Ribbon cable connectors

Ribbon cable connectors or raised wire connectors are two other types of connectors that are sometimes used in smart textiles. The ribbon cable connectors can be difficult to install because of their size unlike the raised wire connectors, which are very low profile but offer weak fabric connection. 

The last topic on our list of prerequisites is the floppy drive cable (shown in Figure 4.9). This cable is made up of a 34-wire ribbon cable and three connectors. One of these connectors attaches to the controller. The other two connect to the drives (one for drive A , the other for drive B ). You can attach up to two floppy drives to a single controller. These connectors are specially made so that they can be attached to the drives in only one way. 

SCSI devices can be either internal or external to the computer. If they are internal, they use a 50-pin ribbon cable (similar to the 40-pin IDE drive cable). If the devices are external, they use a thick, shielded cable with Centronics-50 or male DB-25 connectors on it. These devices aren t always disk drives. Scanners and some printers also use SCSI because it has a very high data throughput. 

Internal cabling uses a 50-wire ribbon cable with several keyed connectors on them. These connectors are attached to the devices in the computer (the order is unimportant), with one connector connecting to the adapter. 

Both internal and external devices Finally, there s the hybrid situation in which you have both internal and external devices (Figure 4.18). Most adapters have connectors for both internal and external SCSI devices—if yours doesn t have both, you ll need to see if anybody makes one that will work with your devices. For adapters that do have both types of connectors, you connect your internal devices to the ribbon cable and attach the cable to the adapter. Then, you daisy-chain your external devices off the external port. Finally, you terminate the last device on each chain, leaving the adapter unterminated. 

C. Eloppy drive cables use a 34-wire ribbon cable with three connectors. See Chapter 4 for more information. 

Many forms of fixture interfaces have been provided, with many appearing as small universal grid patterns. Some very simple test systems have been constructed with a large number of ribbon (or other) cable connectors presented as the only connection to the fixture.The matching wired fixture may be troublesome to connect (because of the large number of cables), but is left connected for days or weeks at a time to a single fixture type due to the quantities of boards being tested. 

The increasing use of insulation displacement connectors involves both wire and ribbon cable and, although these still employ PVC insulation, alternatives under investigation include polyvinylidene fluoride, modified PPO and polyesters. 

Business machinery applications include keys for keyboards, typewriter ribbon guides, plug and socket connectors and optical cable sheathing. 

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