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Electronics => Beginners => Topic started by: TheNerd389 on March 23, 2021, 06:56:51 pm

Title: Question about the IEC C7/C8 "Figure 8" connector
Post by: TheNerd389 on March 23, 2021, 06:56:51 pm
I am currently working on a school project (a high efficiency, low performance benchtop power supply) that requires a C7/C8 connector to be routed inside an enclosure. I know this is odd, but I don't really want to disassemble the power brick I'm using in order to bypass the connector.

The idea is to use a panel-mount C8 jack on the enclosure and wire that to the power brick on the inside. My problem is that the strain relief on commercial C7 cables is huge, and I'd like to use something more compact. I decided to try and find a C7 connector that I could assemble into a cable myself, but I can't find any.  :-//

Can someone explain why these connectors either don't exist or are so hard to find?

P.S. The internal cable I am planning to use has one other noteworthy feature. It's also a Y-adapter so that several of these devices can be daisy-chained together. I've already double checked that I'm within the current limits of the connector for any reasonable array of these devices. Each one will draw around 0.2 amps from the grid at most, and the design is based on chaining a maximum of 5 units together.
Title: Re: Question about the IEC C7/C8 "Figure 8" connector
Post by: Jeroen3 on March 23, 2021, 07:06:23 pm
Is angled (https://www.allekabels.nl/apparaatsnoer/1245/1192099/apparaatsnoer-c7-haaks-omhoogomlaag.html) an option?

Btw: they also sell diy. https://www.allekabels.nl/stekker/1242/1583768/c7-apparaat-stekker.html (https://www.allekabels.nl/stekker/1242/1583768/c7-apparaat-stekker.html)
Title: Re: Question about the IEC C7/C8 "Figure 8" connector
Post by: TheNerd389 on March 23, 2021, 07:25:08 pm
Quote from: Jeroen3 on March 23, 2021, 07:06:23 pm
Is angled (https://www.allekabels.nl/apparaatsnoer/1245/1192099/apparaatsnoer-c7-haaks-omhoogomlaag.html) an option?

Btw: they also sell diy. https://www.allekabels.nl/stekker/1242/1583768/c7-apparaat-stekker.html (https://www.allekabels.nl/stekker/1242/1583768/c7-apparaat-stekker.html)

I considered angled, but it would be a pretty tight fit as well. The enclosure is 180mm wide, 220mm deep, and 50mm tall. The brick itself is 133mm x 59mm x 30mm, and the connections are on the 30mm x 59mm sides. They add to the dimension that's already the most problematic.

The strain relief on the built-in cable takes up another 30mm on the longest side. As a result, the long dimension is around 160-165mm before accounting for the C7 connector.

Here are some images of the design for some context. (still very much a work in progress)
Title: Re: Question about the IEC C7/C8 "Figure 8" connector
Post by: TheNerd389 on March 23, 2021, 07:29:14 pm
Quote from: Jeroen3 on March 23, 2021, 07:06:23 pm
Btw: they also sell diy. https://www.allekabels.nl/stekker/1242/1583768/c7-apparaat-stekker.html (https://www.allekabels.nl/stekker/1242/1583768/c7-apparaat-stekker.html)

I have no idea how you found this link, by the way. I'll see if they ship to me in the US.

Just checked. They do not ship to the US.  :-\