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First Robotics

Molex and FIRST Robotics

At Molex, we Create Connections for Life through our stewardship efforts by aligning our energy and engagement in the community to four key pillars:

  • STEAM & Education
  • Innovation & Entrepreneurship
  • Empowering Our Neighborhoods
  • Advancing Health & Wellness

Molex’s sponsorship with FIRST is a four-pillar investment in communities around the world that helps pave the path for our future leaders and innovators.   We are proud to support the FIRST mission, an organization that truly moves the needle as we help equip future generations with the virtues and talents they need to succeed and create a better tomorrow. We support this mission as a global in-kind supplier sponsor, with team and mentor sponsorship as well as event sponsorship. 

WHO WE ARE

About Us

We believe in the transformative power of creating connections. We use innovation, engineering excellence, commitment to quality and reliability and superior customer experience to improve communication, elevate experiences, and engage and inspire people everywhere.

Connections matter. They empower today’s innovation leaders to collaborate across industries to solve design and manufacturing challenges. They push boundaries in electronics and connectivity to enable solutions that address real customer challenges. All to improve lives, every day, around the world.

Learn More About Molex

Molex and FIRST Robotics

Molex is a proud sponsor of FIRST | For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (firstinspires.org) as we are committed to the FIRST mission and creating connections with future leaders and innovators.  In our growing sponsorship, we are excited to support students, mentors, teams and events through sponsorship, knowledge sharing, specialized part kits and more.  Please see below for how we can engage with you, your teams and your ideas.

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FIRST Kits

Molex has created 3 different preassembled kits for FIRST applications to help teams get familiar with our connection systems, get easy access to the most commonly used parts, and to provide access to tools and components at a reduced cost. We hope these kits will lead you to learn more about connectors and help you build more reliable connection systems. See below for the kit options we offer with detailed information on each kit's content and how to acquire them.

To help you get started, let's explain an overview of our kits to see what best suits your needs. If you're new to connectors or just trying to get some basic parts, check out our SL kit which has standard SL parts great for wiring PWM and other signal applications. If you're looking to improve the robustness of your CAN bus then the CAN kit may be best with precrimped leads and other parts focused on wiring up your CAN bus right. Lastly, if you're looking for an all in one solution, see our SLHC Kit which includes a high quality Molex SL Hand Crimp tool in addition to the SL and CAN kits (SLHC kit available in limited quantities).

To learn more about getting Molex’s SLHC Kit you can email Community@molex.com. 

SL Kit

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The SL Kit is our original FIRST kit and is a great entry point for teams getting familiar with our SL connector family. This kit contains a range of terminals, connectors, and pre-crimped leads to help get you started with wiring up your robot as well as to understand the different connector components available for your electrical systems. We also recommend this kit for teams without access to crimping tools as the precimped leads eliminate the need for tooling and come in various lengths to suit your needs. This kit comes with a PWM focus and thus red, black, white, and PWM leads are included in the box.

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Part TypePart NumberDescriptionMolex LinkDigi-Key Link
Terminals16020086SL Female Terminal, 22-24AWG Wire, Tin Plating, Reel PackagingLinkLink
16020114SL Male Terminal, 22-24AWG Wire, Tin Plating, Reel PackagingLinkLink
16020096SL Female Terminal, 24-30AWG Wire, Tin Plating, Bag PackagingLinkLink
16020107SL Male Terminal, 22-24AWG Wire, Tin Plating, Reel PackagingLinkLink
Housings701070002SL Plug Housing with Latch, 3CKT, Polarized (Accepts Male Terminal)LinkLink
50579002SL Housing, 2CKT, Non-Polarized (Accepts Male or Female Terminal)LinkLink
50579403SL Receptacle Housing with Latch, 3CKT, Polarized (Accepts Female Terminal)LinkLink
Leads367690727Precrimped Wire Lead, 22AWG Wire, Black, 6" LengthN/ALink
367690728Precrimped Wire Lead, 22AWG Wire, Black, 12" LengthN/ALink
367690729Precrimped Wire Lead, 22AWG Wire, Black, 24" LengthN/ALink
367690730Precrimped Wire Lead, 22AWG Wire, Black, 36" LengthN/ALink
367690731Precrimped Wire Lead, 22AWG Wire, Red, 6" LengthN/ALink
367690732Precrimped Wire Lead, 22AWG Wire, Red, 12" LengthN/ALink
367690733Precrimped Wire Lead, 22AWG Wire, Red, 24" LengthN/ALink
367690734Precrimped Wire Lead, 22AWG Wire, Red, 36" LengthN/ALink
367690735Precrimped Wire Lead, 22AWG Wire, White, 6" LengthN/ALink
367690736Precrimped Wire Lead, 22AWG Wire, White, 12" LengthN/ALink
367690737Precrimped Wire Lead, 22AWG Wire, White, 24" LengthN/ALink
367690738Precrimped Wire Lead, 22AWG Wire, White, 36" LengthN/ALink
367690711Preassembled PWM Lead, 6" LengthN/ALink
367690714Preassembled PWM Lead, 12" LengthN/ALink
367690720Preassembled PWM Lead, 24" LengthN/ALink
367690726Preassembled PWM Lead, 36" LengthN/ALink

