| Contact CaptivationTypes |
| A captive contact is fixed within the connector body to prevent axial movement due to mechanical forces. This movement causes a decrease in electrical performance by changing the geometry of the connector interface. |
| Differences in the thermal coefficient of expansion between the connector dielectric and the cable dielectric (for cable connectors) or the substrate of attached circuitry (for receptacles) can also cause movement of the contact if it is not captivated. |
| Some captivation methods (such as epoxy captivation) also prevent radial movement of the contact. |
| Contact captivation methods vary with connector type—contact factory for captivation method used with specific Delta connectors. |
| Click on these links to see examples of contact captivation types: |
| Cable connectors: Non-captive
| Shoulder
captivation | Groove
captivation HeliGrip captivation | OneStep captivation |
| Receptacles: Non-captive
| Shoulder
captivation | Knurl
captivation Barb captivation | Epoxy captivation |
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| Receptacle with shoulder-captivated contact:Shoulder of contact is trapped between insulator halves; insulator retained in body by rollover. Provides little radial captivation. |
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| Receptacle with non-captive contact: Used when contact must be attached to circuitry before mounting connector, or when contact movement would break the bond between the contact and the circuitry if a captive-contact type were used. |
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| Cable connector OneStep captivation: Used with Delta OneStep connectors for semi-rigid cable. Contact is pre-assembled into connector insulator, and cable center conductor plugs into socket at rear of contact when assembled. |
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| Cable connector HeliGrip captivation: Contact is pre-assembled into insulator / cone assembly. When assembled into connector, clamping hardware traps contact shoulder between rear insulator and connector insulator. |
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| Cable connector groove-captivated contact: Typically used with crimp-type connectors. Groove in contact snaps into retaining step in connector insulator. |
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| Cable connector shoulder-captivated contact: Typically used for clamp-type connectors. Rear insulator placed between contact shoulder and cable dielectric. When assembled into connector, clamping hardware traps contact shoulder between rear insulator and connector insulator. |
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| Cable connector non-captive contact: Contact is soldered to cable center conductor and may move axially with cable flexure or temperature change. |
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| Receptacle with knurl-captivated contact: Straight knurl is raised on contact; contact is pressed into insulator. Axial captivation not as strong as shoulder type, but does provide radial captivation. |
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| Receptacle with barb-captivated contact: Contact with tapered barb (may be single or double) is pressed into insulator. Barbs may be slotted to provide some radial captivation. |
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| Receptacle with epoxy-captivated contact: Strongest captivation method, for both axial and radial forces. Connector body and insulator are cross-drilled, and epoxy injected into hole. Groove in contact allows epoxy to lock contact in place. |
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| Electroplating: |
| Visit our electroplating site for information on plating types, including Alballoy plating, copper plating, gold plating, nickel plating, passivation, and silver plating. Links to all current electroplating specifications are provided for each type. |