Samtec, Inc. distributor & excess inventory

About Samtec, Inc.

Samtec was founded in 1976 by John Marshall and Sam Kline in New Albany, Indiana, where the company is still headquartered as a privately held, family-owned business with roughly 6,000 employees worldwide. Samtec engineers and manufactures a broad interconnect portfolio spanning board-to-board and mezzanine connectors, high-speed backplane, RF and microwave coax, cable assemblies, and mid-board optical modules. The company is best known for its "Sudden Service" promise — very fast prototype delivery from an enormous SKU catalog — and for its dominance in high-speed digital, where its Tiger Eye contact system, Edge Rate (ERM8 / ERF8), AcceleRate HD, ExaMAX / ExaMAX2 (112G-PAM4 backplane), HSEC8 / HSEC1 card-edge, SEARAY / SEAM / SEAF high-density array mezzanine, and FireFly mid-board copper/optical products serve datacenter, server, storage, networking, test-and-measurement, medical imaging, defense, and aerospace programs. Samtec's growth has been largely organic, complemented by a small number of tuck-in acquisitions: NanoSpeed Cable (in-house high-speed cable line), Optical Zonu Corporation (2020, fiber optics), and the SEI / Samtec ExaMAX heritage for very-high-speed backplane. Samtec is frequently cited as a $1B+ private interconnect company.

Hybrid Electronics has sourced Samtec product since 1995 — a decade before the Edge Rate ERM8/ERF8 platform superseded the original Q Rate connectors, and long before Samtec ExaMAX and ExaMAX2 replaced legacy 25G/56G backplane at the 112G-PAM4 speed grade. Because Samtec's catalog is enormous (hundreds of thousands of orderable configurations across pitch, gender, stack height, row count, plating, and pick-and-place options), engineers routinely hit obsolete rev codes, discontinued Q Rate and Q Strip parts, older HSEC8 2.5 Gbps versions superseded by 25G+ variants, pre-Tiger Eye CLM plating, MEC5 pre-2010 revisions, and early SEARAY 2.5 Gbps rev-A parts on legacy drawings. We support customers who need to close out end-of-life prototype batches, source pre-2015 board-mount SMA "S" series revisions, or find older Q Strip / SFM / SFC Sudden Service prototype stock when Samtec's authorized channel has moved on to the current-production replacement.

Notable Samtec part numbers we track

Hybrid Electronics quotes and sources the following Samtec parts across Tiger Eye 1.27 mm board-to-board, MEC dual-row micro headers, HSEC / LSHM high-density, SEARAY / SEAM / SEAF array mezzanine, 0.635 mm FTSH / FTMH, Edge Rate ERM8 / ERF8, 2.54 mm TSW / SSW / BCS / IPT / IPS, ExaMAX / ExaMAX2 backplane, AcceleRate HD, RF S-series coax, and FireFly mid-board optical/copper. Samtec's part-number nomenclature encodes series, position count, stack height, row count, plating, and option codes in a single string — e.g. TFM-110-02-L-D-A = TFM series, 10-position, 2 mm mated height, low-profile, dual-row, alignment pin. Contact us for the exact stack height, plating, and pick-and-place variant you need.

Samtec quote & sourcing FAQ

What Samtec products does Hybrid Electronics quote most often?

Tiger Eye 1.27 mm TFM / TFC / CLE / CLP / CLM board-to-board, MEC dual-row micro card-edge (MEC1 / MEC2 / MEC5 / MEC6), HSEC8 and HSEC1 high-speed card-edge, LSHM razor-beam mezzanine, SEARAY / SEAM / SEAF array mezzanine, Edge Rate ERM8 / ERF8, 0.635 mm FTSH / FTMH, 2.54 mm TSW / SSW / BCS / IPT / IPS through-hole, ExaMAX / ExaMAX2 backplane, RF S-series SMA / SMP / SMPS / SMPM coax, and FireFly ECUE / ECUO mid-board copper/optical are our highest-volume Samtec quote categories. Legacy Q Rate, Q Strip, older HSEC8 2.5G, SFM / SFC prototype Sudden Service parts, and pre-Tiger Eye CLM stock are steady low-volume sourcing lines for defense, industrial, and medical customers.

Can Hybrid Electronics source Samtec ExaMAX2, AcceleRate HD, and FireFly optical on allocation?

Yes. Samtec's 112G-PAM4 ExaMAX2 backplane, AcceleRate HD Slim mezzanine, HSEC8 25G+ card-edge, and FireFly ECUO mid-board optical modules are on tight allocation as AI training clusters, hyperscale switch programs, and 800G / 1.6T datacenter builds ramp. We quote per-unit on demand against real-time supply from OEM excess and CEM surplus rather than holding standing stock. Include your target quantity, stack height, channel count, and traceability requirements and we return an availability window and quoted price.

Do you carry legacy Q Rate, Q Strip, and older Sudden Service prototype Samtec parts?

Yes. Because Samtec's Sudden Service program has released thousands of small-lot prototype series over the years — many of which were rolled into the current-production Tiger Eye, Edge Rate, HSEC, and SEAM / SEAF families under different part-number stems — engineers often need continued access to the original prototype PN on legacy drawings. We source original-marked Q Rate, Q Strip, SFM / SFC, pre-Tiger Eye CLM, and older HSEC8 2.5G stock where available and disclose cross-referenced current-production Samtec stock on the quote so your incoming inspection process is not surprised.

Are your Samtec parts date-code current, factory sealed, and traceable?

Yes when available — most of our OEM-excess Samtec Tiger Eye, Edge Rate, HSEC, SEAM / SEAF, ExaMAX, and FireFly stock ships in original factory bags or trays with intact date codes and full traceability documentation. For downgraded stock we disclose condition (open bag, tested-pull, refurbished, remarked-inspected) on the quote. Customers requiring MSL data, country-of-origin certification, or DPAS-rated delivery should note that on the RFQ.

How does Samtec's part-number nomenclature work?

Samtec part numbers encode the series prefix (TFM / CLM / MEC / HSEC8 / SEAF / SEAM / ERM8 / ERF8 / etc.), followed by numeric fields for position count, stack height in millimeters, row count, plating (L = tin-lead-free / G = gold), gender (D = dual-row, DV = dual-row vertical), and option codes (A = alignment pin, K = key, TR = tape & reel). For example, TFM-110-02-L-D-A is a TFM Tiger Eye 1.27 mm terminal strip, 10 positions per row (20-pin total), 2 mm mated height, low-profile, dual-row, with alignment pin. Include the full PN string on your RFQ so we can match the exact stack height and plating variant.

How fast is your Samtec quote turnaround?

Same day for parts in stock — typically within 2 hours during business hours (9am–6pm ET). Sourced quotes on out-of-stock parts return within 24–48 hours with an availability window. Email sales@hybridelectronics.com or call (407) 542-3995 to open an RFQ.

Is Hybrid Electronics an authorized Samtec, Inc. distributor?

No — we're an independent distributor and excess-inventory buyer sourcing from OEM excess, CEM surplus, and traceable secondary channels since 1995. For factory-warranted current-production orders, work with a Samtec-authorized distributor. For obsolete, hard-to-find, allocated, or legacy Q Rate / Q Strip / Sudden Service prototype parts where authorized channels show no stock, Hybrid Electronics is a proven independent source.