Q2-Cables Glossary

The standard adopted in the United States for the measurement of wire sizes.

A quick coupling mechanism for mating a plug onto a receptacle utilizing 2 or more equally spaced pins protruding from the receptacle shell which engage corresponding ramps milled into the coupling nut of the mating plug. Mating and un-mating is accomplished by rotating the coupling nut.

Board Mounted Connector
A connector mounted on a printed circuit board.

A rubber or plastic form placed onto the connector used to environmentally seal and/or strain-relieve a cable assembly.
Braided Wire.

A flexible conductor made of woven or braided assembly of wires.

An assembly of one or more insulated conductors, or optical fibers, or a combination of both, within an enveloping jacket. Either a single conductor or a combination of conductors insulated from one another (multiple conductor cable).

A completed cable that is ready for installation, terminated with connectors as required by the application.

A mechanical device used to support the cable or wire bundle, to provide strain relief and absorb vibration and shock which would otherwise be transmitted by the cable to the contact or wire crimp area.

A group of wires, cables or ribbons of wiring used to interconnect electronic systems and subsystems. An example would be the wiring in a car is normally in the form of a harness which extends to all areas of the vehicle and is assembled in advance as a complete unit or “harness” before being installed.

A cable with a center conductor surrounded by a curricular or tube like conductor centered on the same axis as the center conductor, thus the name "Coaxial". Primarily used for carrying radio frequencies.

A system of identification of wires, component values, or contact insertion/extraction tools by the use of a color or colored band. Wire colors will be set by electrical code or proprietary to each manufacturer. Contact insertion/extraction tools use green, red, orange, blue, yellow and white to indicate the proper tool to use for either insertion or extraction of appropriate contact size.

A mechanical device, either a plug or a receptacle, used to terminate or connect electrical conductors

The safe current-carrying capacity of a wire or cable on a continuous basis.

The electrical resistance between a mated pair of contacts. Resistance is measured in ohms.

A number indicating the size (or gauge) of the engaging end of the contact; examples: size 20, size 18, size 6, etc.

Contact, pin or socket, whose back is a hollow cylinder into which a stripped wire is inserted. This hollow cylinder are then mechanically compressed using a crimping tool to hold the conductor and make the electrical connection.

Portion of the crimp tool that shapes the crimp on the connector.

The device that holds the crimp die and is used to perform the crimping function.

A material having electrical insulating properties.

A common metal rail used to mount relays, terminal blocks and PLCs in industrial panels.

A connection on the edge of a printed circuit board in which the PCB side is made up of traces (conductors) on the circuit board. The other end of the connection may be mounted in a frame into which the PCB plugs in.

A connector using grommets, interfacial seals, peripheral seals, gaskets or potting material to keep contaminants such as moisture, dirt and other foreign material out of the connector.

A device (tool) used to remove contacts from a connector.

The use of a special light pipe to carry light which is encoded with information. Generally digital information which can be for audio, video or data.

A connector using filtered contacts or built in RF bypass capacitors to filter EMI signals without altering its normal function.

A rubber or flexible plastic seal used at the rear of a connector. It is designed to seal on the wire's insulation to prevent contaminants from entering into the rear of the connector. Can also be used to prevent damage to wires and cables that pass through opening in metal chassies.

Some connectors have a metal band with spring fingers attached to the plug shell to ensure positive shell-to-shell grounding before the contacts engage during mating and un-mating. They are also used to improve EMI/RFI performance.

AC / RF Resistance. Critical value which must be maintained in connector to cable matching when dealing with radio frequencies.

The insulating core of the connector designed to position, retain, support and provide separation for the contacts.

A device (tool) used to insert contacts into a connector.

The insulating material around a wire or cable. Generally a plastic material.

The joining of two connectors

National Fire Protection Association (http://www.nfpa.org/) Sets electrical and fire safety standards for industry.

A thin coating of metal on connector shells and contacts to prevent corrosion, improve conductivity or provide for easy soldering. plug The “free to move” or “unmounted” member of a mated pair of connectors which contains the coupling ring/nut for coupling and locking the connectors together.

The maintaining of +/- relationship. Insuring the correct pins mate. This is done with mechanical arrangements of rectangular keys (projections) and keyways (slots) and positional layout of the connector pins to ensure proper mating.

Filling with liquid plastic material that cures to a rubber like consistency. It provides a permanent seal for electronic circuits and is sometimes used on the back of a connector, after the wires have been inserted, to keep out the contaminants and/or provide strain relief.

Programmable Logic Controller (An industrial computer)

The force necessary to separate a wire from the contact crimped to it or the force necessary to pull a properly seated contact from a connector.

The fixed or mounted half of a mated pair of connectors designed to be mounted to a box, panel or bulkhead.

A device (tool) used to remove contacts from a connector.

Radio Frequency connector, Coaxial connector that maintains the impedance of the wire it is terminating.

A flat cable made up of multiple conductors, it looks like a ribbon.

A connector in which the wires (cable) comes out of the connector at right angles to the pin connections.

The maximum amount of voltage or current a connector is designed to continuously carry.

The outside case of a connector.

A contact shielded from unwanted signals (EMI/RFI) by one or more outer (coaxial) conductors. These contacts are not generally matched to the impedance of the cable they terminate as would be the case in an RF style Coax connector.

A pin or socket contact that accepts a conductor which is soldered in place.

The joining of two wires. In many cases a special insulated double ended crimp connector is used.

Surface Mount Technology Association (http://www.smta.org/)

Secures a mating pair of connectors by engaging threads on the exterior of a receptacle with interior threads of the plug. This is a popular method used in military "Mil spec" connectors.