I am wanting to connect 2 boards together with a cable. I want the connectors on the boards to be surface mount and have clips to hold the cable onto it. I need about 8 – 10 pins. I don't want to have to crimp wires or solder them, I would prefer something like a ribbon cable.
I have been searching all morning and cannot find anything really to fit the bill. I checked at mouser and digikey. I really don't know what all the keywords mean e.g.
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Some of them I can figure out. Any help would be appreciated. I can find really anything but cables.
Thanks in advance.
Best Answer
For SMT if you want something reasonably small you could use flat flexible cables (FFC).
Example:
They mate with, surprise, FFC connectors, like these:
You can get them in zero-insertion force (ZIF) with a locking clasp, or LIF without, right-angle, vertical, etc. Mind that "pin 1" to the same connector will be backwards if the cable is stripped on the same side--you can get "upside down" connectors however.
They are very compact and easy to use, but their major downfall (especially for prototype use) is their low cycle life. If you have to disconnect/reconnect it a dozen plus times, they aren't a solution