Removable housing for mounting pin grid array

An assembly for applying elongated contact elements, said assembly comprising:

• a base plate having a first surface and a multiplicity of recesses arranged as a grid of rows and columns in said first surface, each of said recesses being sized and configured to receive a respective one of said contact elements,
• first and second spaced apart supports extending from said base plate,
• third and fourth spaced apart supports extending from said base plate,
• a first multiplicity of rods received by said first and second supports and supported parallel to each other, said first multiplicity of rods defining intervening slots aligned with respective rows of said recesses;
• a second multiplicity of rods received by said third and fourth supports and supported parallel to each other, said second multiplicity of rods defining intervening slots aligned with respective columns of said recesses;
• a multiplicity of said contact elements, one end of each of said contact elements being received in a respective one of said recesses, each of said contact elements being engaged by two adjacent rods of said first multiplicity and two adjacent rods of said second multiplicity, whereby said contact elements are held in their respective recesses;
• and
• wherein said first multiplicity of rods are removable from said first and second supports and said second multiplicity of rods are removable from said third and fourth supports to permit said multipicity of contact elements to be removed from said base plate.