Why Choose Heavy Duty Connectors for Harsh Environments

What is heavy duty connector ?

Heavy duty connector is also called HDC , or rectangular connector , it provides various connections inside a heavy-duty connector housing , which can withstand the harshest environments in automatic and other applications.

Normally it’s rectangular shape , made of following parts :

Cable glands – Can be one or more , or cable entry

Male inserts – there are various inserts for different kind connection and application

Hoods – it’s container for the inserts and contacts , perform the protection against harsh environments

Female inserts – various female inserts for different kind connection and application

Female contacts – The female contacts mean the female pins , have srew and crimp type

Male contacts – The male contacts mean the male pins , could be screw type or crimp type

Housing – the housing mounted on the machine or gabinet to contain the male inserts

What kind of harsh environments will heavy duty connector face in automation and other environments?

Vibration

Machines,trains, vehicle, equipments will have strong vibration while working, for ordinary connectors, it may get loosen during vibration, the dis-connection of the male female

Drastic temperature changes, as well as high and low temperatures

In some applications , the temperature may have huge difference at different time , and for high speed train ,air crafts , at 9:00am , it may be in a city at a temperature of -20 °C , at 12:00 , may be in anther city at a temperature of 15 °C , the temperature in a short time , or too cold , too high temperature may influence the reliability of the connectors

connector will cause production accident

Environments with very high humidity or water splashes

In workshop like food industry, metal processing, there maybe very high humidity or even use high pressure water guns to wash the surface of equipments , ordinary connectors may get short if the waterproof get in , the heavy duty connector can reach up to IP69K , very good performance , avoid risks of short by water.

Corrosive gases and liquids

In industrial production, various chemical reagents may be used, many of them are corrosive, which will destroy the structure of the connector, or chemically react with the shell of the connector, resulting in changes in the protective performance

Dust

Dust is everywhere , soluble salts in dust, as well as fine particles, can increase contact resistance and cause connector failure

Strike by other objects

For some equipments that work at outdoor , collision from other objects may happen sometimes , like rocks , ordinary connectors couldn’t hold this strike , the protection level will be affected by strike

Mechanical stress

When the connector is installed in the equipment, it will inevitably be affected by mechanical stress. When the mechanical stress exceeds the working stress of the connector, it may cause damage to the connector.

Why heavy duty connector can work at these harsh environments?

Special waterproof structure design

The Special design of waterproof structure , excellent choice of materials, so that the heavy-duty connectors have very high waterproof and dustproof performance, up to IP69K.

The bulkhead mounting solution make it quick and convinent to install and dis-assembly, at the same time, insure high protetion level.

Sturdy material

Housing of the heavy duty connectors are mostly made of die casting aluminium, low density, high strength, the ratio of tensile strength to density is 9 to 15, and also maintains good mechanical properties when working at high temperature or low temperature , therefore, it can resist the collision of other objects, prevent the shell from being damaged, and insure the protection level. At the same time, due to its high strength, it can also eliminate the influence of mechanical stress.

Aluminum has good corrosion resistance and oxidation resistance. Most aluminum alloys have good corrosion resistance in fresh water, sea water, concentrated nitric acid, nitric acid, gasoline and various organic substances, thus ensuring the anti-corrosive properties of heavy-duty connectors.

The aluminum shell has strong stability under high temperature and low temperature environment, as well as in severe temperature changes. The expansion coefficient and contraction coefficient are relatively small, and the stability of the structure will not be affected by the temperature change, so that the heavy-duty connector will have very good temperature resistance

Advantage of heavy duty connectors

1. Customers can order modules with different functions according to their own needs and install them in the heavy-duty connectors in advance, which can avoid mis-installation caused by unprofessional persons and improve production efficiency

2. Excellent protection for the harshest industrial and outdoor environments

3.Various housing sizes for different application and requirements.

4. For combined equipment, the various interfaces are combined together to reduce the workload of assembly, and it is also easy to disassemble before transportation.

5. Heavy-duty connectors have a wealth of inserts and modules for different applications, these different inserts can be combined according to needs, installed in the same heavy-duty connector housing, such as power connection, signal connection, RJ45, D-SUB, even pneumatic module。

6. Up to1000V working voltage, maximum working current 200A , maximum 216 pins, suitable for high-power equipment, complex equipment

Applications of heavy duty connectors

Industrial Robots

In the operating environment of the robot, there are many harsh environments such as high humidity , corrosive liquid, and vibration. Heavy-duty connectors are also widely used for the connection cable between the robot and the controller.

Rail traffic – Such as trains , subways , street cars

Rail transit has the characteristics of large capacity, low energy consumption, convenience, speed, and punctuality. It is an important part of the modern comprehensive transportation system and has become the focus of development in countries around the world. In 2021, the global rail transit equipment market reach more than 190 billion euros.

The standard of rail transit connector itself is higher than that of other connectors used in consumer electronics, computers and related equipment. The increase of train running speed, the improvement of locomotive traction requirements, and the development of urban rail transit and high-speed trains have put forward higher requirements for rail transit connectors in terms of environmental performance, mechanical performance, and electrical performance.

