A form of plastic invented in the 1930s by the Molex company. The material was
developed by the late Frederick August Krehbiel. In 1938, he founded the Molex
Products Company in Brookfield, Ill. to manufacture a variety of products
from this material, including clock cases, flower pots, valve wheels and salt
tablet dispensers.
In the 1950s, Molex rapidly penetrated the appliance market with its low-cost
connector terminal blocks. The company launched its first plug and receptacle
connector line in 1953. In 1960, the company introduced its first nylon plug and
receptacle line, marking its evolution from a manufacturer of a material called
Molex to an electronics corporation named Molex.
[Source:
Molex Web site]
Today when the word Molex is used by the computer enthusiast it is used to refer
to the standard power connectors found in modern computers. It is the nylon plug
and receptacle; a plastic end to which four wires are attached and are used for
connecting many devices such as hard disks, CD-ROMs, graphics cards, storage
devices, and more.
