This Product Selection Guide contains information to help select products in the Headers, Male Pins category on DigiKey.com
This type of header contains male pins within a plastic base and is meant to be mated with a rectangular cable connector or a female socket header for board-to-board connection. These come in a variety of position and pitch options, with some having a breakaway option to manually change position count with ease. Some are shrouded with 1 to 4 walls or unshrouded. Mounting types include panel mount, board edge, stacking, surface mount, and through-hole.
SelectionCharacteristics
Connector Type: Indicates the style and configuration of the device.
Contact Type: Indicates the style and gender of the contacts.
Pitch - Mating: The nominal center distance between adjacent contacts on the side of a device that is intended to connect to a complementary connector or device package.
Number of Positions: Indicates the number of distinct conductors presented at a connector’s mating interface and the number of electrical contact points present within a connector.
Number of Rows: Indicates how many rows the connector has.
Row Spacing - Mating: The nominal center distance between rows of contacts as measured at the mating portion of a connector.
Number of Positions Loaded: The total number of electrical conductors the device comes supplied and loaded into the connector body.
Style: The type of body for the connector’s overall specification.
Shrouding: Indicates the number of sides of the mating portion of the connector that are completely or partially protected by a plastic shroud.
Mounting Type: Indicates how the device is attached.
Termination: Selection of termination style used to connect the device to a system, such as press-fit, screw, or solder.
Fastening Type: The mating retention mechanism employed by the device.
Contact Length - Mating: Length of the portion of the connector that engages with a mating connector.
Contact Length - Post: The length of the header contact that is typically used to make a permanent connection in an assembly.
Overall Contact Length: The overall length of the pin. Post through mating end to end measurement.
Insulation Height: The dimension of a connector’s insulating material along a direction perpendicular to a typical mounting surface.
Contact Shape: Describes the shape of a contact’s cross section along the region of connection to a mating connector.
Contact Finish - Mating: Indicates the material with which the mating portion of a product is plated or finished.
Contact Finish Thickness - Mating: Characterizes thickness of the finish/plating material applied to the mating region of a connector.
Contact Finish - Post: Indicates the surface finish/plating material present on the portion of a product intended for permanent attachment in an application.
Contact Material: Indicates the material composition of the contacts.
Insulation Material: The substance from which the non-conductive portions of the connector are fabricated.
Features: These are different capabilities or properties of the device such as blind mating, flange, or keying slot.
Operating Temperature: Recommended operating temperature, typically given in a range or as a maximum. Exceeding these temperatures may affect performance or damage the device and other system components.
Ingress Protection: IP (Ingress Protection) ratings such as (IP20, IP65, IP67, etc.) define how likely water and dirt will get into the system. The first number represents dirt and solid contaminants while the second represents water and liquids.
IP Ratings
| Solids | Liquids | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Protected against solids larger than 50mm. | Protected against vertically falling drops of water. Limited Ingress permitted. |
| 2 | Protected against solids larger than 12.5mm. | Protected against vertically falling drops of water with the enclosure tilted up to 15 degrees from vertical. Limited ingress permitted. |
| 3 | Protected against solids larger than 2.5mm. | Protected against spraying water up to 60 degrees from vertical. Limited ingress permitted for 3 minutes. |
| 4 | Protected against solids larger than 1mm. | Protected against water splashed from any direction. Limited ingress permitted. |
| 5 | Protected against dust. Limited ingress of dust permitted. | Will not affect operation of equipment 2-8 hours. Protected against jets of water. Limited ingress permitted. |
| 6 | Dust tight. No ingress of dust 2-8 hours. | Protected against powerful jets of water. Limited ingress permitted. |
| 7 | ______________________ | Protected against the effects of immersion in 15cm-1m for 30 minutes. |
| 8 | ______________________ | Continuous immersion in water up to 3m for long periods of time. |
| 9 | ______________________ | Protected against high pressure jets of hot water. (30 seconds) |
| 9K | ______________________ | Protected against high pressure jets of hot water. (2 minutes) |
Material Flammability Rating: Ensures compliance with the relevant UL Flammability Rating.
UL94 Small Scale Flammability - Relative Comparison
Image from UL FLAMMABILITY – WHAT IT MEANS IN THE UL PRODUCT RECOGNITION PROCESS (faa.gov) Please see their website for more information.
Insulation Color: The dominant color of the insulating portion device.
Current Rating (Amps): Typically this represents the maximum current to which a device will meet its given specifications. Exceeding this current may damage the device and/or other system components.
Voltage Rating: Typically this represents the maximum voltage rating to which a device will meet its given specifications. Exceeding this voltage rating may damage the device and other system components.
ProductExamples
| MFR PART # | 3020-10-0100-00 |
|---|---|
| DIGIKEY PART # | 1175-1609-ND |
| MANUFACTURER | CNC Tech |
| DESCRIPTION | Connector Header Through Hole 10 position 0.100" (2.54mm) |
| DATASHEET | Click Here |
| MFR PART # | 61300311121 |
|---|---|
| DIGIKEY PART # | 732-5316-ND |
| MANUFACTURER | Würth Elektronik |
| DESCRIPTION | Connector Header Through Hole 3 position 0.100" (2.54mm) |
| DATASHEET | Click Here |
| MFR PART # | B2B-ZR-SM4-TFT(LF)(SN) |
|---|---|
| DIGIKEY PART # | 455-3271-2-ND - Tape & Reel (TR) |
| MANUFACTURER | JST Sales America Inc. |
| DESCRIPTION | Connector Header Surface Mount 2 position 0.059" (1.50mm) |
| DATASHEET | Click Here |
| MFR PART # | BM03B-ADHKS-GAN-ETB(LF)(SN) |
|---|---|
| DIGIKEY PART # | 455-2900-2-ND - Tape & Reel (TR) |
| MANUFACTURER | JST Sales America Inc. |
| DESCRIPTION | Connector Header Surface Mount, Right Angle 3 position 0.051" (1.30mm) |
| DATASHEET | Click Here |
MediaLinks
Videos
Molex – Product Spotlight – Spot-On 1.5 and 2.0 Wire-to-Board Connector System
Hirose DF58 Series Connectors – DigiKey Daily
TechForum
Sullins header connectors in T/R and Pick&Place option