configured & 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″ from what you order for a straight (not twisted) run — twisted bundles vary more, up to ±1″, 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 — 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.

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" (25mm) 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 approximately 1" (25mm) from the end of the heat-shrink cap, ±1/4" (±6mm). we use Brady self-laminating wire wrap labels (1" / 25mm wide, black text on white, 0.375" / 9.5mm printable area) 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 connectors and pins through Digi-Key, an authorized Molex distributor — all parts are new, authentic, and traceable. everything we use (wire, connectors, pins, cable, and heat shrink) is RoHS and REACH 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 housings are black, and Deutsch DTM housings are gray.

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.

ferrule color follows the wire gauge, not a customer choice — it's the standard DIN 46228-4 color coding, so a tech can identify the gauge at a glance: 18 AWG is white, 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 based in san diego, CA. commoncables is a service of performant manufacturing, LLC.

we're standardizing on 2-day UPS shipping for now while we work through some early growing pains — other carriers and speeds are on the roadmap.