D-Sub cable assemblies

American Cable and Electronics, fabricates thousands of D-sub cable assemblies in all pin configurations. Cable assemblies can be overmolded , metal backshelled, or left uncovered for use inside equipment or where space may be a concern.

DA, DB, DC, DD, and DE sized connectorsThe D-subminiature or D-sub is a common type of electrical connector used particularly in computers. Calling them "subminiature" was appropriate when they were first introduced, but today they are among the largest common connectors used in computers.

D-sub cable assemblies contain two or more parallel rows of pins or sockets usually surrounded by a D-shaped metal shield that provides mechanical support and some screening against electromagnetic interference. The D shape guarantees correct orientation. The part containing pin contacts is called the male connector or plug, while that containing socket contacts is called the female connector or socket. The socket's shield fits tightly inside the plug's shield. The shields are connected to the overall screens of the cable assembly (when screened cables are used), creating an electrically continuous screen covering the whole cable assembly and connector system.

D-subminiature connectors were invented by ITT Cannon, part of ITT Corporation, in 1952.[1] Cannon's part-numbering system uses a D as the prefix for the whole series, followed by a letter denoting the shell size (A=15 pin, B=25 pin, C=37 pin, D=50 pin, E=9 pin), followed by the actual number of pins, followed by the gender (P=plug, S=socket). [2] For example, DB25 denotes a D-sub with a 25-pin shell size and 25 contacts. The contacts in these connectors are spaced approximately 0.108 inches (2.74 mm) apart with the rows spaced 0.112 inches (2.84 mm) apart.

A series of D-sub connectors with even denser pins is called "double density", and consists of DE19, DA31, DB52, DC79, and DD100. They have 4 rows of pins.

There is yet another similar family of connectors that is easy to confuse with the D-sub family, but is not part of it. These connectors have names like "HD50" and "HD68", and have a D-shaped shell but the shell is about half the width of a DB25. They are common in SCSI attachments.

The suffixes M and F (male and female) are sometimes used instead of the original P and S (plug and socket).

The original D-subminiature connectors are now defined by an international standard, DIN 41652.

D-sub connectors.
The widest application of D-subs is for RS-232 serial communications, though the standard did not make this connector mandatory. RS-232 devices originally used the DB25 25-pin D-sub, but for many applications the less common signals were omitted, allowing a DE9 9-pin D-sub to be used.

On PCs, 9-pin and 25-pin plugs are used for the RS-232 (serial) ports and 25-pin sockets are used for the (parallel) printer ports (instead of the Centronics socket found on the printer itself).

A male DE9 connector on the back of an IBM-PC-compatible computer is typically a serial port connector. IBM introduced the DE9 connector for RS-232 on PCs with the Personal Computer AT in 1984. A female 9-pin connector on the same computer may be a video display output: monochrome, CGA, or EGA. Even though these all use the same connector, the displays cannot all be interchanged and monitors or video interfaces may even be damaged if connected to an incompatible device using the same connector. Later analog video (VGA and later) adapters replaced these connectors by DE15 15-pin high-density sockets, which have three rows of five contacts each in the space that was previously occupied by two rows of five and four contacts. Other common names for DE15 connectors are HD15, where HD stands for High Density, and (less accurately) DB15 and DB15HD.

Contact ACE today for your D-sub cable assembly needs. Custom cables can be made to your exact specifications.