Circular Connectors

Circular connectors are made of multi-pin interconnects paired with cylindrical housing containing a contact interface. They can be made of plastic, metal, or a combination of both. Like most kinds of electrical connectors, their function is to enable a secure signal and current transmission by pairing a male half (the pins) to a female receptacle (the housing).

RS offers a great range of circular connectors and accessories including the following types:

Mil (or military) spec circular connectors for harsh environments like oil and gas applications
Industrial Circular connectors for data transfer, electrical signal transmissions and powering electrical devices using different connector standards
Circular connector adapters are used to interface between different wiring standards that is easy to connect and disconnect
DIN connectors are identified by there DIN standard e.g. DIN 41524 which is used for digital and audio signals

What are the benefits of circular connectors?

Circular connectors have increasingly been used in electronics due to their advantages over their rectangular counterparts. Because of their structure, one of their immediate benefits is the fact they can group several contacts in a compact space, enabling a space-saving and simple solution to disconnect and reconnect cables from their devices. However, they are also particularly convenient for:

Housing different kinds of contacts
Allowing contacts with different currents thanks to the extensive range of allowable voltages
Sealing hermetically where an absolute integer connection is needed
Conveying a strong mechanical performance in environmentally demanding applications

What are circular connectors used for?

Depending on their design and layout (threaded, push-pull, as well as many others), their use might be more suitable to certain applications rather than others. In genera,l the advantages brought by a circular connector make their range of applications very broad, from data and communication to military and aerospace industries. The high performance required by harsh industrial environments makes it necessary for the circular connector to be rugged and shielded against EMI to avoid any damage from water contamination, dirt, extreme temperature or vibration.