Board-to-Board Connector Sourcing from China 2026

Board-to-Board Connector Sourcing from China: 0.30 to 2.54 mm Pitch Mezzanine and Parallel Stack-Up for Russian and CIS Buyers

icsourcedirect is an independent China connector distributor and procurement agent serving Russian and CIS assembly lines. A Russian buyer working on a control board for a 50-unit batch of industrial PLC carriers needs 12-position, 0.8 mm pitch board-to-board mezzanine connectors, and the original supplier quotes a 16-week lead time at MOQ 1,000 per line. The same line is in stock in our Shenzhen catalog with confirmed availability per line on the quote, mixed with 18 other brand lines that have to ship on the same date to keep one consolidated weekly departure. That is the case this guide is written for: board-to-board connector sourcing from China, 0.30 to 2.54 mm pitch, for buyers in Russia and the CIS who need small batches of mixed-brand mezzanine or parallel stack-up connectors and want a single air freight lane to the EAEU.

What a board-to-board BOM line actually needs

A board-to-board BOM line is rarely one part number. For a true mezzanine mating pair, the line item covers the plug on the daughter board and the receptacle on the carrier, and that pair has to match by series, pin count, pitch, stacking height and plating option. Add a surface-mount retention feature or shielding option and the line splits further. For parallel stack-up across PCBs at fixed heights, again the mated pair must travel together.

Pitch families that appear on a real multi-brand BOM:

0.30 mm to 0.50 mm — fine-pitch mezzanine for compact camera, sensor and medical imaging modules. Hirose DF40 series is a frequent reference here, alongside TE Connectivity 0.4 mm class families and Samtec 0.30 to 0.50 mm stacks.
0.80 mm — workhorse mezzanine for control boards, gateways, displays and small-form-factor modules. Hirose DF12, Molex SlimStack 0.80 mm and similar families appear here.
1.00 mm — common mezzanine for industrial controllers and instrumentation. Hirose DF23 / DF57 classes, Molex SlimStack 1.00 mm and TE 1.00 mm families compete in this band.
1.27 mm — older mezzanine still in service for CNC retrofit, industrial control and test fixtures.
2.00 mm and 2.54 mm — parallel stack-up headers and receptacles, often shrouded, in legacy industrial designs, test fixtures and burn-in boards.

In our catalog, the board-to-board family sits at roughly 4,500 SKUs, with the parallel header/socket 2.54 mm class contributing the long tail of legacy and burn-in parts, and the mezzanine classes contributing the higher pin-count precision parts. Search the family directly at /category/board-to-board and the mezzanine subgroup at /category/mezzanine-stacking.

For the Russian or CIS buyer, the practical consequence is that a 20-line board-to-board BOM can easily span 6 to 8 distinct series across 2 or 3 brands (Molex SlimStack, Hirose DF, TE Connectivity, Samtec, JST, Harwin), each with its own plug/receptacle pair, stacking-height variant and plating code. That is a textbook case for connector BOM kitting rather than line-by-line procurement.

How sourcing a board-to-board BOM works in practice

A board-to-board line behaves differently from a wire-to-board line. There is no crimp contact and no discrete housing, so the line is just a plug and a receptacle, but the part numbers are dense and the variant count per series is high. A correct BOM line lists both halves and the stacking height; without the stacking height, two different SKUs that share the same series code are still not interchangeable.

The workflow that survives a Russian or CIS buyer's first 20 lines:

Send a single BOM file, one row per mating pair. Columns we need to read: brand, series, plug part number, receptacle part number, pin count, pitch, stacking height, plating, quantity per line, and target ship date.
We resolve each row against our catalog and flag any line where the plug/receptacle pair is incomplete or where a stacking height variant has been selected against the wrong board-to-board distance.
We reply per line with indicative pricing, MOQ per line (where applicable), and a confirmation note that the mated pair is in stock or needs to be sourced.
You confirm the BOM. We consolidate the order in Shenzhen — different brands, different pitches, one inbound.
Pre-shipment inspection at our desk: visual on plating and coplanarity, batch code on the reel or tray, and reel/tube/tray count against your quantity.
One weekly consolidated air lane to Moscow, St Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Almaty or Minsk under DDP where the quotation states it, with commercial invoice, packing list and certificate of origin. End-user and end-use screening applies; we screen end users and end uses, classify before quoting, and decline transactions that cannot be screened.

This is the same workflow described on our procurement page /procurement. The detail that catches Russian and CIS buyers off-guard on their first order: board-to-board connectors ship on tape-and-reel for SMT and on tray for the larger pin counts, and our desk does not split a single reel — we round up to the next full reel, or move the line to tray packaging where the supplier offers it, and call that out on the quote.

