A design review of a 2-mm pitch high density connector system

When the Metral system was developed, the goal was to design a future proof system which complies with IEC 917 and that offers more than the DIN 41612 system, commonly called Euroconnector. This means that the new system should provide at least twice the number of I/Os per card compared to the DIN 41612 system. It also means that basic system dimensions should be multiples of 0.5 mm, the basic grid standardized in the IEC 917. When the development of the Metral system was started, the expectation was to get 432 I/Os on the Double Eurocard size card, as opposed to 192 I/Os in DIN 41612. The IEEE Futurebus+ committee has selected the Metral connector as the Futurebus+ connector. Attention is given to the system level design, the connector level design and connector testing.<>