custom wire harnesses, delivered in days, not months.

length is measured from the back of one connector housing to the back of the other, with the harness laid flat and unstretched. finished length can vary by ±1/2 in (13 mm) from what you order for a straight (not twisted) run — twisted bundles vary more, up to ±1 in (25 mm), since the twist itself takes up some of the length. this is normal for cut-and-crimped harnesses; strip length, connector seating, and cable spring-back each contribute a small amount of variation.

twisted bundles run about one twist per inch (25 mm) — that's a target, not an exact spec, and it can vary a bit along the length. you can twist the whole run, or just part of it: in the rewire panel each wire between connector A and connector B can be put into a twist group, so a signal pair can be twisted inside an otherwise loose bundle. a group needs at least two wires, and each group is a separate operation, so each one adds a small surcharge per unit. every twisted group is heat-shrink capped at both ends — that's included, and it's what stops the bundle unravelling. we don't offer twisting on flying leads, or on a jacketed cable, which arrives already made up.

yes — in the rewire panel, a jumper bridges two cavities on the same connector (e.g. tying A1 to A3) instead of running to the other connector or out as a flying lead. we make jumpers reasonably tight and short, and they aren't captured in the heat shrink.

yes — the configurator asks what goes on side A of the harness and what goes on side B, and they can be different families: a Molex on one end and a Deutsch on the other, for example. the same wire runs end to end, so the gauge has to be one both families take; the gauge picker only offers those, and a family with no gauge in common with side A can't be picked for side B. each end gets its own contacts, and its own wedge lock or hood where the family has one.

instead of loose individual wires, the through-run bundle between connector A and connector B can be a pre-made jacketed multi-conductor cable (Digi-Key-sourced, 2/3/4-conductor) — we pick the smallest one that fits your wire count, rounding up if there's no exact match. this overrides your wire color choices for that bundle: the cable's conductors follow the manufacturer's own fixed color code, not the colors picked in the configurator. it's capped at each end with about 1 in (25 mm)of heat shrink, same as before, and only covers the A-to-B bundle — we don't currently offer it on flying leads.

labels go on any harness with a run between two connectors — loose wires, twisted, or a jacketed cable. the one place they aren't offered is a flying-lead-only harness, where there's no bundle for the label to wrap onto. each label is placed so its nearest edge sits approximately1 in (25 mm) from the end of the heat-shrink cap, ±1/4 in (6.5 mm). we use Brady M21-750-427 self-laminating wire wrap labels (black text on white) from a BMP21-Plus label printer.

connector cost (by family and pin count) + wire cost (by gauge and length) + an assembly/labor cost per unit, multiplied by quantity, with automatic discounts at higher volumes.

we use UL1007 hook-up wire sourced from McMaster-Carr, and genuine Molex, Deutsch, and Amphenolconnectors and pins through Digi-Key, an authorized distributor — all parts are new, authentic, and traceable. everything we use (wire, connectors, pins, cable, and heat shrink) is RoHS compliant. every pin is crimped with official, manufacturer-specified crimping tools — not generic or off-brand tooling — so crimp geometry and pull strength match the connector maker's own spec.

housing color follows the family, not a customer choice: mini-fit jr. housings are natural (translucent white/cream), micro-fit 3.0 and SL housings are black, Deutsch DT and DTM housings are gray, and D-sub hoods are black plastic or bare zinc.

standard-density Amphenol D-subs in 9 and 15 pins, soldered rather than crimped: each wire is tinned and soldered into the contact's cup with lead-free solder, so there's no pin finish to choose. every D-sub gets a hood over the solder joints, with 4-40 screws to lock it to the mating connector — plastic, or zinc die-cast if you want a metal shell; the zinc hood is shielded. D-subs take 20-24 AWG.

gray housings only, with solid (machined) nickel-plated contacts — that's the only finish and contact type we offer for DTM right now. gold-plated and stamped contacts aren't available yet. in Deutsch's naming the plug (DTM06) holds sockets and the receptacle (DTM04) holds pins.

gray DT housings in 2, 3, 4 and 6 pins with solid (machined) nickel-plated size-16 contacts, on 16 AWG wire, the gauge the standard DT wire seal fits. like DTM, the plug (DT06) holds sockets and the receptacle (DT04) holds pins. DT plugs are out of stock at our supplier for now — the DT socket contact is back-ordered — so DT is receptacle-only until it's back.

ferrule color follows the wire gauge, not a customer choice. the colors are McMaster-Carr's, not a standard color code, so go by gauge rather than a color chart: 18 AWG is red, 20 AWG is orange, 22 AWG is gray, and 24 AWG is aqua. once you pick a gauge in the single wire configurator, the matching ferrule (and its part number) is applied automatically to any end you've set to "ferrule."

each end (A and B) independently picks one of: a flying lead, a ferrule, or a ring terminal at a specific screw size (No. 4 through 3/8") — this applies to every wire in the bundle alike, and at least one end has to be treated. end A and end B can differ from each other, and can even use different treatments (a ferrule on one end, a ring terminal on the other). ring terminals cover 18-22 AWG; at 24 AWG only ferrule is offered. every screw size ships with red nylon insulation over a brass sleeve.

every harness is inspected by a technician for crimp quality, then goes through a continuity test with a multimeter and a light pull test on each pin before it ships.

we're in san diego county: the shop is at 10207 buena vista ave ste B, santee, CA 92071. commoncables is a service of performant manufacturing, LLC.

UPS 2-day, and shipping is free on every order. there's a $40 order minimum but no minimum quantity: an order under $40 is charged $40. we're standardizing on UPS 2-day for now; other carriers and speeds are on the roadmap.

custom cables are non-returnable; defects are replaced. every cable is built to the configuration you ordered, so if one arrives defective or wired differently from your order, email commoncables@performantmfg.com with your order number and a photo and we'll replace it.

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