The series that actually appear on a Russian board-to-board BOM

A board-to-board buyer in Russia and the CIS is rarely sourcing only one series. Below are the series that recur on real quotation files. Pitch and stacking-height ranges are taken from our catalog as recorded; verify against the original manufacturer datasheet before committing.

Hirose DF40 series — 0.40 mm pitch mezzanine, pin counts from 10 to 100+, stacking heights from 1.5 mm to 4.0 mm. Recurs in compact camera, display and sensor modules where board-to-board height is tight.
Hirose DF12 series — 0.80 mm pitch mezzanine, pin counts commonly 20 to 80, stacking heights from 3.0 mm to 8.0 mm. Workhorse control board series for industrial gateways.
Hirose DF17 / DF23 series — 1.00 mm and 0.80 mm classes, common in display interconnects.
Molex SlimStack 0.80 mm and 1.00 mm — mezzanine for industrial and consumer control boards, pin counts from 6 to 60.
Molex PicoBlade and Pico-EZmate — 1.20 mm and 1.25 mm board-to-board and wire-to-board hybrids that recur in small modules.
TE Connectivity 1.00 mm class mezzanine families and AMP CT connectors — used in control boards and test fixtures.
Samtec 0.30 to 1.27 mm mezzanine stacks — high-precision, multiple stacking heights, often ordered in small batches for prototype runs.
JST SH and SR series — 1.00 mm board-to-board, common in compact modules.
Harwin M50 and M52 series — 1.27 mm and 2.00 mm board-to-board for industrial and test fixtures.

None of these series can be substituted for another by description alone. The 10-axis cross-reference rule — form/fit outline, dimensions, pin-to-pin, electrical, mechanical, environmental class, IP, temperature, materials/plating, certifications — applies in full. A "same pitch" alternate is a starting point for investigation, not a substitution result.

When substitution works and when it must not

A Russian buyer with a 1.00 mm pitch Hirose DF23 design may be tempted to substitute a Molex SlimStack 1.00 mm part on the promise that they share pitch and pin count. We do not make that call. The 10-axis walk-through below is what a substitution file should look like.

Axis 1 — Form/fit outline. Matched if both halves share a similar shroud geometry and contact zone. Differs when one series uses a different shroud polarity or a side-latch versus top-latch.

Axis 2 — Dimensions. Matched only if the footprint, overall length and stacking height are within the manufacturer tolerance for the same nominals. Differs if the stacking-height variant differs by more than 0.2 mm or the PCB land pattern has been redesigned between series.

Axis 3 — Pin-to-pin. Matched if the contact positions on the land pattern line up, which is series-specific and not derivable from pitch alone. Differs for almost all cross-brand mezzanine pairs even at the same pitch.

Axis 4 — Electrical. Matched if the current rating, voltage rating and contact resistance are comparable. Differs when the gold plating thickness differs or the contact geometry changes the rating.

Axis 5 — Mechanical. Matched only if the mating force, withdrawal force and locking feature are documented and aligned. Unknown when the manufacturer does not publish mating force.

Axis 6 — Environmental class. Matched if both are rated to the same operating humidity and vibration class. Differs when one series is qualified for industrial vibration and the other is qualified for commercial equipment only.

Axis 7 — Ingress protection. Most mezzanine connectors are not IP-rated. If the original design is IP-rated, the substitute must carry the same IP class or the substitution fails.

Axis 8 — Temperature. Matched if both series are rated to the same operating temperature range. Differs when one is rated 85°C and the other 105°C.

Axis 9 — Materials and plating. Matched if the contact finish and housing material are within specification. Differs when tin-lead replaces gold or a different housing polymer is used.

Axis 10 — Certifications. Matched only if the same UL, IEC or other third-party certifications are present. Unknown if the substitute is sourced through independent distribution and the certification file has not been received.

A short-form decision a buyer can write down: substitute only when axes 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 and 9 align on the original manufacturer datasheet. Stop and re-qualify when axes 5, 6, 7 or 10 are unknown or differ.

Do not substitute board-to-board connectors in safety-related loops, in test fixtures that rely on a known mating cycle count, in burn-in boards that see thermal cycling, or in any application where the manufacturer datasheet specifies a single series.

Where our desk can and cannot help

What we do: receive your BOM, resolve plug/receptacle pairs and stacking-height variants against our catalog, flag missing information per line, return per-line indicative pricing, consolidate on a single weekly air lane under DDP where the quotation states it, and issue commercial invoice, packing list and certificate of origin. We screen end users and end uses, classify before quoting, and decline transactions that cannot be screened.

What we do not do: act as an authorized distributor of any manufacturer listed in this guide. Original manufacturer warranties, original-line traceability and certificate of conformance from the manufacturer line are not in our scope. We do not issue EAC or TR CU documentation; those belong to the importer of record or to the equipment manufacturer placing the finished product on the market. We do not commit to delivery lead times; DDP timing is a quotation condition, not a service guarantee.

