ABSTRACT
Early airborne electronic equipment was packaged by individually mounting discrete passive components, such as capacitors, inductors, and resistors, on a sheet metal chassis. Increasing aircraft performance requirements drove available volume and allowable weight downward for electronic equipment, leading to the development of smaller and lighter components and innovative methods of interconnecting them. A major breakthrough in interconnection technology was achieved with the development of the printed wiring board (PWB) with copper conductor patterns photoetched on plastic sheets. The advent of computer-aided design techniques has eased the bookkeeping aspects of interconnection management. Printed circuit board connectors may be permanently soldered on boards with the cable attached. Backplane connectors are pin-in-socket or card edge connectors, typically attached with compliant pin or press-fit technology. Connectors are usually joined to PWBs at the same time that other system components are joined. Corrosion of electrical connectors causes a large number of electrical failures.
