ribbon cable question

[kekek]

hi everyone,
i would like to purchase a couple of ribbon cables and their connectors. is an IDC ribbon connector suits all types of ribbon cables?

 

[crust]

I am not certain that I understand your question, but in general you need to have a connector with the proper specifications for your cable b/c there are many different types of ribbon cable. Some have a twisted pair in each conductor, the pitch between wires is different, and the overall number of conductors varies. Once you know the cable, there is a set of connectors (often the insulation displacement type) that will work on that cable.

 

[Dean Huster]

IDCs also work best if you use special tools to install them so that connections are properly made without breaking the connector. Digi-Key Corp. in the U.S. sells pre-made ribbon cables. You just pick out the type of connectors and the length. https://www.digikey.com

Dean

 

[kekek]

hi everyone,
thanks for the replies. sorry if my question is not clear enough. as crust said, there are many types of IDC ribbon cables in the market. i just realised when i searched on Speedbloc. there are colour coded, grey flat, high density, round pitch, round and flat, screened, standard, twist and flat, etc. (if there's any). it seems like i need something like grey flat or high density or standard or colour coded or screened one. can anybody out there can explain to me what the diffrence between those types?

 

[crust]

I am not familiar with screened, but I'll take a stab at the others. The high density refers to the pitch of the wires. In other words, the number of conductors vs. the width of the cable. Round is basically a flat ribbon cable at both ends, but it is rolled up (so its round in the middle). They are a bit more rigid sometimes. **broken link removed**. Gray / Color Coded mean that each conductor has its own color on the cable or the entire cable is gray. Twist and flat is a very slick cable. It is usually used in high speed data. In any case, the cable lets say 80 conductor is arranged as 40 pairs of cable. Each of the pairs is twisted together (for better noise rejection). They are twisted for maybe 250mm or so and then there is a flat section and it repeats. You put the connector on the flat section. This is sometimes seen in the some of the faster SCSI drives, Front panel data port (FPDP) applications, etc.