{"id":726,"date":"2025-12-02T06:40:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T06:40:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/preciseworksplus.com\/?p=726"},"modified":"2026-01-22T06:57:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T06:57:50","slug":"from-solder-to-snap-in-a-50-year-history-of-press-fit-pins-their-patent-genealogy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/preciseworksplus.com\/es\/from-solder-to-snap-in-a-50-year-history-of-press-fit-pins-their-patent-genealogy\/","title":{"rendered":"De la soldadura al encaje a presi\u00f3n: 50 a\u00f1os de historia de los pines de ajuste a presi\u00f3n y su genealog\u00eda de patentes"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. 1970-1980: The \u201chard\u201d years<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong class=\"\">1970<\/strong> \u2013 Siemens &amp; ITT introduce the first <em class=\"\">rigid<\/em> press-fit pin: a solid brass nail that relied on oversize hole interference. High insertion force (300 N), cracked PTHs, limited to telecom back-planes .<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong class=\"\">1974<\/strong> \u2013 <em>Eye-of-the-Needle<\/em> flexible zone patented by Siemens (DE 24 27 526): a stamped diamond slot that buckled elastically \u2192 insertion force \u2193 40 %, reliability \u2191 10\u00d7.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>1977<\/strong> \u2013 Amphenol files <strong class=\"\">US 4 159 157<\/strong> on the <em class=\"\">C-Press<\/em> split-barrel, giving a continuous circumferential contact.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>Key insight<\/em>: replace brute interference with <em>elastic compliance<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. 1980-1990: Telecom boom &amp; the birth of \u201ccompliant\u201d families<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Year<\/th><th>Brand<\/th><th>Name<\/th><th>Patent \/ trademark<\/th><th>Innovation<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>1983<\/td><td>Siemens<\/td><td>TCom pin<\/td><td>EP 0 100 678<\/td><td>Rectangular wire formed into&nbsp;<em class=\"\">twin-beam<\/em>&nbsp;spring, 0.8 mm pitch capability.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>1985<\/td><td>Amp<\/td><td><em class=\"\">Compliant Pin<\/em><\/td><td>US 4 533 305<\/td><td>First stamped&nbsp;<em class=\"\">S-shape<\/em>; 25 \u00b5m Sn plating spec\u2019d.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>1988<\/td><td>Berg<\/td><td><em class=\"\">Action Pin<\/em><\/td><td>US 4 533 305 (assigned)<\/td><td><em>Multi-lance<\/em>&nbsp;cuts \u2192 lower peak force, self-centring.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>By 1989 press-fit outsold solder headers in European central-office frames.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. 1990-2000: Automotive &amp; the rise of TE Connectivity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">TE\u2019s dual-platform strategy (still dominant today)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">a) ACTION PIN<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong class=\"\">1990<\/strong> \u2013 Tyco acquires AMP; brands the <em class=\"\">multi-lance<\/em> pin \u201cACTION PIN\u201d.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>1996<\/strong> \u2013 US 5 700 167 adds <em>lead-in bullet<\/em> for blind insertion on robotic lines.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Feature<\/strong>: four longitudinal lances create <em class=\"\">radial beams<\/em>; insertion 70-120 N, retention \u2265 60 N in 1.0 mm PTH.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">b) MULTISPRING (MS)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>1992<\/strong> \u2013 Internal R&amp;D; <strong class=\"\">1997<\/strong> commercial release.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Patent family<\/strong>: US 6 132 372; EP 1 037 303.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Concept<\/strong>: <em>two symmetrical spring windows<\/em> stamped from strip; wall thickness 0.6 mm (standard), 0.4 mm (Nano MS), 0.8 mm (Power MS).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Benefit<\/strong>: 30 % lower insertion than ACTION PIN, same retention; ideal for 0.8 mm pitch ECUs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>TE data sheet: \u201cMS is <strong class=\"\">10\u00d7 more reliable than IDC or solder<\/strong> under IEC 60352-5\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. European answers: Elo Pin, C-Press, H-Pin<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Pin type<\/th><th>Origin<\/th><th>Shape<\/th><th>Force profile<\/th><th>Patent expiry<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong class=\"\">Elo Pin<\/strong><\/td><td>Bosch \/ Kostal \/ FCI<\/td><td><em class=\"\">Hour-glass<\/em>&nbsp;double S-bend<\/td><td>Very low peak, smooth plateau<\/td><td>EP 0 605 847 (exp. 2004)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong class=\"\">C-Press<\/strong><\/td><td>Amphenol<\/td><td><em class=\"\">Open C<\/em>&nbsp;cross-section<\/td><td>Continuous, no stress concentration<\/td><td>US 4 533 305 (exp. 2002)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong class=\"\">H-Pin<\/strong><\/td><td>FCI \/ Delphi<\/td><td><em>H<\/em>&nbsp;beam, two parallel slots<\/td><td>High retention, small holes<\/td><td>US 5 897 401 (exp. 2017)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Elo Pin became the default for <em class=\"\">sealed automotive bulk-head<\/em> connectors because its smooth force curve keeps the PTH deformation below 50 \u00b5m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. 2000-today: Miniaturisation &amp; open patents<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>2005<\/strong> \u2013 JST files <strong class=\"\">US 7 377 823<\/strong> on wire-based press-fit (cost \u2193 20 %, patent expired 2025) .<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>2013<\/strong> \u2013 TE launches <em class=\"\">Nano MULTISPRING<\/em> 0.4 mm wall, 0.3 mm pitch, 30 N insertion \u2013 target 112 G PAM4 back-plane .<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>2020<\/strong> \u2013 EP 3 694 055 (TE) adds <em>anti-rotation rib<\/em> for 0.8 mm pitch three-phase power modules .<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Most fundamental patents (Siemens diamond, AMP S-shape, TE multi-lance) <strong>expired \u2265 2010<\/strong>, opening the door for Asian stampers to ship \u201cgeneric compliant pins\u201d at USD 0.002 each.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6. Material &amp; plating evolution<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Era<\/th><th>Alloy<\/th><th>Conductivity<\/th><th>Stress-relaxation<\/th><th>Plating<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>1980<\/td><td>CuSn4<\/td><td>20 % IACS<\/td><td>100 \u00b0C\/500 h<\/td><td>2 \u00b5m SnPb<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>1995<\/td><td>CuNiSi (C7025)<\/td><td>40 % IACS<\/td><td>150 \u00b0C\/1000 h<\/td><td>3 \u00b5m Sn<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2010<\/td><td>CuCrZr (C18150)<\/td><td>80 % IACS<\/td><td>175 \u00b0C\/1000 h<\/td><td>1 \u00b5m Ni + 1 \u00b5m SnAg<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Today\u2019s automotive 150 \u00b0C zones use CrZr; below 125 \u00b0C NiSi wins on cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">7. Key learning for designers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Patent walls are <strong>down<\/strong>\u2014feel free to copy the 1980 shapes, but watch <em class=\"\">brand<\/em> trademarks (MULTISPRING\u00ae, ACTION PIN\u00ae).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Choose <strong>Elo\/H<\/strong> for lowest peak force, <strong>MULTISPRING<\/strong> for highest density, <strong>ACTION PIN<\/strong> for brute-current.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Specify <em>hole quality<\/em> first: 25 \u00b5m Cu, \u00b150 \u00b5m dia., no burr\u2014pin is only half the story.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>From a 1970 \u201cnail\u201d to a 0.3 mm micro-spring, the press-fit pin has soldered nothing\u2014and yet connected everything.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Somos una empresa china l\u00edder en la fabricaci\u00f3n de herramientas, estampado, moldeo por inyecci\u00f3n y piezas mecanizadas con CNC. Para cualquier consulta, p\u00f3ngase en contacto con nosotros directamente. Estamos aqu\u00ed para ayudarle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/preciseworksplus.com\/es\/contactenos\/\">Cont\u00e1ctenos \u2013 preciseworksplus.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How a 1970 \u201cnail\u201d evolved into TE\u2019s MULTISPRING, Amphenol\u2019s ACTION PIN, the European Elo Pin and today\u2019s 0.3 mm micro-compliants.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/preciseworksplus.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/preciseworksplus.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/preciseworksplus.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preciseworksplus.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preciseworksplus.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=726"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/preciseworksplus.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":997,"href":"https:\/\/preciseworksplus.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726\/revisions\/997"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preciseworksplus.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/preciseworksplus.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preciseworksplus.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preciseworksplus.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}