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The $11185 Connector

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Re: The $11185 Connector

#21

Post by frozenport »

Alupis wrote: post #18
cellshade wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since you seem to be familiar with this sort of thing, what is the best way to find a fab if not going to Alibaba?

There is no specific place to go to... a lot of it simply comes from working within the industry and learning the key players. My company doesn't buy/sell electronics, but the factories operate more-or-less the same. Going to Alibaba is like shopping on Amazon. You wouldn't go to Amazon to purchase bulk (> 10,000) pieces of some item... you certainly aren't getting the best deal. Amazon takes a cut (so does Alibaba),…

Yeah and my cousin Vinny can get you a better deal, too bad you aren't family.

Re: The $11185 Connector

#22

Post by sounds »

bsder wrote: post #9

Talk to Sullins Connector Corp directly. http://www.sullinscorp.com/ The last time I had a connector I needed, they took something they had off the shelf, milled it, stuffed it with different pins, and charged me $100 for 5. I was stunned . I haven't had customer service that good in decades. Really. Call them. Even better, take a factory tour. They may not be able to do it, but they have 30 years of designs archived…

Except he did. They declined. Maybe if he knew somebody higher up at Sullins?

Re: The $11185 Connector

#23

Post by aftbit »

fubarred wrote: post #3

I worked in the nuclear industry a long time ago. The reason some parts are expensive is the documentation (chain of ownership) and testing involved. Some parts must be flame tested (set on fire and self-extinguish in X seconds), so that 50% of the batch are destructively tested in order to meet specific requirements. It doesn't justify excessive profiteering on a setup or per-part basis, but there is reason for conn…

Do you have any nuclear industry war stories to share?

Re: The $11185 Connector

#24

Post by Alupis »

frozenport wrote: post #21
Alupis wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no specific place to go to... a lot of it simply comes from working within the industry and learning the key players. My company doesn't buy/sell electronics, but the factories operate more-or-less the same. Going to Alibaba is like shopping on Amazon. You wouldn't go to Amazon to purchase bulk (> 10,000) pieces of some item... you certainly aren't getting the best deal. Amazon takes a cut (so does Alibaba),…

Yeah and my cousin Vinny can get you a better deal, too bad you aren't family.

> Yeah and my cousin Vinny can get you a better deal, too bad you aren't family.

I can appreciate your sarcasm here, but it's not constructive and doesn't change the economics of custom fabrication.

These factories don't sit around waiting to get small-time jobs to fab a handful of some custom components.

Re: The $11185 Connector

#26

Post by daeken »

Animats wrote: post #11
daeken wrote: post #7

I'd strongly recommend looking into 3d printing these. You could pretty easily 3d print a plastic version of the connector itself (and shell, if male), then add aluminum tape to the inside if you need EMF protection. Then you just pop in pins (which you can get at Fry's by the hundred for a couple bucks), and you have a finished connector. A few hundred dollars in setup and you're done, with a unit cost of under a do…

None of the low-end 3D printers could hold the tolerances needed. Even a Form 1 isn't that precise. Connector tolerances are very tight. That's why intermittent electrical connections are mostly a thing of the past.

I regularly print tighter tolerances with an FDM printer (modified Makerbot Replicator 2). D-sub connectors just aren't that tight; if you were printing the pins themselves, it'd be different, but the plastic side of things is not an issue at all.

Re: The $11185 Connector

#29

Post by bronson »

sounds wrote: post #22
bsder wrote: post #9

Talk to Sullins Connector Corp directly. http://www.sullinscorp.com/ The last time I had a connector I needed, they took something they had off the shelf, milled it, stuffed it with different pins, and charged me $100 for 5. I was stunned . I haven't had customer service that good in decades. Really. Call them. Even better, take a factory tour. They may not be able to do it, but they have 30 years of designs archived…

Except he did. They declined. Maybe if he knew somebody higher up at Sullins?

They declined because, "we are currently phasing out our d-sub line and will be going obsolete in June."

That's basically permanent.

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