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Ribbon & Flat Cable

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Sycor's Ribbon Cable

Sycor's Ribbon Cable

Sycor Technology Inc.’s ribbon cables provide a nice, clean aesthetic look in areas where you need lots of connections without a huge mess of wires. Also known as multi-wire planar cables or flat cables, ribbon cables are most often used for the internal wiring of computers. Sycor’s ribbon cables come in a variety of configurations designed to fulfill the needs of various applications.

 

Ribbon Cable Benefits

The primary benefit of ribbon cables is their flat construction, which allows them to be compressed into a limited amount of space. This fact attests to their popular use inside computers. Ribbon cables are also advantageous because they may be laid under carpeting and hidden out of sight. The only drawback here is that they must be used in straight-runs, as their flat constructions do not allow for them to be bent sideways. 

 Sycor's Rainbow Ribbon Cable 

 

Ribbon cables are measured by pitch and ways. The pitch references the measure of distance between the parallel conductors and is most often set at “0.050” or 1.27mm. The ways describe the number of conductors (usually between 4 and 80 conductors) in the ribbon cable. For example, a ribbon cable with 10 conductors would be described as a 10-way ribbon cable.

 

Creation of the Ribbon Cable

Ribbon and rainbow cables were originally invited in 1956 by the Cicoil Corporation, which is located in Chatsworth California. The earliest model of ribbon cable was manufactured for the mainframe computer industry, card readers, tape machines and card punching machines. The ribbon cable early on was preferred over alternatives because of the simplicity, low cost and their low profiles, which is why the ribbon cable has been used in many electronic devices like computer and printer throughout the years. The ribbon cable is a very useful tool being beneficial in a number of industries. A ribbon cable is typically used in the electrical manufacturing industry because of its size, convenience and overall price in comparison to the alternatives with a higher price and worse performance.

 Sycor's Ribbon Cable

  

From a technical standpoint, ribbon cables are the ideal product for connecting 2 devices. In 1980 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) banned ribbon cables for broadcasting applications involving antennas as the signal interfered with a wide range of TV signals, causing “snow” static to appear on customers receiving end. Now ribbon cables reside in many electronic devices and when connecting to devices together the intended application must be grounded.

  

Ribbon cables are popular because of their ability to mass terminate, specifically for IDC connectors. Ribbon cables have 5 designated types of connections that are typically used inside applications:

  • BT224 Connectors
  • D-subminiature Connector
  • DIN 41612
  • PCB Transition Headers
  • DIL Headers

  

Have a question about ribbon cables or if they are right for your application? Give us a call!  Sycor’s knowledgeable and friendly sales team are eager to lend their expertise and help find the right cable for you, whether it be a ribbon cable or another product altogether.  Request a quote online, email, or call us today!