Thermocouple Contact & Tooling Charts
Milnec Interconnect Systems manufacturers a full offering of MIL-DTL-38999 Series III high reliability thermocouple crimp contacts in the most popular thermocouple materials. By ordering thermocouple contacts separately, engineers can quickly make custom connector solutions to run power, signal, and thermocouples in one cable! In charts below you can find all the information required to order replacement thermocouple contacts for all existing MIL-DTL-38999 Series III connectors. Next to each contact is appropriate tooling information for required crimper, positioner, insertion and extraction tweezers.
Put simply, a thermocouple is a pair of wires of dissimilar metal that is connected at both ends. When the two wire junctions are exposed to different temperatures, an electrical potential is created between them that is almost directly proportional to the temperature difference. A voltage measuring instrument added to the circuit can then read the temperature. Thermocouples are made from a variety of specific alloys and are best suited for different applications depending on the intended temperature range, sensitivity, resistance to corrosion, magnetism, and cost. Because crimp connectors have removable contacts, the standard contacts can be substituted easily with thermocouples.
Thermocouple Types
Certain combinations of alloys have become popular as industry standards for thermocouples. Milnec’s standard thermocouple types are listed below with the positive electrode first, followed by the negative electrode.
Type K (chromel/alumel)
The most common general purpose thermocouple with a sensitivity of approximately 41 µV/°C, chromel positive relative to alumel.
Type E (chromel/constantan)
This type has a high output (68 µV/°C), which makes it well suited to cryogenic use. In addition, it is non-magnetic.
Type J (iron/constantan)
This combination has a more restricted range than Type K (0° to +750°C), but has a higher sensitivity (55 µV/°C).
Type T (copper/constantan)
Often used as a differential measurement. There is no Curie point and thus no abrupt change in characteristics because both conductors are non-magnetic. Range of −200° to +350°C, sensitivity 43 µV/°C.
Thermocouple Types Chart
| Thermocouple Type | Temperature Range (Continuous)* | Temperature Range (Short Term)* | Thermocouple Materials | Contact Size | Termination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K | +32° to +2,012°F (0° to +1,100°C) | -292° to +2,372°F (-180° to +1,300°C) | Chromel & Alumel | #16, #20, #22D | Crimp |
| E | +32° to +1,472°F (0° to +800°C) | -40° to +1,652°F (-40° to +900°C) | Chromel & Constantan | #16, #20, #22D | Crimp |
| J | +32° to +1,382°F (0° to +750°C) | -292° to +1,472°F (-180° to +800°C) | Iron & Constantan | #16, #20, #22D | Crimp |
| T | -301° to +572°F (-185° to +300°C) | -418° to +752°F (-250° to +400°C) | Copper & Constantan | #22D | Crimp |
* Please note above thermocouple temperature ranges are for reference only. Standard connector insert materials can only withstand 392°F (200°C) of continuous operation.
Additional Resources
D38999 Series III Contact Data Sheets
- D38999 Contacts (Power, Thermocouple, Coax, Twinax, Fiber Optic, PCB tail)
- D38999 Catalog (15 MB) – For contact information please reference pages A-16 – A-18, and B-9 – B-14.
Thermocouple Contacts
| Contact Size | Contact Style | Part Number | Wire Size (AWG) | Wire Range (Dia) | Jacket Strip Length | Crimping Tool | Positioner | Insertion Tool | Extraction Tool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #22D Alumel | Pin | TXPA22 | 22, 24, 26, 28 | .012–.025 (.32–.64) | .157 (4.00) | TK201 | TP209 | TN801 | TX802 |
| Socket | TXSA22 | TP207 | |||||||
| #22D Chromel | Pin | TXPR22 | TP209 | ||||||
| Socket | TXSR22 | TP207 | |||||||
| #22D Constantan | Pin | TXPK22 | TP209 | ||||||
| Socket | TXSK22 | TP207 | |||||||
| #22D Iron | Pin | TXPE22 | TP209 | ||||||
| Socket | TXSE22 | TP207 | |||||||
| #22D Copper | Pin | TXPU22 | TP209 | ||||||
| Socket | TXSU22 | TP207 | |||||||
| #20 Alumel | Pin | TXPA20 | 20, 22, 24 | .020–.032 (.51–.81) | .197 (5.00) | TK101 | TP104 (Turret) | TN805 | TX806 |
| Socket | TXSA20 | ||||||||
| #20 Chromel | Pin | TXPR20 | |||||||
| Socket | TXSR20 | ||||||||
| #20 Constantan | Pin | TXPK20 | |||||||
| Socket | TXSK20 | ||||||||
| #20 Iron | Pin | TXPE20 | |||||||
| Socket | TXSE20 | ||||||||
| #16 Alumel | Pin | TXPA16 | 16, 18, 20 | .032–.050 (.81–1.29) | .236 (6.00) | TK101 | TN807 | TX808 | |
| Socket | TXSA16 | ||||||||
| #16 Chromel | Pin | TXPR16 | |||||||
| Socket | TXSR16 | ||||||||
| #16 Constantan | Pin | TXPK16 | |||||||
| Socket | TXSK16 | ||||||||
| #16 Iron | Pin | TXPE16 | |||||||
| Socket | TXSE16 |
Dimensions are in inches (mm) unless otherwise noted.
