Looking for small (ish) wire to wire connectors

[philpem]

Hi there,

I'm trying to find a small-ish, hand-connectable and disconnectable (no tools required) wire-to-wire connector pair (male and female). Essentially, what I want to do is connect the wiring from a pair of switches to another wiring harness in a way that allows them to be easily disconnected.

I've spent a couple of hours digging through supplier catalogues but haven't found anything substantial (a couple of power connectors and that's about it). Most of my suppliers have a "wire to board" section in their catalogue, but apparently nobody has a "wire to wire" section!

Does anyone have a favourite wire-to-wire connector that'd be suitable for low-voltage, low-power signals (tactile switches run from 5V DC), or some search terms to get me started?

Thanks,
Phil.

[usLEDsupply]

i have been in that boat before as well without much luck from major suppliers, it seems they have tons of wire to board and board to board but wire to wire is quiet limited
 
how many wires do you need?

would something like this work? they come in 2, 4 and 6 wire options

[philpem]

They look perfect - and either 4 or 6 way would be great (Two wires for each switch).

What are they? Who makes them and what are they called?

[usLEDsupply]

We had some made to use with LED Strips because we couldn't find anything like that either.
if you need custom wire lengths let me know and we can have them made with next batch

2 wire
http://www.usledsupply.com/shop/2-wire-quick-connector.html
4 wire
http://www.usledsupply.com/shop/4-wire-quick-connector.html
6 wire
http://www.usledsupply.com/shop/6-wire-quick-connector.html

[nanofrog]

By no means everything, but hopefully enough to get you started. 

Molex: http://www.molex.com/molex/products/group?key=wire_to_wire_connectors&channel=products

AMP/Tyco: http://www.te.com/catalog/menu/en/19272

Thomas&Betts: http://www.tnb.com/pub/node/274

If you can be more specific (i.e. water resistant, pin count, V & A specs, ...), it could help members offer specific recommendations.

[mariush]

http://uk.farnell.com/multicomp/sn-9/battery-connector-snap-on-pp3-pp6/dp/1348635

http://uk.farnell.com/multicomp/440006p/connector-battery-pp3-typ2-145mm/dp/1183124


Get a USB cable with usb male on one end, usb female on the other ... cut it in the middle ?

Get some contacts, some connectors and a crimping tool and make your own? Think the classic 0.1" connectors, like the ones in computers:

http://uk.farnell.com/harwin/m20-1060200/housing-crimp-receptacle-2-54mm/dp/865606

[sprocket]

where I work we usually use Molex micro fit connectors  where it is used for signaling wires or low current power supply needs. Obviously your have to makes the wires in the required length yourself, but I really dont see that as a problem unless you have to make a boat load of them for series production.

And they are readily available from a quality manufacture, small foot print, easy to obtain from various vendors and also fairly cheap.

http://www.molex.com/molex/products/group?key=microfit_30153_interconnect_system&channel=PRODUCTS

[philpem]

'Scuse the late reply, been a little busy

I was after a pair of four-wire connectors or a four-wire and a two-wire.

In the end, I bought a bunch of connectors from Farnell --

- JST PA series -- PALR and PAP. The PALR is very nicely sized for finger detaching, but the PAP housing is tiny. Separating the two would require tools... Not an option. NEXT!
- AMP Single Row Micro Mate-n-Lok -- a little on the large side, but very easy to snap together and detach.

@Sprocket -- I get the impression that the Molex Micro-Fit connectors are Molex's version of the Micro Mate-n-Lok, the dimensions certainly look similar. I'll have to get a few to test (I have quite a few Micro Mate-n-Lok connectors knocking around, but no Micro-Fits). It's nice to know there's a potential second-source for those

@Nanofrog -- Thanks for those links. I wasn't aware Thomas&Betts were still around, I haven't seen their products in my suppliers' catalogues for some years. I'll have a look through the TE/AMP and Molex sites soon, I'm surprised those didn't appear on my Google search...

Thanks guys!