CAN Kit

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New for 2024, the Molex CAN Kit expands our offering for FIRST teams with a focus on the CAN bus. This kit includes just the terminals and housings you need for the CAN Bus with the addition of precrimped CAN leads with twisted pair yellow and green wire. The terminals and connectors in this kit are within the same SL Connector family as the base SL Kit so any existing wiring, components, and tooling you have will be compatible with both kits. In this kit, we have included 3 circuit connectors for the CAN Bus since they can also be utilized in PWM applications thus reducing the variety of parts to buy and manage. However, if building your own system, 2 circuit connector options are also suitable for CAN applications.

Untitled Document

Part TypePart NumberDescriptionMolex LinkDigi-Key Link
Terminals16020086SL Female Terminal, 22-24AWG Wire, Tin Plating, Reel PackagingLinkLink
16020107SL Male Terminal, 22-24AWG Wire, Tin Plating, Reel PackagingLinkLink
Housings701070002SL Plug Housing with Latch, 3CKT, Polarized (Accepts Male Terminal)LinkLink
50579403SL Receptacle Housing with Latch, 3CKT, Polarized (Accepts Female Terminal)LinkLink
Leads367692567Preassembled CAN Bus Lead, Plug to Receptacle, 6" LengthN/AN/A
367692568Preassembled CAN Bus Lead, Open to Receptacle, 12" LengthN/AN/A
367692569Preassembled CAN Bus Lead, Plug to Open, 12" LengthN/AN/A

SLHC Kit

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One of the largest obstacles to a robust electircal connection system is creating reliable terminal crimps (a crimp is the connection between the wire and the terminal). Utilizing a high quality tool is critical to these reliable crimps but unfortunately these tools can be quite expensive including Molex's own SL hand crimp tool. That is why we are introducing the SL Hand Crimp Kit (SLHC Kit). This kit comes with one of our premium Molex Hand Crimp tools in addition to our SL and CAN kits described above. The SLHC kit is great for any team just starting with or expanding the use of the SL connector family and any team struggling with reliable electrical connections. Plesae note the SLHC kit is not for sale and is only avaiable in limited quantities via FIRST Choice or requests through this website.

Untitled Document

Part TypePart NumberDescriptionMolex LinkDigi-Key Link
Kits367690833Molex SL KitN/ALink
367692573Molex CAN KitN/ALink
Tools638118700Premium Hand Crimp Tool for 22-24AWG and 32-36AWG TerminalsLinkLink

Molex wants to help fuel the social entrepreneurs and future innovators that grow up in FIRST. This is why we are sponsoring teams around the world where we operate at all levels (FLL, FTC & FRC).

Timeline and Criteria

Sponsorship Commitments/Applications are now open for the 2025/2026 season! 

  • Thanks for your interest in connecting with Molex! In an effort to support as much teams as possible, we will be awarding various types of sponsorships based on a team's needs. So please, provide as much information as possible! 
  • To be eligible for this sponsorship, the team for which this application is being filled out must compete in the 2025-2026 FIRST season. Sponsorship is available for all programs (FLL, FTC, FRC) or other programs. 
Apply Here
First Robotics

Molex’s understands the impact our employees can have by sharing knowledge and supporting future innovators.  It is not only inspiring, but mutually rewarding for our employees to take part in FIRST mentorship opportunities. 

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