New-Tech Europe Magazine | August 2016 | Digital edition

Diagrammatic depiction of the WUSAT 3 design

stacked one on top of another, separated by pillar spacers. The new proposed arrangement would not only increase available space, it would also save a lot of wire to board between stacked PCBs. Just as importantly, it would also allow best design practice to be employed when designing the signal processing circuitry - a major part of this project. The box cube structure proposed uses Harwin’s Datamate J-Tek connectors, which feature locking jackscrews for additional mating security - essential if the structural integrity of the design is to rely on the ruggedness of the connector. In fact, not only space applications, but several other industries such as aviation, defence, robotics and motor sport now prefer to specify jackscrews rather than latches or other fixing mechanisms, which can wear and fail due to excessive vibration.

4-fingered beryllium copper female contact which delivers excellent electrical and mechanical performance. Products such as the 2mm pitch Datamate and Mix-tek families, the Gecko 1.25mm pitch family and high power M300 connectors are rated to withstand extremes of shock, vibration and temperature and have been used in many satellite applications as well as other aerospace, oil and gas exploration, robotics, UAVs, motor sport, military vehicles and other mission-critical projects. For the latest WUSAT 3 mission, the team is still in the development phase. But one of the most intriguing possibilities the team is considering uses four Datamate connectors, not only to provide electrical connection but also to deliver the structural integrity of a four PCB box section design where the boards become self- supporting (see figure 2). Typically, PCBs used in Cubesat designs are

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