Ironwood Electronics
Ironwood Electronics has been the go-to source for advanced adapters, sockets, and modules. Our adapters convert package and pitch between devices, our modules offer complete fully tested assemblies for component replacement and upgrade, and our sockets allow for complete component and assembly testing - from new silicone characterization and validation, all the way thru burn-in and high volume automated testing – always with the highest performance and lowest possible footprint in the industry. Ironwood brings a combined knowledge of hundreds of years of engineering and manufacturing expertise, all under one roof in our state of the art 25,000 sq. foot facility just outside Minneapolis, Minnesota. Combined with our recent acquisition of the Grypper socket line, our continuous new product development demonstrates our on-going commitment to both our customers and the industry we serve.
- 800-404-0204
952-229-8200 - 952-229-8201
- info@ironwoodelectronics.com
- 1335 Eagandale Court
Eagan, MN 55121
United States of America
-
product
Package Converters & Fix Adapters
Package converters provide an electrical and mechanical conversion from one package type to another. We use gold plated interconnects for our pin and through hole converters. Ironwood Electronics offers solder column adapters as a solution for leaded SMT packages such as QFP, PLCC, SOIC, SSOP, and TSOP. This is an excellent choice when you have a PC board in production that needs an upgrade or you need to replace an obsolete part.
-
product
BGA Sockets
Ironwood has the most comprehensive collection of BGA (Ball Grid Array) sockets that can be used for prototype application, silicon validation, system development, thermal characterization, burn-in application, functional production test, etc. BGA socket can be defined as an electromechanical device, which provides removable interface between IC package and system circuit board with minimal effect on signal integrity. BGA sockets for prototype applications, silicon validations, system development applications uses low cost elastomer contact technology.
-
product
BGA SMT Adapters
Giga-snaP™
Giga-snaP™ 0.75, 0.8, 1.0, and 1.27mm pitch BGA Surface Mount Feet Adapter line of products provide an inexpensive and reliable method for attaching BGA chips to target board. The product line consists of patented female sockets with machined pins epoxy over-molded into an assembly that matches a particular BGA pattern. The epoxy over-molded female BGA socket is soldered to a PCB using standard soldering methods. A corresponding male pin BGA adapter, to which the user attaches their BGA chip, is plugged into the female socket on the board thus interconnecting the chip and the system is ready to go. The SMT adapters have the same solder ball types as the chips they are emulating. These adapters have less than half of the insertion force of competitive adapters, shorter electrical path for highest speed, and can be solder reflowed numerous times. A complete description and drawings of Giga-snaP™ 0.75, 0.8, 1.0, and 1.27mm pitch BGA Surface Mount Feet Adapters can be found at the tables shown below.
-
product
Grypper
Grypper
*Package-size PCB footprint: Since the PCB footprint of Grypper is identical to or smaller than the IC package, only one PCB design is required, enabling a seamless transition from test and validation through production and reducing overall cost of test*No lid required: The package snaps directly without a lid, enabling easy probing, scoping and troubleshooting the topside of the device*Excellent signal performance: A short signal path achieves low inductance and low insertion loss, providing a nearly invisible electrical connection
-
product
Surface Mount Package Emulation
SMT Adapters
Ironwood’s SMT package emulation adapters are often called “surface mount feet” or “emulator bases”. These adapters provide access and interconnections to surface mount lands. Typically, the adapters are soldered to the target board in place of the IC device and provide a pluggable array of pins interface for sockets, probing adapters, package converters, and even board-to-board connections. These adapters are often utilized as a base for many of our probing adapter products. We constantly innovate to provide the most reliable, cost effective interfaces available. For example, many of our PLCC, QFP and SOIC emulation bases use our proprietary shaped solder techniques, replacing expensive, and often fragile, J-lead and Gull Wing leads. Shaped solder parts are easily fluxed and reflowed onto the target system. Our emulator bases can present either a male or female interface at 1.27mm or 1mm or 0.8mm pitch gold plated array pins for pluggable connection.
