A connector’s pitch is defined as the distance between two pin’s centers within a connector. You may ask, how important is the pitch? The pitch is significant and must be considered when the manufacturer designs a circuit. Depending on the application of the connector, you need to consider paying much attention to the pitch when purchasing a connector.
You must not ignore this, as it will likely cost you more when you purchase the wrong type of connector. This might happen when the connector’s pitch isn’t compatible with the other half, so they can fit. On the other hand, the mix and match of standards and nomenclature can end up affecting the function of the connector.
Pitches of Connectors in Metrics and Standards Units
The most common pitches are;
- 1inches equivalent to 2.54 mm, which is standard for breadboards.
A 2.54mm pitch connector is manufactured for high vibration environments. It is suitable with slightly teller headers entirely shrouded. It can be used with high-pressure housings as well as TPA enhancement applications. You will realize that a 2.54 mm pitch connector is stronger and more rugged than other connectors with lower pitch values. However, it retains its properties when applied for low-profile uses for power transmissions and signals.
- 05 inches which are equivalent to 1.27mm
Other pitches include;
- The 1.20mm pitch
- The 1.25mm pitch
- The 1.50mm pitch
- The 6mm pitch
- The 10mm pitch
- The 0.3in pitch
- The 0.4in pitch
However, it’s vital to keep in mind the pitch of a connector and its compatibility in mind when purchasing or replacing a connector, header, motherboard, daughterboard, and accessories that use these components.
Measuring Connector Pitch
When you intend to fit a ribbon cable onto a board’s header on a microcontroller unit, the ribbon cable must have met the required specifications. Also, it’s necessary to be conversant about how best to fit the connector. First, you have to ask yourself; what is the connector pitch? Therefore, identify the distance between the connector’s pins. Check the pitch of the connector on the datasheet. It is always difficult determining the pitch manually without the help of a datasheet. It’s the case since one pin to another pin is too small.
Nevertheless, to determine the pitch of a connector, we measure from one pin’s center to the next (A), as demonstrated in Figure 2. Considering this method is likely to pose challenges, you can use another method. Here, measure the distance from one pin’s an outside edge to the last pin’s an inside edge (B). Ensure you count the number of pins in the row. The end results will be similar since pitch A will be equal to pitch B.
Figure 3
The above, Figure 3, represents ribbon cables. If you want to know the ribbon cable pitch, use a similar procedure used to measure the connector’s pitch. The procedure will help you to understand the distance between the cables. The connector pitch will be different from the ribbon cable’s pitch. When you have a connector having two rows and with a 2.54mm (0.1 inches) pin spacing, you’ll require a ribbon cable pitch that’s half of the connector to mate pitch.
Conclusion
When dealing with connectors, you will need to know the pitch of each connector. This is important to ensure compatibility with the wire or cable you wish to connect. Failure to do that your cable will not fit the connector. In case you wish to understand more about connector’s pitches, you may search for more information by typing; what is the ‘pitch’ of a connector? Or What Is Pitch In Connector? We will respond to your questions and provide sufficient details.