A Complete Guide to Eurocards

As outlined above, the term Eurocard defines a standardised size and format of printed circuit boards (PCBs) that can be plugged into an (also standardised) chassis or rack mount. This allows for a great deal of flexibility and interchangeability across multiple equipment setups and mounting arrangements.

As a result, a wide variety of industrial machinery, panels and equipment nodes stand to benefit from the increased cost-effectiveness of a single universal mounting solution for common PCB sizes and layouts, without having to invest in costly sector or application-specific hardware mounting solutions on a case-by-case basis.

A standard Eurocard PCB thus plugs into any appropriate subrack, chassis or PCB enclosure, and these rack mounts will generally comprise a number of slotted card guides on the top and bottom of its interior panels.

Strictly speaking, the term ‘Eurocard’ describes a single standardised size of printed circuit board, namely 100mm x 160mm (at a thickness of 1.6mm). This is the baseline or ‘single’ type Eurocard, although there are two other compatible and commonly-used variants available on today’s market, each of which are essentially sized as their names suggest.

Including the standard single version, the three types/sizes of Eurocard PCB you’ll find being sold by most manufacturers and suppliers today are:

• Single Eurocard (dimensions: 100mm x 160mm x 1.6mm), also known as the 3U Eurocard
• Double Eurocard (dimensions: 233.4mm x 160mm x 1.6mm), also known as the 6U Eurocard
• Half-size Eurocard (dimensions: 100mm x 80mm x 1.6mm)

Note: the ‘U’ often found in Eurocard descriptions/sizing refers to ‘units’, with 1U being 44.45mm in height - equivalent to the height of one 19-inch rack unit.

• A 3U subrack is 133.35mm (5.25”) high and therefore accommodates a 3U Eurocard of 100mm in height.
• Similarly, a 6U subrack will be 266.70mm in height, to accept double-size (6U) Eurocards at 233.35mm.

We’ll cover rack dimensions in slightly more depth further on in this guide.

The connector systems that are most commonly associated with the Eurocard architectures include the original DIN 41612 connector (also standardised as IEC 60603.2). The most popular size of the Eurocard is a single size, but there are two other sizes available on the market.

DIN 41612 connectors are very widely used in rack-based electrical systems, particularly as PCB connectors and for motherboards, where their key strength is in providing reliable board-to-board linkups. The standard performance of these connectors is a 2A per pin current carrying capacity, and a 500V working voltage. (Both figures may be variable on a case-by-case, application-specific basis, with regards to hardware requirements, operational safety and environmental conditions.)

Again, we’ll look more closely at DIN connectors in subsequent sections.

As noted above, Eurocards are very widely used in all manner of electrical, computing, industrial and production environments, thanks to their wide interchangeability and flexibility in terms of standardised sizes and rack-mounting solutions.

This makes design and hookup of networks and systems far more economical in nearly all sectors. It dramatically reduces the need for expensive workarounds, such as custom-built enclosures, as well as making it much easier and quicker for engineers and system builders across all types of markets to source broadly compatible parts or components, along with suitable connectors and housing chassis.

As a result, the Eurocard format is widely used across many industries and sectors, including:

• Factory and production environment equipment - especially in factory power relays
• Computer components and peripherals - backplane and motherboard assemblies in particular
• Industrial controls - notably in DCS systems
• Military hardware
• Aerospace applications and high speed trains
• Medical and laboratory machinery
• Base stations and home/office telecoms equipment
• Switching systems and other modular rack systems
• Data centers, storage and server environments

What else do I need with Eurocards?

The standardised Eurocard PCB configuration offers a highly versatile solution to the costly and inefficient problem of needing to build custom brackets, chassis and enclosures for different networking nodes in different industries or applications.

This is extremely useful to engineers in and of itself, of course - but where the Eurocard PCB format really comes into its own is when coupled with some of the other commonly used components and accessories that combine to create an entire self-contained network hub or unit.

The main two other component/hardware types you’ll need to be shopping for once you’ve decided on a Eurocard setup are DIN connectors and chassis mounts or racks.

Other variables to keep an eye on when choosing and buying DIN 41612 connectors for use with Eurocard boards include:

• The differing number of contacts
• The many variations of housing material on the market, including multiple different types of both metal and plastic
• The availability of both angled and straight connector versions
• The existence of both male and female connector sockets

Finally, there will be a number of different mounting configurations available for the connectors themselves, including:

• Cable mount
• Panel mount
• Snap pin mount
• Through hole