Connection betweeen M0178 adapter board and M0173 front end adapter

Alessandro Voltolina

Hi,

Modelai offers a flex cable (code M0177) that connects the M0178 adapter board to the M0173 front-end adapter. However, for our application, we require a more flexible solution. We need to bend and twist the connection, and the current flex cable is too rigid and too short for our needs.

Is the M0177 cable a pin-to-pin cable with a 5052744012 Molex connector on one end and a 5052704012 Molex connector on the other?

Thank you

Vinny

Hi @Alessandro-Voltolina
Not quite. Close.
We use the 0.9mm mate height on the ToF side (that mates with M0178) to ensure clearance to the caps at the connector.
https://docs.modalai.com/M0178/#pin-out-p1

Note on that page, we show over 1.2A of current draws at times (and it can be more if you adjust exposure ), so your solution needs very thick copper for power and return. Hence why our flexes are very rigid. They are nearly 95% copper density on all layers, with more than 65% of the copper for power feeds.

If you wish to design your own, feel free to let us review your design. Just tag me again if you want that, and we can reach out to you using the info you provided to register on the forum.

Also of note, we DO have another solution (it is a flex too) that is longer, but wider. It is M0170 Rev B. We have not released it yet since it was for internal dev to support all use cases with these new Molex connectors, but we may have it listed for sale soon. You are not alone in needing longer lengths. But, the length here is not something that can be extended indefinitely. Due to the power draw, plus MIPI traces, you still want to keep the distance as short as possible <100mm or so. M0170 is ~75mm long, so it adds about 20-ish mm more than M0177, but it also blocks one of the mounting holes on M0173 (it was designed first for dev as I mentioned).
Here is an example picture (M0180 is a "sample" run we did with a different vendor and is the same, but M0170B will be the product):

Hope this helps.

Jetson Nano

@Vinny I'm looking on upgrading and procuring the new TOF V2 for suiting my custom airframe with VOXL2 compute and tracking cameras for VIO and other functionality.

Is the new extender flex M0170 Rev B available for sale now?

Since the distance between the VOXL2 compute and TOF V2 as per my design would be around 70 mm, I'll be needing an extender.

Vinny

Hi @Jetson-Nano
Almost!!
I'm actually testing a new batch TOMORROW (just got my V2 all setup for it TODAY) then we can get them into our production flow, hopefully in the next week or so.
Ping on me next week for updates if I do not respond back again soon.
Thanks!

Jetson Nano

@Vinny Thanks for reverting. Sure, will get in touch.

Also, is there a variety of length of the flex which is under consideration for production apart from what you had mentioned above(~75 mm)?

Vinny

Hi @Jetson-Nano
No, just the one length of 75mm for M0170 Rev B (M0180 as an interim).
The ToF current draw demands really place a heavy constraint on these flexes and was one of the driving forces behind the new 40-pin connector format (which helps in other areas too).

For note, we have these Rev and design variations since we are trying some new flex vendors for longer term support and reliable sourcing. Also why they took longer than most to get going.

Jetson Nano

Hey @Vinny,
Is the M0170 Rev B under production now and available for sale?

Vinny

Hi @Jetson-Nano
Yes, sorry for not following up. We have a small batch tested and in inventory now. I think our team may not have it up yet in Shopify, so you can always reach out directly asking for a quote using our contact form. I alerted the team your request may be in-bound.
https://www.modalai.com/pages/contact-us