Looking for a connector with blades inside - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: GrandDiego
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 24, 2015, 09:48:03 pm
content: Hello,I'm searching for this special kind of connector but I don't know its name or if it even exist :It's a connector that you usually put on the middle of a cable, you don't have to cut it but there are littles blades inside the connector that cut through the insulating layer and make the connection.I have seen those on SATA and Ethernet connector (see the pictures attached).I'm looking for this type of connector but with two pin for example. I would like to add an extension (a Y junction basically) to a cable without cutting it.Do you know if it exist and what is it name ?Thank you and I apologies for any mistakes english is not my primary language.

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 24, 2015, 10:12:01 pm
content: A splice or tap connector perhaps, I've never been a fan of them personally but auto electricians seem to love them, Scotchloks on the other hand are very good.http://www.digikey.com.au/product-search/en/connectors-interconnects/terminals-wire-splice-connectors/1441974http://www.3mconnectors.eu/scotchlok-connectors.html

author: GrandDiego
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 24, 2015, 10:27:50 pm
content: Thank you that was exactly what i was looking for !

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 24, 2015, 11:07:10 pm
content: Glad we could help, here is better link and some pictures on the Adafruit site for one similar to the UB series 3M Scotchloks.https://www.adafruit.com/products/1494

author: stmdude
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 26, 2015, 09:34:16 am
content: Just remember that if you use scotchlocks in places where there's vibration and/or moisture (like a car, for example), the connector will over time either become loose (wear on the copper strands it has cut into), or will corrode to the point of not conducting (two different metals joining).This makes them (in my opinion) highly unsuitable for use in automotive applications (for example).Whenever I come across one in a car, they're immediately moved to the top of the suspect-list, often cutting down my troubleshooting time by quite a bit.

author: GrandDiego
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 26, 2015, 11:04:52 am
content: Quote from: stmdude on December 26, 2015, 09:34:16 amOk thank you for this precision. I will use them to add extension cables to the 5VSTANDBY and GND leads of an ATX power supply in a computer so I don't think there will be much vibration but if have a problem I will think about this in the first place.

author: cs.dk
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 26, 2015, 11:41:05 am
content: Please use some proper connectors, those will fail with time. They really sucks IMO.

author: mikerj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 26, 2015, 12:52:33 pm
content: Quote from: Muttley Snickers on December 24, 2015, 10:12:01 pm(good) Auto-electricians hate Scotchlocks with a vengeance, and rightly so. Whenever I see Scotchlocks on car wiring, I expect to find horrendous butchery inflicted and I'm rarely disappointed. Useful in an emergency, but not as a long term, reliable connection.

author: Richard Crowley
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 26, 2015, 01:15:01 pm
content: "Insulation displacement" connections are ubiquitous in computers and a wide variety of consumer goods. But they are generally designed to work well together (the wire and the connector). I think it is the "after-thought" nature of those kinds of connectors combined with typically application on stranded wires that create the less-than-reliable outcome. And the seeming lack of access to scaled sizes appropriate for various wire gauges.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 26, 2015, 03:12:40 pm
content: Quote from: mikerj on December 26, 2015, 12:52:33 pm+1

author: Tomorokoshi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 26, 2015, 07:26:58 pm
content: This kind of terminal block may also be an option:https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/ES0800%2F02DSFB/ED2995-ND/2720742You will have to cut the wire, but you will get a nice connection.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 26, 2015, 08:38:10 pm
content: I think it's a bit premature for you guys tototallydismiss insulation displacement connections. Yes, if done badly, they suck, but that caveat applies toanykind of assembly process. The fact is, insulation displacement connection has been the dominant connection type in (non-coax) copper telecom wiring for the better part of a century ("punch down" termination), in ribbon cables in computing and other electronics for ages, too ("IDC" - insulation displacement connectors), and in every twisted-pair Ethernet cable and jack other than PCB-mounted jacks, which are soldered. (There probably are some obscure exceptions, but nearly every alternative connection type violates the category standards by requiring excessive untwisting of the pairs.)So I agree with Richard Crowley, that the problem isn't the nature of those connectors, but rather that they are often misused and fail because of connector-wire-tool mismatch, rather than inherent failure of the technology. (I would hazard that the same applies to crimped connectors of various types. If the connector, wire, and tool aren't matched well, you get a bad, unreliable crimp.)

author: GrandDiego
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 26, 2015, 09:42:54 pm
content: Thank you all for your replies. I'll make my opinion on these connectors.