-
product
PLCC Clips & Socket Plugs
Ironwood’s family of clips and plugs for PLCC packages can be used for connecting PCBs together or for gaining access to signals for testing.
-
product
Sockets
Ironwood Electronics Sockets – Embedded gold plated wire elastomer (SG) – Stamped & Etched spring pins (SBT) – Embedded silver ball elastomer matrix (SM/SMP)– Compressible silver button in polyimide (GT/GTP)– Surface mount adapters for sockets (SF)
-
product
Near Zero Footprint SMT Spring Pin Sockets
Ironwood Electronics socket is a device size or near device size footprint test socket incorporating industry standard high performance spring pins. Ironwood can design a socket to work with any type IC packages- BGA, LGA, QFN, DFN and even leaded devices where you need to fit a socket in place of your device to allow fast, easy testing and development.
-
product
Silver Button Sockets
For BGA, QFN, or LGA applications, GTP contact technology provides >94 GHz signal speed and can additionally be used in high cycle life applications such as ATE. These sockets support pitches from 0.2 mm to 1.27 mm. Ironwood's GT sockets are ideal for prototyping and testing almost any BGA device application. These IC sockets provide excellent signal integrity yet remain cost effective. Innovative elastomer interconnect technology that delivers low signal loss (1dB at 94GHz) and supports BGA packages with pitches down to 0.2mm was utilized in these sockets. GT BGA sockets are mechanically mounted over a target system's BGA lands using mounting and alignment holes at proper locations (page 2 of the individual socket drawing shows recommended PCB layout information). These low-profile sockets are only 2.5 mm per side larger than actual IC packages (industry's smallest footprint).
-
product
Aspen Sockets
Ironwood Electronics’ Aspen line of sockets are designed in standardized stepped footprint configurations, incorporating industry standard high performance spring pins. Sockets can be designed to work with any type of IC package; BGA – LGA – QFN – DFN and even leaded devices where you have minimal space to fit a socket in place of your device to allow fast, easy testing and development.
-
product
Grypper G80 / G80 LIF
*Package-size PCB footprint: Since the PCB footprint of G80 is identical to the package, only one PCB design is required, enabling a seamless transition from test and validation through production and reducing overall cost of test*Low insertion force: Unique contact design reduces the insertion force required to insert and retain higher-ball-count packages safely and securely within the test socket*No lid required: The package snaps directly without a lid, enabling easy probing, scoping and troubleshooting the topside of the device*Excellent signal performance: A short signal path achieves low inductance and low insertion loss, providing a nearly invisible electrical connection
-
product
Chip Obsolescence Solutions
Solve component obsolescence problems with an Ironwood adapter and an alternate device. Adapters convert the pinout of an alternate device to maintain compatibility with an existing footprint – no need to redesign a new circuit board. Very often, these adapters (called Package Converters) are a simple 1:1 pin mapping from the new package to the old. Here are a few examples of package converters and how they can solve chip obsolescence issues.
-
product
Smart Sockets
Ironwood Electronics extended its high performance socket product line with smart features. Sockets are typically rated for 2K to 500K cycles. How do we know if the sockets are used for 100K or 200K insertions? Solution is electronic chip insertion counter. Our sockets can be integrated with electronics counter into the compression mechanism of the socket lid. A push button is exposed on the compression plate. Every time a chip is compressed, push button is actuated which in turn activates the electronic circuitry inside the lid. These activations are counted by the counter IC and displayed in LCD. Let’s say a contact element is rated for 2K insertions. After 2K insertions, this contact element will be replaced by new contact element. Now, the counter has to start the counting from the beginning. To achieve this function, a reset option is included in the electronics circuitry. When reset is actuated, LCD display will go to “0”.
-
product
ONFi
Open Nand Flash Interface (ONFi) specify a unique package & I/O configurations. This catalog covers the variations within the ONFi specifications.















