Talk:Molex connector

Molex 3-pin
Somebody please add Molex 3-pin computer fan connector. I am busy working on Dell fan work-around article in Dell Community Support Forum and other boards :-) Ther is already some art posted on Computer fan. Thanks! Stephen Charles Thompson (talk) 03:40, 29 October 2008 (UTC)

Disk Drive Power Connector
The 4 pin disk drive power connector was used on the first 5.25 inch floppy drive, the Shugart SA400 in 1976. Image:Shugart SA400.jpg The original IBM PC (Model 5150) used this style of floppy drive.

The Shugart SA-400 OEM Maunal (Feb. 1977 edition, page 18) identifies the part as the AMP Mate-N-Lok connector. AMP P/N 350211-1 for the one on the drive and AMP P/N 1-480424-0 for the one with the wires.

The connector is an AMP connector, not a Molex connector. (Just to keep the history correct.) Nancy L. Webster 16:11, 9 May 2007 (UTC)I believe you mean correct image identification. A Molex 8981 Atari connection had been featured.Nancy L. Webster 16:11, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

Here are some real Molex Connectors. SS-50 Bus

SWTPC6800 23:18, 12 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Interesting, i wonder how disk drive power connectors came to be known as "molex connectors" then. Nancy L. Webster 16:11, 9 May 2007 (UTC)This occurred before the advent of the disk drive connector.Nancy L. Webster 16:11, 9 May 2007 (UTC) Were molex the dominant manufacturer at some point? Nancy L. Webster 16:11, 9 May 2007 (UTC)No, however, there have been some very successful, innovative products.  In fact, Molex has a much more diverse history as a plastic procut molder.Nancy L. Webster 16:11, 9 May 2007 (UTC)" Plugwash 11:25, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

Nancy L. Webster 16:11, 9 May 2007 (UTC)It appears the general designation occurred in the late 1960s or early 1970, referring to earlier nylon pin and socket exemplars of the same interconnection family. In late 1960s and forward "do-it-yourself" and other electronic periodicals, references are often made to "molex connectors" for car radios and other electronic devices, including computing devices.") Examples include "International Laboratory", 1974 March/April, p. 42; "The Sound Engineer", 1972 October, p 25; "Popular Electronics", 1970 November, p. 59;   Nancy L. Webster 16:11, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

dude, youre totally gay, that is a molex connector Nancy L. Webster 16:11, 9 May 2007 (UTC)(I don't believe this is an appropriate comment! However, this person is correct.  A Molex manufactured (8981 ).084 was pictured.  Identifying it as such did not change AMPs design-in success for the 1977 Shugart disk drive.Nancy L. Webster 16:11, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

Floppy drive
Certain Molex connectors are used for providing power to [...] floppy disk drives.

What about the Berg connector? --Abdull 14:49, 6 July 2007 (UTC)
 * From what I know, the 4-pin Molex 8981 connector was originally used to connect 5.25" Floppy disk drives, before the introduction of th 3.5" floppy and before CD and HDD drives where commonplace on the PC. --MrBurns (talk) 21:23, 27 February 2012 (UTC)

The 4 pin disk drive power connector used on the first 5.25 inch floppy drive, the Shugart SA-400 in 1976, was an AMP Mate-N-Lok connector. The Shugart SA-400 OEM Manual identifies the part as the AMP Mate-N-Lok connector. Look on page 18 of the manual.  The DC power connector, J2, is mounted on the non-component side of the PCB and is located near the spindle drive motor. J2 is a 4 pin AMP Mate-N-Lok connector The AMP P/N 350211-1. The recommended mating connector (P2) is AMP P/N 1-480424-0 utilizing AMP pins P/N 60619-1. The floppy drive power connector is an AMP connector, not a Molex connector. Molex had patents protecting the exact design of thier power connectors so AMP developed a connector with the same function but different shape. Molex patent 3178673 Molex patent 3409858 --SWTPC6800 (talk) 23:19, 27 February 2012 (UTC)

This is an announcement printed in the October 27 1983 issue of Electronic Design Packaging & Production -- Power plug serves disk drives

A four-circuit power plug, the 8981 header, is intended primarily for computer disk drives. The plug is available in vertical mount and right-angle configurations and it housing is made of 94 V-2 nylon 6/6. The 0.084-in diameter phosphor bronze terminals are electroplated tin over copper. The industry-compatible device has a friction lock inside the housing to help retain the mating connector. It carries a maximum current of 10 A at 250 V ac. The right-angle version sports two extra features: a friction lock that holds the plug firmly on a circuit board during wave soldering and two pin lengths, one 0.14 and the other 0.345 in. long. Molex Inc., 2222 Wellington Court, Lisle, III. 60532; Brian Krause, (312) 969-4550. -- SWTPC6800 (talk) 00:51, 12 July 2014 (UTC)

