Molex

This article is about Molex Incorporated. For other uses, see Molex connector.

Molex

Type	Electronics
Industry	Electronics
Founded	1938
Headquarters	Lisle, Illinois, United States
Products	Electrical connectors, Molex connector, Optical fiber connectors, Switches
Website	http://www.molex.com/

The 4-pin power connector used in PCs commonly known as a Molex connector. Yellow and red wires provide +12 V and +5 V respectively, with black wires being ground.

Molex (NASDAQ: MOLX) is a leading global supplier of electronic interconnectors.^[1] Molex sells over 100,000 products, including everything from electrical and fiber optic interconnect solutions to switches and application tooling. Molex serves a variety of industries, including the telecom, datacom, computer / peripheral, automotive, premise wiring, industrial, consumer, medical and military markets.

Molex connector

Main article: Molex connector

Molex originated a large variety of connector types, but only one is commonly used in microcomputers, and thus known unambiguously as a "Molex connector" in that context. That connector type is the one pictured, which is used for power connections for disk drives and other computer components. An AT or ATX standard power supply normally has multiple connectors of this type.

Color		Function
	Yellow	+12 V
	Black	Ground
	Black	Ground
	Red	+5 V

A connector that delivers power has female pins in a male housing, as pictured; a connector that receives power has male pins in a female housing.

History

The company began by making flowerpots out of an industrial byproduct plastic called Molex. Later they made connectors for General Electric and other appliance manufacturers out of the same plastic. [1] Most recently Molex acquired Woodhead Industries in the largest acquisition in its history.

References

1. ^ Hermann Simon mentioned this company in his correspondent Book as an example of a "Hidden Champion" (Simon, Hermann: Hidden Champions of the 21st Century : Success Strategies of unknown World Market Leaders. London: Springer, 2009.- ISBN 978-0-387-98147-5.)

External links

• Official website
• Official Entity
• Pinout and description
• The part numbering system used for PC "Molex" power connectors