Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!killer!ames!ll-xn!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!uw-june!uw-entropy!dataio!pilchuck!ssc!markz
From: markz@ssc.UUCP (Mark Zenier)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Vero-wire circuit prototyping system
Summary: ScotchFlex and QuickConnect
Keywords: vero wire prototype
Message-ID: <1329@ssc.UUCP>
Date: 9 Jul 88 21:37:35 GMT
References: <187@lithium.kcl-cs.UUCP>
Organization: SSC, Inc., Seattle, WA
Lines: 62

In article <187@lithium.kcl-cs.UUCP>, andrew@kcl-cs.UUCP (Andrew B Smith) writes:
> 
> Hi,
> 
> I am looking into the use of the 'Vero Wire' prototyping system for the
> construction of a small micro board. For those of you who do not know
> what 'Vero Wire' is (it may have a different name in your country) I shall
> explain. Vero Wire is a wiring system for creating prototype circuit
> boards. It consists of a pen and 30 SWG wire (I think may be thinner). The
> wire is copper and insulated. The user takes the wire and wraps it round the 
> leg of an IC/component/socket and takes the wire onto a plastic comb. The
> wire is then routed along a series of combbs to the other components to
> which connections are required. When the routing for a particular wire
> is done the wraped connections are soldered to break the insulation and
> make a joint.
> 
> This prototyping system has the advantage over wire-wrap in that the boards
> are much thinner (the same as a PCB).
> 
> I would like to hear from people who have had experience with this system
> and the problems they have encountered (reliability, and types of circuit
> it is suitable for). I am interested in the effects of noise and crosstalk 
> on the wires, and the sorts of speed of micro you can build.


An alternative to the solder-strippable insulation are the insulation
displacement systems.  They use the same method as the flat cable connection
systems, use regular 30 ga. wire wrap wire and are fast. (about 5-10 times
as fast full hand (cut the wire and hand strip it) wire wrap, or about
twice as fast as Cut-Strip-Wrap automatic wire wrapping available from
OK. 

These systems were available from 3M, Robinson-Nugent, and BICC-Vero in the
USA.

ScotchFlex Breadboarding System from 3M consists of strips of insulation
displacment terminals in a break-apart strip, and socket tops.  The
IDC terminals are on the bottom of the perfboard with pins that project 
thru the board, and the socket top is an IC socket with female connections
on both sides.

Quick Connect from Robinson-Nugent is either individual stake in terminals
or fully assembled prototype boards.  Likewise the BICC-VERO.

Anything you could do on a double sided board would probably work, but
Schottky TTL is going to need better power and ground than you can get
with busbar and Vector board. (I found this out the hard way).

In the 3M and RN, the IDC terminal is a slot in a tab.   In the BICC-Vero
the IDC terminal is an extension of the socket barrel (like a machined
DIP socket),  and is a cylinder with 2 insulation dispacment slots on
each side, (like an T&B Ansley Tulip IDC contact).  The hand tooling for 
BICC-Vero is different.

I don't know the availability of these systems now,  the impression I get is
that people aren't supposed to build prototypes anymore, just buy a
million dollars worth of Mentor workstation and simulate it all. :=)


Mark Zenier	uunet!pilchuck!ssc!markz		
"Kinda scary. One guy said he had heard they were a bunch of wierdo gourmets
from somewhere in Orange County, looking for new taste thrills."