[HN Gopher] Why Do We Call These "DuPont" Connectors?
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Why Do We Call These "DuPont" Connectors?
Author : zdw
Score : 53 points
Date : 2021-03-22 18:31 UTC (4 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.mattmillman.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.mattmillman.com)
| amelius wrote:
| Somewhat related question: what is your favorite way to mount
| PCBs vertically? IDC ribbon cable seems popular, but there should
| be a simpler way?
| varjag wrote:
| There's a multitude of indexed connectors on the market.
| Repurposing DDR memory connectors is rather popular.
| geocrasher wrote:
| TL;DR: Berg made connectors like these. Berg was bought by DuPont
| who put their branding on things. Around this time in the early
| 90's, clones started showing up and enthusiasts assigned the
| "DuPont" to apparently differentiate between these new clones and
| the previous, officially made, "Berg" connectors.
| fireattack wrote:
| Appreciated. It is probably just me, but I find the article
| itself (which I read in full) relatively hard to follow. So is
| the other related article [1].
|
| I think it's because the author was trying to fit all the
| nuances in, which is a problem I suffer from myself when I
| write.
|
| [1]
| https://web.archive.org/web/20210209100324/http://www.mattmi...
| geocrasher wrote:
| No worries. I too found the article a little bit on the hard
| to read side. I can't say why specifically, but there seemed
| to be a lot of details that didn't really add to the story.
| Perhaps that's the "nuance" you were referring to.
| oakwhiz wrote:
| I've never heard anybody call them "DuPont" connectors outside of
| Chinese e-commerce and electronics websites. (e.g. "dupont line")
| Usually I've heard them referred to as 0.1" headers or header
| pins instead.
| myself248 wrote:
| Ditto. They're Berg connectors or, just as often, we're using
| the latched Molex SL, which is compatible most ways.
|
| "Dupont" is exclusively a Chinese-ism in my experience, along
| with saying "buckled" instead of "latched" and "welded" instead
| of "soldered".
| jrockway wrote:
| I've always heard them called DuPont connectors. Might be a
| hobbyist vs. professional thing; I use them in hobby projects,
| so am probably exposed to the questionable vendors more than a
| professional would be. I was looking for crimping tools
| relatively recently and was surprised to find that reputable
| vendors don't call them DuPont connectors, even in passing. As
| far as I can tell, they have no name that everyone would
| recognize and that lets manufacturers steer clear of naming
| other companies, despite being so ubiquitous.
|
| (I suppose this is a common problem with connectors. Someone
| could tell me "it's a Molex connector", and I'd know what they
| mean -- the one that supplies power to pre-SATA hard drives --
| but of course Molex makes thousands of different connectors, so
| it's really a terrible name for that one specifically.)
| [deleted]
| layoutIfNeeded wrote:
| Ugh, I absolutely hate these. They're always super hard to
| separate due to the slippery plastic they're made of.
| terramex wrote:
| They are both super hard to separate and yet they separate on
| their own when not observed.
| phildenhoff wrote:
| The site seems to be fried, but a Wayback Machine archive is
| available:
| https://web.archive.org/web/20210322182029/http://www.mattmi...
| kens wrote:
| My recollection is that these were called Molex connectors in the
| 1980s. Are DuPont connectors different in some way, or were the
| names used somewhat interchangeably?
| rm445 wrote:
| Different connectors. Molex connectors and the Molex company
| are still around. Not ruling out that you've heard them called
| the wrong thing, there's a bewildering array of connectors.
| analog31 wrote:
| Long ago, if you mentioned "Molex" to someone like a TV
| repairman, they'd be thinking of larger pins and housings,
| around 0.2 inch spacing. Naturally, Molex now covers a
| phenomenally wide range of offerings, but searching Google
| Image for "molex connector" brings back some fairly consistent
| connector types for the first page of hits.
|
| It could be a case where a brand name carries a historical
| association that isn't accurate any more.
| annoyingnoob wrote:
| There are a lot of connectors that get generically called
| 'Molex connectors'. Molex makes a ton of products.
| martijnvds wrote:
| I've only heard "Molex" used for the connectors for power on
| (pre SATA) hard disks.
| jeffbee wrote:
| There is a certain subculture where "a molex connector" is
| the pre-SATA computer disk power connector, but Molex makes a
| million connectors and the Molex catalog is an inch thick so
| it never made much sense to me. Another reason it doesn't
| make sense is that Amphenol and others make compatible
| 2-piece connectors.
|
| If you want to sound like an informed person, don't use
| "molex connector" that way.
| jstanley wrote:
| What name would you suggest people use instead?
|
| I accept your point, but I don't think you will look
| particularly informed if you ask for a "pre-SATA computer
| disk power connector", and the other person says "oh, a
| Molex connector?", and you say "yes but I don't know which
| one".
| [deleted]
| olyjohn wrote:
| I don't think it makes you sound uninformed... Most places
| you go into for PC components will know exactly what a
| "molex connector" is in relation to PC hardware. When
| building a PC, knowledge of Molex brand connectors isn't
| all that relevant.
|
| It's like asking for a Kleenex instead of a tissue. Or back
| in the day, when you needed to make a copy of something,
| using the Xerox machine was quite a common term, even
| though Xerox made more than one machine, and most machines
| probably weren't made by Xerox.
| serf wrote:
| >It's like asking for a Kleenex instead of a tissue.
|
| that'd be the case if Kleenex made hundreds of
| variations, and the variations had no cross-compatibility
| with one another.
|
| People that want a 'molex connector' want, usually, an
| AMP style press-lock 4 pin connector... unless they don't
| -- they're looking for a molex MiniFit extension to reach
| their GPU... unless they don't -- they want a vintage
| Molex asymmetric 4 pin for an old legacy device.
|
| 'Molex' is more ambiguous, imo, than you give it credit
| for.
| inopinatus wrote:
| I'm from the same generation, so if you say "Amphenol
| connector" without further qualification then I'll assume
| you're referring to a 25-pair microribbon.
|
| Unless the context is printers, in which case you obviously
| mean a 36-pin Centronics.
| daniellarusso wrote:
| IEEE 1284 is what I remember when stocking the printer
| cables on peghooks.
| interestica wrote:
| Interestingly enough, 'du pont' would basically translate to
| "from the bridge". And these do connect (bridge) two sources.
| Sometimes history works backwards?
| [deleted]
| tachyonbeam wrote:
| Dupont is also simply a French last name.
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dupont_(surname)#:~:text=Dupon...
| .
| amelius wrote:
| DuPont is a chemical company.
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DuPont
| sigstoat wrote:
| these are a PITA to crimp. :(
| amelius wrote:
| Could be the tool. How many pliers have you tried so far?
| sigstoat wrote:
| zero.
| amelius wrote:
| You can buy cheap crimping pliers on banggood, but check
| the reviews first (e.g. youtube).
| nomdep wrote:
| > The answer to this question unfortunately lives *a long time in
| the past*, perhaps 30 years ago
|
| TIL that the dawn of time was 30 years ago
| [deleted]
| pram wrote:
| Close, but the dawn of time is actually 50 years ago! (Jan 1
| 1970)
| anonymousiam wrote:
| I still call them Berg connectors, but I am an old fart.
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