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I am in need of building a lowcost magnetic board to board connector. There will be a lot of modules and a connector that connects both sides is needed 6x on each pcb.

I need a connection similar to this - 5x pogo pins on one side, 5 receptacles on the other side.

Board to board pogo pins

Has anyone tried using plated through-hole vias (castellated holes) as receptacles (female side) of a pogo pin? On top of that the pogo pins would need to be embedded in the pcb to be in the same height.

Thanks for comments, if this is a really bad idea.

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I have something like these pictures in mind:

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Antonín Gazda
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  • Why do you want to use a via instead of a typical test point (a circular pad without a hole)? – Elliot Alderson Jun 07 '21 at 15:19
  • Never tried it... I could see it working, but you'd need your boards to be intentionally misaligned in the assembly. I've never seen mid-board-mount pogo pins. I suppose Mill-Max would make them for you if you're willing to buy enough of them... – Hearth Jun 07 '21 at 15:19
  • I want to use it as a kind of right angle connector. I think I would be able to use normal pogo pins soldered inside a pcb. – Antonín Gazda Jun 07 '21 at 15:20
  • and I would't need to misalign the pogo pins. If a choose a pin that is close to 1.6mm in height, it can be soldered inside the height of a pcb. – Antonín Gazda Jun 07 '21 at 15:24
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    It's probably possible with castellated holes and plated slots to accept the pogo pins (and a jig to align them during hand soldering). The spacing would be relatively large. Reliable? Who knows. – Spehro Pefhany Jun 07 '21 at 15:25
  • Via's are created by a plating process and are made of very soft copper - i.e. it doesn't take much to tear them up. I wouldn't chance it. Also, pogo pins aren't really intended for 'permanent' connections at all. They're for use in manufacturing to perform tests on the board. I think what you're suggesting is using them as a substitute for a real connector. I would not entertain that idea if this is for a mass-produced product. Are you sure the first picture (the mill-max thing) are pogo pins??? – Kyle B Jun 07 '21 at 16:12
  • The spring force on pogo pins is usually much higher than the spring force for the type of pins shown in your first picture. Might make for a connector that pops off easily with magnets. – Aaron Jun 07 '21 at 17:07
  • So... if I wanted to use something similar to pogo pins as a permanent connector, is there something else? For example batteries in phones use spring connectors or spring fingers for emi shielding are in use for a long time. I saw some products that use pogo pins in a similar fasion - for example Roli Blocks. – Antonín Gazda Jun 08 '21 at 10:47

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