Glossary

Cable & Wire Harness Glossary
Terms & Abbreviations

Definitions of the cable, connector and wire-harness terms and abbreviations used across our guides — each tied to the relevant NASA, IPC, or J-STD reference. Browse the full list below, or search for a term.

Soldering a wire to a connector pin

B

Backshell A connector accessory threaded onto the rear of a plug or receptacle to mechanically protect and provide strain relief to the wires exiting the connector.Bend Radius The tightest radius, expressed in multiples of outer diameter, to which a wire, cable, harness, or optical fiber can be bent without permanent damage.

C

Cold Solder Joint A solder connection that never fully melted and flowed, leaving a grayish, porous, weak bond prone to high resistance and intermittent electrical faults.Crimping Crimping mechanically compresses a terminal, splice, or contact onto a conductor to form an electrical and mechanical connection.

I

IPC J-STD-001 IPC J-STD-001 sets material, process and acceptability requirements for manufacturing soldered electrical and electronic assemblies.

L

Lot Traceability The ability to link a production lot or batch of components and materials to the assemblies they went into, and trace them back to their origin.LSZH A cable insulation/jacket classification: emits minimal smoke and no significant halogen acid gas in a fire. Used in ships, rail, tunnels and enclosed spaces.

O

OSHA OSHA is a U.S. Department of Labor agency that sets and enforces workplace safety and health standards.

S

SAE GEIA-STD-0005 SAE series managing Pb-free risks in aerospace, defense and high-performance electronics through control plans, tin-whisker mitigation and performance tests.Strain Relief A connector device that clamps the cable/wire bundle to the connector so mechanical loads bypass the contact and cable terminations.

T

Terminal Block An insulating part carrying one or more mutually insulated terminal assemblies, fixed to a support, used to join two or more electrical conductors.

U

UL Compliance Meeting the safety requirements of the applicable UL (Underwriters Laboratories) standards, usually shown by a UL certification Mark on the product.