The Micro USB Port

The Best Micro USB Port - FCI's 10118194-0001LF

Our most favorite MicroUSB port that we have encountered here is made by FCI. The part number is 10118194-0001LF. The reason we like this MicroUSB port so much is because it has 4 thru-hole tooling pins. This ensures that when we are populating this port we cannot possibly get it crooked. MicroUSB ports like the 10118192-0001LF are dangerous because they are purely surface mount and can float around in the reflow oven and come out crooked. Plus they don't have nearly the mechanical strength as the 10118194-0001LF. Those 4 thru-hole pins aren't just handy for manufacturability, they also result in a very strong connection with the PCB. The user of your product is likely to break their cable before they break the port. 

If you’re looking for a footprint for this part, look no further than SnapEDA’s page for this part. It’s an excellent footprint which we’ve had great results with.

Panelization for Micro USB Ports

This information is important for our PCB suppliers, not our customers. If you are designing your board, you can safely ignore this information, unless you're curious, then read on.

MicroUSB ports have a flange that dips below the surface of the PCB. So the area where the flange of that MicroUSB port is going to be needs to be empty. 

You will want to route out an area for relief for this flange. Minimum size for this routing should be 2mm x 10mm. The flange itself is about 1.6mm x 7.8mm so a little extra room is helpful. Typical routing sizes are around 4mm x 15mm and that would be our preference too.

If you have any specific questions about our requirements, notice a typo, or think we are wrong, please let us know. Email the author at cdenney@worthingtonassembly.com or call us at (413) 397-8260