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129:
230:. The company's engineers figured out how to use a new material, silicone rubber, to 'mold' a flat cable containing multiple conductors of the same size. Since the cable looked like a flat ribbon or duct tape, it was named a ribbon cable. The ribbon cable allowed companies like IBM and Sperry / Univac to replace bulky, stiff round cables with sleek, flexible ribbon cables.
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them, they sometimes have to solder ribbon cables. Soldering ribbon cables can present a challenge to a hobbyist who has not been trained as an electronics technician. In some cases, hobbyists strip off the wire with a fine razor, and then separate the wires before soldering them. Some hobbyists use
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Based on availability of standard connectors, the number of conductors is usually restricted to a few values, These include 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 24, 25, 26, 34, 37, 40, 50, 60, 64 and 80. Sometimes a larger width is used & stripped back to what is needed e.g. a 26way IDC cable can
246:
To reduce the risk of reversed connections one edge of the cable is usually marked with a red stripe. By convention the edge with the stripe is connected to pin 1 on the connector. This method of identification is fine for cables that just consist of two or more IDC connectors with every connector
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The early ribbon cables were used in the mainframe computer industry, on card readers, card punching machines, and tape machines. Subsequently, ribbon cables were manufactured by a number of different companies, including 3M. Methods and materials were developed to simplify and reduce the cost of
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by disrupting airflow within the case and also makes the cables awkward to handle, especially when there are a lot of them; as a result, round cables have almost entirely replaced ribbon cables for external connections and are increasingly being used internally as well.
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for any two adjacent wires within the cable is 110 to 130 ohms. The precise number will vary a few percent due to materials. Knowledge of the characteristic impedance is one step toward understanding and control of interference that may be caused by ribbon cables.
282:. A spacing of 0.05 inch (1.27 mm) is the most usual, allowing for a two-row connector with a pin spacing of 0.1 inch (2.54 mm). These types are used for many types of equipment, in particular for interconnections within an enclosure. For
326:.) Most commonly termination is done at both ends of the cable, although sometimes (for example, when making a lead that needs to change wiring between the two connectors) only one end will be IDC terminated, with the other end being terminated in a regular
480:, these cables passed through the holes on the back of the computer that were grounded to the power supply. Eventually, ribbon connectors were replaced, for interconnect purposes, by a wide profusion of custom-designed round cables with molded connectors.
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interface cable used for computer hard disk interfaces ULTRA-ATA has 0.025-inch (0.64-mm) pitch. Finer pitches, as small as 0.3 mm, are found in portable electronic equipment, such as laptops; however, portable electronic equipment usually uses
238:(IDC). The simplicity of the cables, their low profile (compared to contemporary alternatives), and low cost due to standardization, meant ribbon cables were long used in computers, printers, and many electronic devices.
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To make it easier to identify individual conductors in a cable; ribbon-cable manufacturers introduced rainbow ribbon cable, which uses a repeating pattern of colors borrowed from the standard
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cable used for radio and television, which is also called "ribbon cable". However the more modern forms more commonly called "ribbon cable" typically have many more than just two conductors.
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is a cable with many conducting wires running parallel to each other on the same flat plane. As a result, the cable is wide and flat. Its name comes from its resemblance to a piece of
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The main point of ribbon cables is to allow mass termination to specially designed IDC connectors in which the ribbon cable is forced onto a row of sharp forked contacts. (The phrase
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have one wire easily removed to give a 25way (before adding the connectors). The wire is usually stranded copper wire, usually either 0.32, 0.20, or 0.13 mm (22, 24, or 26
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From a digital point of view, ribbon cable was an ideal way to connect two devices. However, from an analog point of view, these cables are problematic. Around 1980, the U.S.
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ribbon cables, by standardizing the design and spacing of the wires, and the thickness of the insulation, so that they could be easily terminated through the use of
532:
476:. This rule led to solutions such as ribbon cables covered by a copper-braid shield, which made it impossible to see or separate the individual connectors. On the
385:
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or solder-bucket connection. Although it is sometimes possible to dismantle and re-use IDC connectors, they are not designed to allow this to be done easily.
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on the screen. The FCC issued edicts and injunctions to the personal-computer industry, restricting the use of ribbon cables to connect devices together.
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395:
413:. (Fitting a standard-spacing header to stripboard is tricky, because you have to cut the tracks between two holes rather than on a hole.)
254:(Brown is pin 1 or pin 11 or pin 21, etc. Red is pin 2 or pin 12 or pin 22, etc.). It is sometimes known affectionately to its users as
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connector – used for serial ports and printer ports (however IDC D connectors are far less common than crimp and solder bucket types).
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connecting to every wire, but is somewhat less helpful when individual wires or small groups of wires must be terminated separately.
