 
• A.091” diameter ball interface.
• Tested to 1,000,000 compression cycles and rolled over 67 miles (108 km) at half stroke
• Meet the specifications for contact resistance of 20m-ohms max., current rating of 5.5 amps @ 30 ̊ C temperature rise, and a spring force of 55 grams at mid-stroke (.015”, .381 mm).

The Omniball contacts are an excellent choice for any application that involves sliding or rotating connections, such as: “twist & lock” cable connectors; smart lens camera connectors; rugged and IP rated connectors including quarter turn and threaded; as well as docking stations, quick connects and blind mating applications.