{"id":456,"date":"2020-06-06T21:50:40","date_gmt":"2020-06-06T17:50:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jrtwine.com\/blog\/?p=456"},"modified":"2021-05-04T20:15:45","modified_gmt":"2021-05-04T16:15:45","slug":"machine-pin-sockets-what-are-they-really-good-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jrtwine.com\/blog\/machine-pin-sockets-what-are-they-really-good-for\/","title":{"rendered":"Machine Pin Sockets – What Are They REALLY Good For?"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

So another debate about machine pin sockets vs. standard (dual-wipe) sockets came up on one of the arcade repair-related groups I am a member of.\u00a0 And it, like just about every other older discussion about them, centered around not knowing our understanding what they are really supposed to be used for, and without fail, someone brings up the old “square peg in a round hole<\/em>” argument.<\/p>\r\n

So here are the details, people.\u00a0 All IC sockets are designed to protect the chip.\u00a0 For example, from damage due to soldering (excessive heat).\u00a0 But standard sockets are also good for facilitating replacement of a chip.\u00a0 It is relatively easy to remove and reinsert a chip when necessary.<\/p>\r\n

But here is where machine pin sockets and standard sockets differ.\u00a0 Machine pin sockets are not<\/strong> designed to facilitate replacement.\u00a0 They are destined to retain<\/strong>.\u00a0 They are meant to grab onto a chip and Hold The Holy Shit<\/strong> out of it so that it can withstand a trip through a shake-n-bake (a colloquial term for an oven and\/or vibration table used to test the robustness of assemblies) without loosing the chip.<\/p>\r\n

With a standard socket, a good portion of the gripping power of its pins comes from the plastic carrier.\u00a0 If you have ever accidentally melted or damaged the plastic, you will notice a reduction in performance.<\/p>\r\n

A machine pin socket does not get its strength from its plastic carrier, it gets it from the pins themselves, because of how they are constructed.\u00a0 So when you need a chip to stay in place, you use a machine pin socket.\u00a0 They may also not be good candidates for something that is often swapped out.<\/p>\r\n

As for the round hole argument, the inside of a machine pin usually has square or triangular “grips” inside it to help improve contact with the IC’s pin.\u00a0 If you have the time, it might be worth carefully taking one apart to see how it works.\u00a0 It might just change your mind about them.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So another debate about machine pin sockets vs. standard (dual-wipe) sockets came up on one of the arcade repair-related groups I am a member of.\u00a0 And it, like just about every other older discussion about them, centered around not knowing our understanding what they are really supposed to be used for, and without fail, someone […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-repair-logs","category-youre-doing-it-wrong"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t