Automotive
In the car audio business many of the connectors are refereed to as Molex connectors. I belive this should be mentioned somewhere in the article as well. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.255.22.2 (talk) 17:23, 6 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Beyond that, AMP/TE and Tyco-branded Mate-n-Lok connectors are widely used (in form factors nothing like the PC components) for a variety of automotive and other machine connections, in a least 1- to 12-pin configurations (on Amazon, I see 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 6-, 8-, 9-, and 12-pin versions, sometimes in assortment sets). And, yeah, they are also sometimes referred to as Molex connectors.  So, the article is a bit misleading in suggesting that the 4-pin thing commonly found in PCs is "the" thing called an AMP Mate-n-Lok. It's just one of many.  — SMcCandlish ☏ ¢ 😼  08:19, 1 August 2020 (UTC)

Generic Molex
An IP address is located a few miles from Molex headquarters made a very corporate correction about the generic use of Molex Connector. It reads like someone from the PR or Legal department made the edit. They remind us the Molex was the original and some folks don’t pay attention to trademarks. The fact is people use the term "molex connector" as a generic term for nylon plugs and receptacles. Wikipedia is reporting that fact and not selling connectors. There is no trademark violation here.

Old version

In October 1963 AMP (now a division of Tyco International) introduced the MATE-N-LOK connector.[3] The AMP connector was similar to the patented Molex connectors but not interchangeable. Both were widely used in the computer industry and the term "Molex Connector" became a generic name for nylon plugs and receptacles.

New corporate correct version

In October 1963 AMP (now a division of Tyco International) introduced the MATE-N-LOK connector.[3] The AMP connector was similar to the patented Molex connectors but not interchangeable. Both were widely used in the computer industry, however the Molex version being the original solution led some people to informally use "Molex Connector" as a generic term for that style of nylon plugs and receptacles.

-- SWTPC6800 (talk) 19:57, 17 September 2015 (UTC)

The editor left this edit summary. (Molex is a registered trademark of Molex, LLC and has never been found to be generic, the change to how use of the Molex Connector name was used better reflects the legal situation that exists.) This summary shows Molex was concerned about the article claim that Molex Connector was now generic. I changed the sentence to read "Both were widely used in the computer industry and the term "Molex Connector" often used to refer to all nylon plugs and receptacles." -- SWTPC6800 (talk) 20:08, 17 September 2015 (UTC)

— SMcCandlish ☏ ¢ 😼  08:35, 1 August 2020 (UTC)
 * The current version is this:
 * In October 1963, AMP (now TE Connectivity) introduced the Mate-n-Lok connector.[3] The AMP connector was similar to the patented Molex connectors but not interchangeable. Both were widely used in the computer industry and the term "Molex connector" is often inaccurately used to refer to all nylon plugs and receptacles.
 * This seems entirely reasonable and accurate. The apparent PR flack is correct that the trademark is not legally genericized (it takes a court of competent jurisdiction to declare that). You'll find similar information at articles on other trademarks that are not legally generic but which seem widespread vernacular usage as if genericized, e.g. Band-Aid, Frisbee, etc.). Swtpc6800's instinct was right; our encyclopedic "job" is done properly in acknowledging the over-broad usage without engaging in a legally incorrect and obviously WP:OR declaration that it's genericized.  Between 2015 and now, someone injected "improperly" before "used to refer to ...", and I have changed this to "inaccurately". Either term is technically legally correct, but only one of them could, to some readers, imply a more subjective, WP:POV value judgment. Someone also updated the parent company name of AMP and Tyco, which is good. However, "Molex connector" as a generic vernacular label for this entire class of connectors should not have a capital C on "connector". Similarly, MOS:TM is clear that we do not apply "SCREAMING MARKETING CAPITALS" to trademarks, or otherwise mimic logo stylization, so I have normalized "MATE-N-LOK" to "Mate-n-Lok", same as "SONY" is at Sony.  Sources are not consistent in their capitalization with regard to this term, and our own article wasn't consistent on it either.  We would only use "MATE-N-LOK" if virtually all reliable independent sources rendered it that way. That's clearly not the case for this term.

Tools, and connector assembly
We should address what kinds of crimping tools are used to assemble these connectors, and the basic means of their inner workings (short of WP:NOT, of course). It's simply unclear to the average person what is going on inside them and how they are made, or even that it's possible to put them together without a machine. To forestall later how-to instructional insertions, maybe add to "External links" a video tutorial on it, especially if we can find a high-rated one on YouTube that isn't spammy. — SMcCandlish ☏ ¢ 😼  09:02, 1 August 2020 (UTC)

Pinout mismatch
The current "Pin out" section of the "AMP four-pin Mate-n-Lok" info box is somewhat confusing. The diagram (and the image above) are of a male connector with female pins, whereas the text lists the pins on the female connector with male pins. Consequently, readers are liable to get the voltage pins completely backwards. Suggest changing either the diagram or the accompanying text. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.195.251.71 (talk) 05:21, 2 November 2020 (UTC)