340:– also defined by BS9525-F0023, DIN41651, MIL-C-83503 standards; these are the type used on ATA cables and are often simply called
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Left: 20-way grey ribbon cable with wire for pin 1 marked red, insulation partly stripped. Right: 16-way rainbow ribbon with
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fine sandpaper to wear away the plastic insulation from the wires. The sanding also primes the copper tracks. Then when the
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ICs. Generally used where for some reason it is desired to replace an IC with a connection to an external device (
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388:– has two rows of pins with the same spacings as BT244 connectors. Intended to be soldered directly into a
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of a computer or peripheral device, but any ribbon cable connecting two boxes together had to be
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Digital
Systems Engineering, William J. Dally, John W. Poulton, page 52 "2.7.2.2 Ribbon cable"
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Popular types of connectors available with IDC termination suitable for ribbon cable include
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204:) they were used for external connections as well. The ribbon-like shape interferes with
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Many-wire ribbon cable was invented in 1956 by Cicoil
Corporation, a company based in
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soldering iron is touched onto the bare wire, the solder is guided into the track.
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Finer and coarser pitch cables are also available. For instance, the high-speed
460:. These unintended signals could interfere with domestic TV reception, putting
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When electronics hobbyists are working on their computers or digital
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286:, this size was used in floppy-disk-drive cables and older or custom
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577:, William J. Dally, John W. Poulton, page 52 "2.7.2.2 Ribbon cable"
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Ribbon cables are usually specified by two numbers: the spacing or
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344:. They mate with either a purpose-made plug or a two-row grid of
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The original form of ribbon cable was two-conductor 300 ohm
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409:). Can also be used like a PCB transition header, especially on
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Ribbon cables are usually seen for internal peripherals in
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Product Design for
Manufacture and Assembly, Third Edition
448:(FCC) discovered that ribbon cables were highly efficient
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is widely used, even though it is redundant—an example of
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278:of the conductors, and the number of conductors or
56:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
533:"Ribbon-and-Flat-Cable-Assemblies-whitepaper.pdf"
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452:, broadcasting essentially random signals, or
398:– Has pins with the same spacings as standard
196:. On some older computer systems (such as the
571:page 143-144 "4.4 Types of wires and cables"
16:Wide and flat cable with multiple conductors
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360:connector - used for 36-pin printer ports (
348:with 0.1 inch (2.54 mm) spacing.
150:connectors DE-9 (male) and DA-15 (female)
116:Learn how and when to remove this message
496:and common PVC insulation the resultant
153:
139:
127:
19:For the flat 300-ohm antenna cable, see
542:. Hunter Cable Assembly. Archived from
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468:ribbon cable could be used inside the
54:adding citations to reliable sources
25:
13:
270:Ribbon cable with three connectors
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236:insulation-displacement connectors
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446:Federal Communications Commission
258:due to its distinct appearance.
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41:needs additional citations for
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1:
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456:, across a wide band of the
454:Electromagnetic interference
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575:Digital Systems Engineering
531:Hunter Cable Assembly Ltd.
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488:For a ribbon cable using 26
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498:characteristic impedance
484:Characteristic impedance
458:electromagnetic spectrum
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386:PCB transition headers
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228:Chatsworth, California
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161:ribbon cable used for
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378:connector – used for
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407:in-circuit emulators
308:flexible flat cables
50:improve this article
511:Flexible flat cable
252:resistor color code
284:personal computers
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419:musical keyboards
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65:"Ribbon cable"
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106:February 2014
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67: –
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61:Find sources:
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51:
45:
44:
39:This article
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33:
28:
27:
22:
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544:the original
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440:Interference
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425:(modify) or
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358:Micro ribbon
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324:RAS syndrome
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288:Parallel ATA
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256:hippie cable
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242:Color-coding
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171:ribbon cable
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48:Please help
43:verification
40:
540:white paper
396:DIL headers
346:header pins
186:hard drives
165:connections
518:References
411:stripboard
370:SCSI ports
366:Centronics
314:Connectors
184:, such as
136:connector.
76:newspapers
376:DIN 41612
362:IEEE 1284
220:twin lead
198:BBC Micro
190:CD drives
182:computers
21:Twin-lead
586:Category
505:See also
478:Apple II
474:grounded
450:antennas
380:Eurocard
290:cables.
202:Apple II
494:spacing
310:(FFC).
213:History
159:Twisted
90:scholar
434:tinned
382:buses.
175:ribbon
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547:(PDF)
536:(PDF)
513:(FFC)
466:Naked
404:e.g.,
328:crimp
276:pitch
262:Sizes
148:D-sub
97:JSTOR
83:books
470:case
462:snow
428:hack
280:ways
200:and
192:and
69:news
490:AWG
423:mod
421:to
400:DIL
390:PCB
303:ATA
298:).
296:AWG
145:IDC
134:IDC
52:by
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169:A
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113:(
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