Rail transit connectors need to meet high-speed, strong vibration, high temperature and other working environments, and the requirements for mechanical performance and environmental performance are significantly higher than those of products in other fields such as consumer electronics and communication equipment. Since the connector is installed outside, it is required that the connector can perform its function normally under harsh factors such as heat, vibration, and corrosion. In addition to the need for shock and vibration resistance, the fire-resistant material used is also critical. Compared with other industries, the 3-direction acceleration shock test is also added to the connection stability. The intelligence of rail transit vehicles is developing, and the connectors have also put forward requirements for high-speed interconnection, current resistance, and high-speed data and signal transmission. The heavy-duty connector has a strong housing and can integrate interfaces such as power signal data, miniaturization of product volume, modular combination, and convenience of plugging and unplugging, ensuring the braking system, air conditioning system, cab, door control system, steering safe work of systems, control cabinets, lighting systems, carriage connection systems, traction systems.

Auto production line

The production line of auto vehicle need various control signals, data signals, power connections, the heavy-duty connectors can integrate various interfaces together.

There are lots of welding robots and spraying robots and other equipments, the connector should be anti-vibration, safety protection, stable electrical connection and signal transmission , to ensure production efficiency.

Many devices in automobile production require high voltage and high current, that have high requirements on the performance of connectors

Due to the large number of equipment in the production line and the complex system, connectors are needed to help quickly troubleshoot problems and facilitate installation and disassembly

In the production process such as spraying, there may be corrosive gases and liquids in the workshop, which also puts forward high requirements for connectors

Heavy-duty connectors are most used in cabinets and robots in automotive production lines.

Crane

Heavy-duty connectors are also used on some cranes. The operating environment of cranes is also very harsh. The influence of dust and vibration on electrical connections must be considered. Traction system, lighting system, transmission system, main control system, electrical connection Control boxes can use heavy duty connectors

Automation and heavy duty equipments

Heavy-duty connectors provide stable and reliable connections in main control systems, power and control connection drivers, DC motor power units, sensing systems and electrical control boxes in the field of industrial automation, not only limited to harsh industrial and outdoor environments, but also in ordinary environment,the integrated nature of the heavy-duty connectors greatly improves the connection efficiency and reliability between devices.

Heavy-duty connectors can also be used in construction machinery, textile machinery, packaging and printing machinery, tobacco machinery, robots, rail transit, hot runners, electricity, automation and other equipment that require electrical and signal connections.

Control cabinet

Control cabinets are widely used in automatic control systems, commonly used: PLC cabinets, I/O cabinets, frequency conversion cabinets, switch cabinets, EMS cabinets, etc. Heavy-duty connectors are mainly used to connect the connection between the control cabinet and field devices, and can integrate various interfaces together.Wind Power Wind power signal, data and power transmission customized system.

Wind power industry

The wind power  system needs to use a variety of cables and connections. The electricity generated by the generator needs to be transmitted to the high-voltage power grid, and the ethernet network is required to monitor the operation of the system in real time, and the power connection and control signal connection of the motor system. Due to big size of wind power system, complicated installtion,traditional wiring methods require many different interfaces, which is not conducive to fast installation and transportation. Heavy-duty connectors solve this problem very well.

In addition, the electrical connection of the wind power system needs to face the harsh outdoor environment, such as rain, snow, high temperature, low temperature, vibration caused by wind, vibration caused by the motor, etc., all of these require the connector to have excellent performance.

The modular design of the heavy-duty connector module integrates various power and signal transmissions, which greatly improves installation efficiency and reduces transportation costs.

What heavy duty connectors do we supply ?

Various inserts for different requirements

The inserts determines the electrical parameters and the connection solution , different inserts fit different housings.

HA series Small insert 3-32 pins – for applications that need small size

HE series Normal insert 6-48 pins – For ordinary application which had been used most

HVE series high voltage insert 3-10 pins with rated voltage 830V

HEE series High density insert 10-92 pins – For application that need more pins with certain size

HEEE series-High density inserts 10-144 pins , with high voltage rating

HD series Ultra-High density inserts 7-128 pins , for applications don’t need high voltage and current

HDD series Ultra-High density inserts 16-216 pins , 10A rated current and 250V rated voltage

HSB series high current type insert with rated current 35A and rated voltage 690V for 6 and 9 pins

HK series combination insert – with different size of pins ,different voltage and current, power and signal connection combined together

HM series modular model, include ultra high voltage modules , D-SUB modules , RJ45 modules , pneumatic modules , the modules need to be fixed with hinged frame

HQ series compact small volume inserts

Different size and protection level housing

Plastic Housing

Metal housing IP65/IP68

Not all of the housings of the heavy duty connector showed here,if you need more information, welcome to contact our sales team.

Contact Pins of the heavy duty connector

The pins have different size for different requirement,such as 5A 10A 16A 40A 70A 100A 200A , the bigger rated current, the bigger size of the pins

The pins have crimp type , screw type for options.The install the pins to the inserts, crimping tools, removal tool are needed.

If you need any help for the heavy duty connector,welcome to contact us.