Need component name, making a wall wart - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: austere
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 01, 2015, 02:46:34 pm
content: Hi guys!I can't believe I can't find this on Digikey et. al, but I need the name for the mountable power connector (with blades) that you could attach onto a custom wall wart. It's easy enough to find the female component, but I can't find any categories for the male side.The aim is to make a pass through connector with some wireless control inside. It would make prototyping a lot faster (and cheaper) if we could obtain the male side of the passthrough as a screw-mount component rather than having to design it from scratch and pay a heap of money for the standards document.Cheers for your help!

author: Ian.M
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 01, 2015, 03:23:06 pm
content: That's not usually available on its own. You may be able to find wall-wart PSU cases with the plug pins, but they probably wont have enough space for a chassis mount mains socket to be fitted safely.For low volume prototyping its probably simpler and cheaper to buy the cheapest radio or IR controlled plug-in pass-through appliance module or plug-in pass-through surge suppressor or filter you can find with a large enough housing and gut it!

author: DanielS
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 01, 2015, 05:12:05 pm
content: In most wall-warts, the plug is molded into the housing so there isn't much of a standard part to be had there.You could simply get a standard power cord plug: pick one that uses two or three small screws to fasten its business-end to its rear cover, ditch the cover and screw the base into your project/prototype box. It might not look pretty but it should get the job done, be reasonably sturdy and safe. Depending on what sort of rear cover the plug has, you might be able to use it to structurally reinforce your box around the plug attachment point by cutting a ring with the original screw-mounting holes and putting it inside so the mounting screws pull on that instead of directly on the presumably thin housing.

author: Ian.M
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 01, 2015, 05:24:36 pm
content: You would need to make sure that *ALL* internal parts of the plug were NOT dependent on the cover to retain them in position. Otherwise from a safety viewpoint, you would be better off using a plug with right-angle cable entry and gluing the plug cover to your case with the lead going into the case right next to the plugIts a prototype - why cant you simply have a short mains lead with a separate plug on it?If you need a sample of the form factor, make it a non-functional dummy based on one of those 'safety' child socket covers.

author: DanielS
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 01, 2015, 06:05:58 pm
content: Quote from: Ian.M on April 01, 2015, 05:24:36 pmI do not remember using a modular 5-15 plug where the plug base was not either injection-molded over the pins or the pins screwed into the base using the same screws used to attach the wires. Many times, they do both. For the plugs I remember using, the shell is only for isolation and strain-relief.

author: Ian.M
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 01, 2015, 06:15:59 pm
content: In the UK, low quality plugs commonly do not have a captive L terminal if you remove the fuse. The L pin and one end of the fuse holder is usually fixed, but the other end + the terminal is a loose fit in a well in the base and is retained by the fuse and the cover.Many older plugs had pins that could be slipped out of the base if the cover wasn't holding them down.It very much depends on the design of your national standard plug but I thought it was worth mentioning.