Is there a resource to look up widely in-use/standard connector styles?

Question

I'm working on rebuilding a design that currently uses obsolete parts. I'm taking the opportunity to increase reading accuracy. In doing so, I will have to replace our current connector to go from a 2 wire resistance measurement to a 4 wire resistance measurement for a group of devices under test and increase max DuT capacity to fill the remaining multiplexer card slots. That will takes the design to a 96 pin connection. If I go to digikey and look up a D-sub connector that has 96 pins there's only 3 active parts. That doesn't bode well for longevity of the design, but then again I'm quite new to this so I'm not sure if that's a good indicator. Maybe it's as simple as large pin connectors are uncommon in general, but I'm trying to keep this a 1 connector design to reduce risk of operator error, wear and tear, and time loss.

Is there a place I can go to gage the popularity/longevity of a connector?

Answer 1

Your approach of using a major distributor like Digi-Key to find common parts is a good one.

To determine if the part is "common" look for form-fit-function compatible parts that are...

• In stock, with a reasonable supply
• Listed as active
• Made by multiple manufacturers
• The manufacturers should be large, rather than small startup companies or similar.
• Available from multiple distributors

In your specific case, what you should do is expand your search a bit.

Instead of looking for exactly 96 pins, try to go a few pins higher. 96 was the number of pins your design needs, but it may not be a common number. Also consider that having some spare pins allows room for growth without a complete redesign later on, so in many cases its good practice to have a few spare pins. If you look at 104 pin D-Sub connectors there are 517 options instead of 3. They are made by three vendors (Amphenol, Positronic, and TE), which are all well known names in the connector industry.

Answer 2

D-sub connectors with more than 50 pins were never standard, and ones with more than 25 pins were never common. I don't think a d-sub connector is the right choice for this purpose.

If you don't need anything special in terms of signal integrity or current carrying capacity, I would recommend a simple pin header, such as this one; 0.1" rectangular pin arrays aren't going to go away any time soon, and for cables, you can get IDC connectors that just clip straight onto a ribbon cable without even needing to strip or solder anything.

The IDC connectors may become harder to find in future, as they're less popular now than they used to be, especially in such large sizes, but other types of header that will still fit the pins will likely remain available for decades to come.

Answer 3

Seeing how many compatible connectors are available from different manufacturers and how many are stocked is a good start. There are some connector families that never really go out of style: D-sub, DIN, etc which could be suitable choices, but maybe not all in one connector as you've seen. I would suggest taking a look at the D38999 series III connectors which are milspec so you know they're being produced by more than one manufacturer and probably in good quantity too. The 23-35 (aka H35) insert configuration has 100 size 22D contacts, each capable of carrying 5A. Plugs are about $40, depending on where you look and who's making it.