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Concordville, PA, July 18, 2008—Southco® has announced a new family of inject/eject mechanisms for circuit boards to satisfy the specifications of CompactPCI (cPCI) applications with ergonomic operation. A broad, easy to grasp handle design provides ample grip while an intuitive release action with a low operating force simplifies the user experience. As the cPCI circuit board is inserted into the backplane connector, the inject/eject handles engage with the mounting rail to ensure a positive connection.

This new faceplate mounting hardware includes designs for both upper and lower inject/eject handles. The operating button on each ejector is easily accessible, yet protected to prevent accidental operation. An optional microswitch, to signal board insertion and hot swap extraction, is triggered by the release mechanism prior to any handle rotation.

Compatible with all common cPCI board sizes typically used in telecom, industrial and military embedded computing applications—3U, 6U, and 9U—these inject/eject mechanisms are fully RoHS compliant. They are supported by a variety of accessories—including press-in and snap-in ferrules, retention screws, PCB mounting blocks and microswitch assemblies—and complement a broad line of Southco inject/eject mechanism options.

Southco is a provider of engineered access solutions, including latches, locks, captive fasteners, hinges, handles, and other accessories for applications in the marine, networking, telecommunications, computer, automotive, aerospace, mass transit, off-highway/construction, RV/caravan, industrial machinery and HVAC industries.

SOUTHCO CONTACT: Dale Clouser-dclouser@southco.com