Standardized Non-Military Circular Connectors

When it comes to circular connectors, it seems the possibilities are endless. In this post, we’ll explore four of the most common ones that are built to industry standards, and so are intermateable from manufacturer to manufacturer.

M12

The M12 series connectors were introduced in 1985 as a smaller water-resistant replacement for the RK30 sensor connector. They were later standardized by the IEC in standard 61076-2-101. The most recent revision of that standard I could find was released in 2012. The name M12 refers to the mating retention thread, 12mm diameter with 1.0mm thread pitch. The following image shows the contact configurations for 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, and 12 position M12 connectors, numbered from the male pin side.

M12 Config

M12 connectors we have in stock are available from the following link:
https://www.digikey.com/short/z9b0jp

M8

The M8 series connectors are similar to the M12s in that they were originally introduced in the 1980’s as a smaller version of the M12, later standardized by the IEC in standard 61076-2-104, with the most recent revision released in 2014. Also, like the M12, the name M8 refers to the diameter of the mating retention thread, 8mm diameter with 1.0mm thread pitch. The following image shows the contact configurations for 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8 position M8 connectors, from the male pin side.

M8 connectors we have in stock are available from the following link:
https://www.digikey.com/short/z9b0pc

DIN

DIN connectors debuted in the 1970’s, primarily for audio equipment. They were standardized by the Deutsches Institut für Normung (DIN) under standard number 41524, which was superseded by standard 60130-9 in 2011. The full size DIN connector has a metal shroud with 13.1mm outside diameter. These originally were straight push-pull mating, but have evolved to have a threaded retention using M16 thread. The following image shows the 3 (180°), 4 (210°) 5 (180°), 5 (240°), 6 (240°), 7 (270°) and 8 (270°) layouts.

DIN connectors we have in stock are available from the following link:
https://www.digikey.com/short/z9b0pr

Mini-DIN

The Mini-DIN connector is similar to the DIN connector in that they fall under the same standard, but are smaller, with a 9mm outside diameter on the shell, and differ in typical usage. The more notable examples of the Mini-DIN connector are the 6 pin, also known as the PS/2 connector, which was used for keyboards and mice prior to the usage of USB for these peripherals, and the 4 pin, commonly used as the S-Video connector.

Mini-DIN connectors we have in stock are available from the following link:
https://www.digikey.com/short/z9b0z7

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