D-sub is still King

Date: 24/8/2011

Despite newer, faster, more compact interfaces, the D-subminiature connector is still holding its own.

With the introduction of interfaces such as USB, DVI, HDMI and the new DisplayPort, the humble D-sub has come under a lot of competition. But there are 4 clear reasons why D-subs still have a clear advantage.

1. Cost - D-subs are a legacy product, designed in the 1950's, so are reasonably low in price.
2. Contacts - a standard D-sub connector offers 9 / 15 / 25 / 37 and 50 contacts, whilst a high density connector offers 15 / 26 / 44 / 62 / and 78 contacts giving a large range flexibility for signal contact applications.
3. Variation - the D-sub range is vast. Connectors are available to terminate to cable using solder, crimp, wire wrap or IDC and are also available to terminate to printed circuit boards (PCBs) using either surface mount (SMT) or through hole variations. Filtered D-subs are also available as well as waterproof versions to stop the ingress of water or dust in industrial or external applications. Lastly, with the introduction of mixed layout D-subs, the use of power or coaxial contacts can be used along side signal contacts.
4. Mounting - Along with the wide range of connectors, there is also an extensive variety of accessories, including ways to mount the connector. Slide locks, thumbscrews, spring lock, and screw locks are just some of the ways you can latch the D-sub to the mating half to ensure a robust, secure, connection is retained to protect against vibration.

History

The name D-subminitaure is perhaps a misnomer these days as all of its competitors, such as USB or HDMI, are much smaller in size as products get smaller and more compact.

D-sub connectors were developed in the 1950's and are distinguishable by their D shape which ensures correct orientation. There are 5 basic shell sizes, standard contact arrangements range from 9 to 50 positions, high density range from 15 to 78 positions, utilizing the same space envelope.

Applications

It is originally used for RS232 serial communication for computers. This was to transmit data signals from data generating devices such as a CPU to a data producing device such as printer or a monitor. This is also known as I/O or input/output.

The use of D-subs for transmitting data signals has gone beyond computer applications to complicated industrial machine communication, such as field bus applications, or medical where the non-magnetic connectors transmit the data from MRI scanners, or telemetry as waterproof d-subs are used to transmit satellite data.

A versatile solution

With numerous applications taking advantage of the features and benefits of D sub connector range there is no end in sight, just yet, for this connector. The D-sub range is just too versatile, reliable, robust, cost effective and offers to many variations and accessories to not be considered a solution for your interconnect application.

 Comments (0)