Views: 130 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2019-08-16 Origin: Site
An electrical connector is an electromechancial device used to join electrical terminations and create an electrical circuit . Most electrical connectors have a gender – i.e. the male component, called a plug, connects to the female component, or socket. The connection may be removable (as for portable equipment), require a tool for assembly and removal, or serve as a permanent electrical joint between two points. An adapter can be used to join dissimilar connectors.
Terminal connectors can be divided into several basic categories, differentiated by their function.
Many wire connectors used for industrial and high-reliability applications are circular in cross section, with a cylindrical housing and circular contact interface geometries. This is in contrast to the rectangular design of some connectors, e.g. USB. They are commonly used for easier engagement and disengagement, tight environmental sealing, and rugged mechanical performance. They are widely used in military, aerospace, industrial machinery, and rail. Fields such as sound engineering and radio communciation also use circular connectors, such as XLR and BNC.
A disadvantage of the circular design is its inefficient use of panel space when used in arrays, when compared to rectangular connectors.
Circular wire connectors commonly use backshells , which provide physical and electromagnetic protection, whilst sometimes also providing a method for locking the connector into a receptacle. In some cases, this backshell provides a hermetic seal , or some degree of ingress protection, through the use of gromments,or potting.
Hybrid terminal connectors allow the intermixing of many connector types, usually by way of a housing with inserts. These housings may also allow intermixing of electrical and non-electrical interfaces, examples of the latter being pneumatic line connectors, and optical fober connectors . Because hybrid connectors are modular in nature, they tend to simplify assembly, repair, and future modifications. Hybrid small wire connectors also allow the creation of composite cable assemblies that can reduce equipment installation time by reducing the number of individual cable and connector assemblies.
Typical crown spring plug and its female socket Crown spring connectors are commonly used for higher current flows and industrial applications. They have a high number of contact points which results in a more electrically reliable connection than traditional pin and socket connectors.
Plug and socket connectors are usually made up of a male plug (typically pin contacts) and a female socket (typically receptacle contacts). Often, but not always, sockets are permanently fixed to a device as in a chassis connector (see above), and plugs are attached to a cable.
Plugs generally have one or more pins or prongs that are inserted into openings in the mating socket. The connection between the mating metal parts must be sufficiently tight to make a good electrical connection and complete the circuit. An alternative type of plug and socket connection uses hyperboloid contacts , which makes a more reliable electrical connection. When working with multi-pin connectors, it is helpful to have a pinout diagram to identify the wire or circuit node connected to each pin.
Some connector styles may combine pin and socket connection types in a single unit, referred to as a hermaphroditic connector. These wire connectors includes mating with both male and female aspects, involving complementary paired identical parts each containing both protrusions and indentations. These mating surfaces are mounted into identical fittings which can freely mate with any other, without regard for gender (provided that the size and type are already matched).