[TriLUG] [TriEmbed] Favourite electrical connectors?

Fri Sep 25 17:00:24 EDT 2015

These are different sizes - 5.08mm / .100 inch

On Fri, Sep 25, 2015 at 1:47 PM, via TriLUG <trilug at trilug.org> wrote:

> It has been a few years, but I used to do circuit board design for
> embedded systems.  Picking connectors was one of the big job challenges.
> I've gone around this subject a few times.  The short answer is that I
> think either of the styles you picked in the links would work but both
> have advantages and disadvantages.
>
> First, if you plan to plug and remove the connectors, pretty much at all,
> I would highly recommend staying away from SMD / SMT style and go with
> through hole.  The costs to have a second pass on the soldering is
> insignificant compared to the advantages.
>
> Second, when it comes to the connectors, you need to first settle on the
> style.  This becomes a choice trade off of cost, labor, size, and
> convenience.  You can get insulation displacement connectors, such as
> AMP's MTA style which requires a hand tool but are cheap and reliable.
> These look much like the ones in the first link.  You can go with pinned
> style, such as Molex KK series, which also require a tool, but are also
> inexpensive and reliable.  A third option would be Phoenix style
> connectors, which can be either screw terminal or cage clamp.  This will
> be bigger and more expensive but only require a simple screw driver.
> Another option, especially for board to board connectors is ribbon cable
> which are mechanically reliable and hard to screw up.
>
> If you're concerned about customers or field personnel doing wiring the
> Pheonix style (use a cheaper alternative such as On Shore Technology or
> Wiedmueller) should really be considered.
>
> One thing I would suggest is consider staying with a 5.08mm / .100 inch
> pitch which is standard and easy to layout a board for.
>
>
> > On Fri, Sep 25, 2015 at 10:18 AM, Charles West via TriEmbed
> > <triembed at triembed.org> wrote:
> >> Hello,
> >>
> >> I'm working on a board for the CanInstall autoregistration project and
> >> I'm
> >> not really sure what connectors to use for it.  I'm currently leaning
> >> toward
> >> either DF13-4 connectors or simple 4 pin headers.  If I may ask, are
> >> there
> >> any other connectors that you would recommend or have used in your
> >> projects?
> >>
> >> Pros/cons:
> >> DF13:
> >> The upside is that they are very small, connect very securely and SMD
> >> female
> >> connectors are $.41 per.  The downside is that they are extremely hard
> >> to
> >> get out (don't pull on cable, very gently pry with finger nail on one
> >> side,
> >> then the other) and cables for them are extremely hard to find/expensive
> >> ($1.5 per in lots of 20 is the cheapest I've found).
> >>
> >> Vertical Headers:
> >> The plus is I can get break apart SMD headers at roughly $.05 each
> >> including
> >> shipping at lots of $5
> >> (
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/10pcs-2-54MM-1-40Pin-SMD-SMT-1-40Pin-Male-Single-Row-Pin-Header-/261879748701?hash=item3cf93fd85d
> ),
> >> cables at $.22 per in lots of $5
> >> (
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/20pcs-2-54mm-to-2-54mm-Dupont-Wire-Cable-Connectors-4P-to-4P-Pin-Header-20cm-YG-/111487505711?hash=item19f52c552f
> )
> >> and they are pretty standard for hobbyist projects (and extremely
> >> similar to
> >> servo connections).  The downsides are that they have no polarity
> >> control,
> >> are much more likely to slide out and take up a lot more board real
> >> estate
> >> (translating to either bigger boards or less connectors).
> >
> >       IMHO:
> >
> > 1) For pin spacing, use the same standard one everyone -- arduino,
> > raspberrypi, a terminal I saw when I took apart something I can't
> > remember what it was -- else uses.
> >
> > 2) Do you need SMD headers? If I plan on yanking a connector I would
> > like the pins to be going through the board and soldered on the back;
> > only question would be 90 degrees or not. But, I do not know how your
> > design looks like.
> > 2.1) If you really have to have SMD, I would run some wires to a
> > header that would then be on the case of whatever you are doing.
> >
> >
> >>
> >> Thanks,
> >> Charlie
>
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