Eurocard is a European standard format for PCB cards, which can be plugged together into a standardized subrack. The subrack consists of a series of slotted card guides on the top and bottom, into which the cards are slid so they stand on end, like books on a shelf. At the "back" of each card is one or more connectors, which plug into mating connectors on a backplane which closes the rear of the subrack. A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... Close-up photo of one side of a motherboard PCB, showing conductive traces, vias and solder points for through-hole components on the opposite side. ...

The Eurocard packaging system is a complex mixture of English and metric dimensions.

Eurocard subracks have standardized sizes based on the 'U', for unit. 1 U is 1.75 inches. A 3U subrack is 5.25 inches high and accepts a 3U Eurocard which is 100 mm high. Another popular size is the 6U high subrack which is 10.5 inches high and accepts 6U Eurocards which are 233.35mm high.

The Eurocard height starts at 100 mm and increments by 133.35 increments. This arrangement allows two 3U high (100 mm) Eurocards to be supported properly next to a 6U high (233.35 mm) Eurocard. The 33.35 mm space is required for the card guide structure that would be between the two 3U high cards.

Eurocards come in modular depths that start at 100 mm and then increase in 60 mm increments. The 160 mm depth is the most common today, however standard hardware is available to accomodate depths of 100 mm, 160 mm, 220 mm, 280 mm, 340 mm, and 400 mm

The Eurocard mechanical architecture was defined originally under IEC-60297-3. Today, the most widely recognized standards for this mechanical structure are IEEE 1101.1, IEEE 1101.10 (also known commonly as "dot ten") and IEEE 1101.11. IEEE 1101.10 covers the additional mechanical and EMI features required for VITA 1.1-1997(R2002) which is the VME64 Extensions standard as well as PICMG 2.0 (R3.0) which is the CompactPCI specification.

The IEEE 1101.11 standard covers rear plug-in units that are also called rear transition modules or RTMs.

The Eurocard is a mechanical system and does not define the specific connector to be used or the signals that are assigned to connector contacts.

The connector systems that are commonly used with Eurocard architectures include the original DIN 41612 connector that is also standardized as IEC 60603.2. This is the connector that is used for the VMEbus standard which was IEEE 1014. The connector known as the 5-row DIN which is used for the VME64 Extensions standard is IEC 61076-4-113. The VME64 Extension architecture defined by [VITA] 1.1-1997 (R2002).

Another popular computer architecture that utilizes the 6U-160 Eurocard is CompactPCI and CompactPCI Express. These are defined by [PICMG] 2.0R3 and [PICMG] Exp0 R1 respectively. Other computer architectures that utilize the Eurocard system are VXI, PXI, and PXI Express.

A computer architecture that used the 6U-220 Eurocard format was MultibusII which was IEEE 1296.--68.57.61.225--Mmunroe 8 July 2005 06:41 (UTC) 8 July 2005 06:39 (UTC)

Because the Eurocard system provided for so many modular card sizes and because connector manufacturers have continued to create new connectors which are compatible with this system, it is a popular mechanical standard which is also used for innumerable "one-off" applications. 05:47 (UTC)--68.57.61.225--Mmunroe 8 July 2005 06:41 (UTC) 8 July 2005 06:39 (UTC)

Conduction-cooled Eurocards are used in military and aerospace applications. They are defined by the IEEE 1101.2-1992(2001) standard. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers or IEEE (pronounced as eye-triple-ee) is an international non-profit, professional organization incorporated in the State of New York, United States. ...