Dual Waterproof Cable, IP67 Dual USB-A Lead

Overview

Two USB-A plugs on one sealed lead is a charging-point cable: a kiosk, a boat helm, a wash-down enclosure or an outdoor charge station that has to serve two devices from one sealed feed. This dual waterproof cable is supplied as a complete overmolded assembly with a strain-relief boot and an internal O-ring seal, so the contacts are protected to IP67 when mated rather than relying on a boot that merely covers them.

Key Specifications

Connector A	2 x USB-A male, molded, IP67
Connector B	USB-A or DC barrel, per inquiry
Interface	USB 2.0 data + 5 V DC power
Data Pair	28 AWG stranded tinned copper, twisted, foil shield
Power Pair (5 V)	24 AWG stranded tinned copper
Overall Shield	Foil with drain wire
Jacket	PVC or PUR, black, 5 mm OD
Overmold	TPE boot with internal O-ring seal
Sealing	IP67 mated
Length	0.5 m to 3 m standard; OEM on request
Testing	100% continuity and pinout, seal check quoted on the batch

What does the duty actually do to the cable?

Start from the environment, not from the connector. The same plug survives a marina for years and fails in six months in a food plant, because the thing attacking it is different in each case.

Duty	What attacks the cable	What we specify
Outdoor charge point or kiosk	Sunlight, rain, temperature cycling	UV-stable jacket, sealed plug face, tethered cap
Marine helm or cabin	Salt spray, constant damp, vibration	PUR jacket, sealed pair, corrosion-resistant contacts
Food processing wash-down	Hot water, caustic cleaners, high-pressure spray	PUR jacket rated for the agents you use, fully overmolded body
Car wash or vehicle bay	Detergent, wax, pressure, physical abuse	Thick overmold at both ends, strain relief that takes a pull
Industrial panel drop	Oil mist, abrasion against the enclosure	PUR jacket, grommet or bulkhead at the panel entry

IP67 only exists when it is mated

IP67 is defined in IEC 60529, published by IEC. The rating here applies to the mated pair, not to a plug sitting on a bench. This is the single most common misunderstanding in sealed USB work.

State of the connection	Sealed?	What to do
Mated to a matching IP67 receptacle	Yes, to IP67	Nothing – this is the rated condition
Mated to an ordinary unsealed USB jack	No	Fine for temporary use; do not spec it into a wet location
Unmated with the cap or cover fitted	Protected at the plug face	Fit the cap every time – it is the cheapest insurance you have
Unmated, no cap, in a wash-down area	No	Water gets in and stays in; the plug is done

Why two ports and how much current can they share?

Two ports on one lead means the conductors in the single jacket have to carry both loads. With the standard 24 AWG power pair, plan for ordinary USB device charging rather than tablet-class fast charging. Where each port has to deliver up to 3 A, we build the 22 AWG power variant instead – say so at the quotation stage, because it is a conductor change and not a firmware setting. Data is USB 2.0 on both legs: one 28 AWG twisted, foil-shielded pair per port, which is what keeps a charge-only cable from also being a usable data drop.

Where does the water actually get in?

Through the unmated plug face. The O-ring seals the mating interface, not the front of an open connector.
Along the conductors. Water wicks inside the jacket and reaches the solder terminations long before it reaches the seal.
At the mold seam, if the overmold is short and the strain relief does not grip the jacket.
Through a cap that was lost. Tether it, or the rating is theoretical.
At the panel entry, which is usually not the cable’s fault but ends the job all the same.

What to specify on a dual waterproof cable

The duty: outdoor, marine, wash-down, or industrial – and the cleaning agent if there is one.
Current per port, so we can choose 24 AWG or 22 AWG power conductors.
The other end: USB-A or a DC barrel, and its size.
Length, jacket material and color, and whether the two legs need to be different lengths.
Whether the panel end needs a bulkhead – if so, see the IP67 sealed patch range for the panel hardware.

What the overmold is doing

The overmolded body is not packaging. It does three jobs at once: it locks the strain relief to the jacket so a pull on the cable loads the jacket rather than the solder terminations, it holds the O-ring in the right plane so the seal compresses evenly instead of on one side, and it closes the gap between the connector shell and the cable so water has no path into the back of the plug. On this build each USB leg is molded with a TPE boot, which stays flexible at low temperature where a harder compound would crack at the flex point. When you are sizing a run, remember that the two legs share one jacket: if the two ports sit more than a meter apart, order asymmetric leg lengths rather than stretching one leg across the gap.

How the assembly is built and checked

Dual USB IP67 Waterproof builds are made to IPC/WHMA-A-620 Class 3 workmanship inside an ISO 9001 system, over a 32 to 12 AWG range. Each Dual unit passes a continuity and pinout check before it ships, and seal checking is quoted whenever an ingress rating is on the drawing.

Lead time and ordering

For Dual USB IP67 Waterproof builds, prototypes run from 1 to 50 pcs with a 3 working day turnaround; volume orders begin at 500 pcs and ship 14 working days after approval. Tooling not already held adds around 10 working days. OEM and ODM Dual work ships under your part number and labeling, and material certificates and first-article reports come with them on request.

Every production run can ship with RoHS and REACH declarations and the electrical report agreed at quotation; see certifications and material declarations. UL styles and other named approvals are built to drawing: we source to the style you specify and document it, rather than asserting a listing we do not hold. Sealing follows the insert, gasket and overmold-bond method described under IP67 and IP68 sealing structures, so the rating comes from the joint design rather than from the connector datasheet alone. The wider context is covered under our test and measurement work. Tooling is quoted separately, cut in-house rather than brokered out, and owned by you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the cable waterproof on its own?

The sealing is rated IP67 at the mated interface. An unmated plug has to be capped, and mating it to an unsealed jack does not give you a sealed connection.

Can both ports charge at full current at once?

With the standard 24 AWG power pair, plan for ordinary device charging. For up to 3 A per port, order the 22 AWG power variant.

PVC or PUR jacket?

PVC for outdoor and general use where there is no oil or caustic cleaner. PUR where the cable sees oil, solvents or hot wash-down chemicals – tell us the agent and we will confirm.