Uses of Various Wire Terminals

[geratheg]

Hey!

I'm just wondering why there are so many different types of wire terminals.
For example if I want to make a female and male connection pair I could use wire terminals.
I could think of using both blade wire terminals and spade wire terminals for the pair. I'm sure there are more options.
But my general question is which of those would be the better option for regular wiring in a very basic circuit?

[helius]

The various types are for different applications. Fast-on connectors are good for wire-to-wire uses and sometimes others (SLA batteries use them). Flag connectors are another variant of that idea. spade connectors are used for wire-to-point applications using barrier strips or screw terminals. Ferrules are for enclosing stranded wires so they can be used in wire-clamp type terminal blocks.

[Paul Moir]

"knife terminals" are probably my favourite:  they're wire to wire, easy to connect and disconnect, reliable when connected and are hermaphroditic.  That is to say they connect to each other with no male or female distinction.
Because of this they are not idiot-proof though, since you can mess it up with a two wire connection.  And they can't have inherent insulation; if it's needed, it'll be a third part.  Like helius said, you have to think about the application first and then select the connector. 

[SL4P]

Also keep in mind the number of connect-disconnect cycles which will loosen up a connector very quickly if it wasn't design for that purpose.

For hobby project use - I have a box full of various 0.1" male & female pairs with separate pins, a few 5mm 'power' style 'Phoenix' pluggable barrier connectors, and another box with multi-way IDC variations - and the mandatory spades & associated oddballs.

A good selection of heatshrink, and a sheet of plastic/mylar is always good to cut & slot in-between conductors in tight spaces

Add in a box of various cable-ties, p-clips, some hot glue, and 5-minute epoxy - and you're done.
Oh - and a decent selection of M2.5, M3 and M4 star-washers, nyloks, nuts & bolts.

This setup will connect almost anything to anything - assuming you have the right wires or cables (that's another page!)

[Timmay]

This is really an obvious question. Some wires need to be easily removed, some don't. Some applications apply, some don't. Some merely drive a water sprinkler solenoid and some live in hot, vibration constant environments. The saying goes, don't over engineer. That idea comes from a cost per unit mentality, which is a big aspect when it comes to doing this for a living and not trying to get your Raspberry Pi to work or your car radio. Think aviation, safety and reliability. Some stuff like a sub doesn't need environmentally controlled connectors and the aircraft your wife, kids and mom are flying on do.