For prototype runs of fewer than 50 mating pairs across multiple series, our small-batch service handles the lines from the same consolidated shipment rather than forcing a 1,000-piece MOQ per line. The detail on the procurement page /procurement explains the line-level MOQ rule; the catalog at /products lets you browse the board-to-board family directly.

Choosing your next step

For a clean BOM file, open the quote tool at /baojia and upload your spreadsheet with one row per mating pair. For a single-line shortage on a confirmed part number, use the inquiry form at /inquiry with the part number, the quantity and the target date. To compare board-to-board series across brands before committing, the comparison page /compare lets you line up the series side by side.

Verify against the original manufacturer datasheet and your own qualification process for any board-to-board substitution. Our role ends at the consolidated shipment, not at the qualification call.

Send your BOM in any standard spreadsheet format to /baojia for a per-line quotation; we will respond line by line.

Data Notes

Pitch and stacking-height ranges in this article are recorded from our catalog as of September 2026 and are directional planning data, not specification sheets. Verify against the original manufacturer datasheet for any cross-brand substitution or series qualification. Catalog depth for board-to-board and mezzanine families is roughly 4,500 SKUs across the listed series, with line-level stock and lead time confirmed per line on the quote.

Author and sourcing

By the icsourcedirect sourcing desk (Shenzhen). We are an independent connector distributor and procurement agent, not an authorized distributor of the manufacturers listed above, and we do not hold original manufacturer warranty authority. Our deliverables end at the consolidated shipment; the qualification call belongs to your engineering team and to the original manufacturer datasheet.

FAQ

What pitch families do Russian and CIS buyers usually source for board-to-board connectors from China?

Most buyers work in 0.30–0.50 mm pitch (Hirose DF40, Samtec 0.30–0.50 mm classes), 0.80 mm (Hirose DF12, Molex SlimStack 0.80 mm), 1.00 mm (Hirose DF23, Molex SlimStack 1.00 mm, JST SH/SR) and 2.54 mm parallel stack-up headers and receptacles for legacy industrial designs and test fixtures. The board-to-board family is split between the mezzanine group at /category/mezzanine-stacking and the parallel headers group at /category/headers-board-conn.

How do I write a BOM line for a board-to-board mating pair so it can be quoted on the first pass?

A quoted-ready board-to-board BOM line lists both halves of the mating pair, the series code, the pin count, the pitch and the stacking height in millimetres. Without the stacking height the line cannot be priced, because most mezzanine series have multiple stacking-height variants on the same series code. Tape-and-reel orientation and plating code (gold flash, 0.38 µin gold, 30 µin gold, tin) also belong on the line for SMT orders.

Can I board-to-board substitute a Hirose DF40 with a Samtec 0.40 mm mezzanine on the same pitch?

No, not without re-qualification. The Hirose DF40 and a Samtec 0.40 mm mezzanine share pitch but not necessarily the land pattern, the stacking-height tolerance, the mating force or the operating temperature rating. Walk through the 10 axes before any cross-brand substitution and verify against the original manufacturer datasheet and your own qualification process.

What is the minimum quantity icsourcedirect will quote per line for board-to-board connectors?

There is no blanket MOQ across the order. Each line is quoted at the supplier's MOQ per part number, and where the line is a mating pair the pair has to clear both suppliers' MOQs. For prototype runs of fewer than 50 mating pairs across multiple series, our desk moves the order through the small-batch workflow described on /procurement; for serial production runs the line-level MOQ becomes the binding number.

How are board-to-board connectors packaged for SMT and through-hole assembly?

Most SMT mezzanine connectors ship on tape-and-reel with a fixed number of parts per reel; larger pin counts and taller stacking heights often ship on tray. Through-hole 2.54 mm headers and receptacles typically ship in tube or bulk. Our desk rounds up to the next full reel or moves the line to tray packaging where the supplier offers it, and calls the packaging choice out on the quote.

Can board-to-board connectors ship to Russia and the CIS under DDP from Shenzhen?

Yes, on the consolidated weekly air lane to Moscow, St Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Almaty and Minsk where the quotation states DDP. We screen end users and end uses, classify before quoting, and decline transactions that cannot be screened. EAC and TR CU certification belongs to the importer of record or to the equipment manufacturer placing the finished product on the market.

How does icsourcedirect handle a 1.00 mm pitch board-to-board line that turns out to be two different part numbers on the same series code?

We return the line to the buyer with both candidate part numbers and the question of which stacking-height variant matches the board-to-board distance on the PCB. The line is held until the buyer confirms; we do not pick a stacking-height variant on the buyer's behalf, because picking the wrong height silently fails the assembly at the SMT line.