Hello. I’m trying to make a low profile connector with pogo pins, and attach a magnet behind rather than on the side of the connector. I want the connector to be strong and reliable. But I have a hard time figuring out how this best should be done.

Im thinking about using these https://www.mouser.se/datasheet/2/273/006M-770009.pdf

Using a 2mm thick glasfiber sheet and drill holes for the pogo pins blocks (I’ll use a 4 pin block like this https://mou.sr/3yQPuWq for each terminal) then insert them and use epoxy to secure them in place. Then epoxy a 0.5mm thick glasfiber sheet on the bottom, then attach neodymiummagnets behind that. But I don’t know how I should do this accurately, and if I should attach the wire to the pins before I glue them in place to the 2mm glasfiber sheet?

If I attach the wire first the bottom won’t no longer be flat when I attach the pogo pins with epoxy, since the wires are in the way for providing a flat surface. But if I attach the pogo pins with epoxy first, then the epoxy will insulate the terminals on the bottom of the pins. Even if I protect the terminals with masking tape and remove after epoxy have cured, I think it still won’t be as easy to attach the wires to them..? It would be better too if the epoxy hold the wires in place at the terminal, providing extra secure attachment and connection. I also wounder if i should use flat wire or make channels for the wires..?



Any solutions..?

 

Is there a reason why you are not surface soldering them to a printed circuit on your glassfiber board?

 

You can get the pins in singles. (one without the black plastic)
Put them on a 2mm thick Printed Circuit Board. They can be soldered on top of the board or I have made the boards with holes for the pins. The wires will solder to the PCB not the pins.

Can you make a pencil drawing. Picture=1000 words.

 

To be honest I dont know how to do that. I’m not familiar with small scale electronics like this, and I’m not really sure what you mean. I’ve never worked with PCB. The idea with the 2mm glasfiber sheet is that it will protect the pogo pins, so that the pogo pins wont take the force when the connector is slammed together, since I will use very strong neodymium magnets this will be very necessary. So the glasfiber will provide both electrical insulation and physical protection.

Maybe I could make the circuit on the 0.5mm glasfiber sheet, and use very flat cable or copper tape (or 0.5mm copper plate and cut out the glasfiber sheet to insert it, then adding another 0.5mm sheet behind it) instead of cylindrical wires to make a flat PCB-like circuit, and then attach the wires to the side of it, and just make holes for the pins in the 2mm sheet and glue it to the 0.5 sheet? Like this:
The circuit is a simple 6 pole circuit. The black surface represent the 0.5mm glasfiber sheet, the yellow dots the terminals/pins, the yellow lines the flat cable/copper tape/copper sheet and the gray lines normal cables that are connected to the side of the connector.

Then adding this 2mm thick glasfiber sheet with holes drilled out for the terminals, simply glue it in place?

 

Welcome to AAC.

I'm finding it a bit hard to follow what you geometry is supposed to be, but—

I have a couple of questions and a couple of recommendations.

First: are there really no existing magnetic connectors that will work for you? There are many kinds available.

Second: why do the magnets need to be placed behind. This certainly creates complications, what is the benefit that justifies that cost?

Third: using a PCB is almost certainly the right and ultimately easiest way to do something like this. Check out someone like JLCPCB. They can fabricate PCBs of all kinds and offer online tools for laying them out. You don't know how but it's not rocket science and with something his simple it will take less time to learn than working around not knowing.

Fourth: if you are going to fabricate your own connector, consider a circular one. Ring magnets would allow you to keep the magnet close to the front while also reducing the size required for retention. You could either key it so the connector will only engage on way, or make the contacts concentric circles which would allow the connector to rotate while maintaining connection.