A typical manufacturing plant today will have thousands, or even
many thousands, of electrical connections on both fixed equipment and moving
machines. And it’s just a matter of time before some of those
connections fail or wear out, bringing production machines to a dead stop. One
way to minimize this downtime is to “connectorize” power and signal cables.
Multi-conductor cables can often be replaced in just minutes if
they have connectors at both ends. Hard-wiring that same cable could take
hours.
Connectors Prevent Downtime. Power and signal
disruptions have many mechanical and electrical causes, everything from forklift
accidents to over-current conditions. With all the mission-critical electrical
connections in a modern plant, downtime from damaged electrical connections is a
matter of “when” not “if.”
Think of connectors as a low-cost insurance policy against this
downtime. While connectors do add a small premium to the initial cost of
cabling, they will pay for themselves many times over if they eliminate even a
few minutes of downtime on a busy production line.
Connector Selection Made Easy. For all their
downtime-prevention benefits, there is one problem with connectors. Call it
“connector confusion.”
There are currently dozens of connector varieties and thousands
of individual connectors on the market, and even experienced engineers can find
it difficult to select the right connector for the job at hand.
Fortunately, connector confusion can be minimized
by gathering information on five key technical factors. This
information is readily available to any engineer who has already sized the
application’s power or signal cables:
- Number of contacts.
- Wire gauge (AWG).
- Cable outside diameter.
- Maximum voltage.
- Maximum current.
Taken together, these factors determine whether the connector
will function as a true extension of a given cable. It’s important to emphasize
that all five factors must be taken into consideration. A connector,
for instance, may meet the requirements on number of contacts, wire gauge and
outside diameter but not satisfy the application’s current or voltage
requirements.
The five key connector factors should be thought of as a starting
point. They don’t capture the effects of difficult operating environments or
unusual electrical requirements. But they will help you quickly narrow down the
otherwise overwhelming field of connector products.
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