About Company name: Siemens AG, Process Industries and Drives Division, Process Automation Business Unit Headquarters: Nuremberg, Germany Employees: more than 100,000 Products: for example Industrial Communication and Identification (Simatic NET and Simatic IDENT portfolio) Snappy plugs Michael Kasper Industrial automation systems today are being increasingly built with Ethernet-based systems. Profinet is the most wide-spread Ethernet-based automation system and continues to set the standard for easy fabrication with its four-wire cabling system. The same is now true for contacting eight-wire cables using the new FastConnect RJ45 plug – for up to 10 Gigabit Ethernet. Simple assembly of Ethernet-based automation systems is always the be-all and end-all for many users. The costs for installation can quickly get out of control if assembly takes a long time to complete or handling quickly leads to errors that can only be discovered with elaborate measurement procedures at a later date. Every user wants a simple and robust system that prevents errors by its design alone. The FastConnect cabling system for Profinet from Siemens that is long-established in the market meets all user requirements. A coordinated system of Author: Dipl.-Ing. Michael Kasper, Product Manager Industrial Network and Components, Nuremberg-Moorenbrunn, Germany cables, a stripping tool for preparing the cable ends and RJ45 plug without loose parts sets the bar very high. No system integration without connection If Profinet systems need to be integrated into the network of a car manufacturing plant or another large durable goods manufacturing plant these days, users often demand eight-wire cable designs for transmitting Gigabit Ethernet. Industrial-grade cables for Profinet have also been recently specified for these connections, whereby RJ45 is still used as an interface. Here again, a simple solution for avoiding fabrication mistakes on the plug is required. Now it is not only four wires but eight wires that must be contacted on the plug instead. In the office setting, prefabricated systems are often used to minimize the amount of work involved. However, prefabricated cables often cannot be used in industrial plants because the cable routes cannot be exactly predicted, extremely long lengths need to be avoided and cables sometimes have to be drawn through narrow openings and channels. This type of handling can result in serious damage to the plug. This is why industrial cables are fabricated on-site and on-demand. Snappy plug meets fabrication challenge In order to significantly improve the connection of eight-wire cables in the field, Siemens has developed a FastConnect RJ45 plug with a novel wire manage- AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGIES 3/2015
INDUSTRIAL COMMUNICATION ment system. Similar to the four-wire version, this plug features a rugged metal casing. With the same size as the version for four-wire cables, it can be also be used in all active network components of the Scalance and Ruggedcom product lines with an additional retaining collar. The plug is connected to the housing of the network component through the retaining collar. This means pull and rotational movements of the installation cables are caught by the housing of the network component and do not have a negative effect on the RJ45 socket on the device. Furthermore, the metal casing provides an optimal connection of the cable shielding to the housing of the active network component and thus good discharge of any EMC interference from the cable shielding. The plug casing needs to be opened to connect the eight-wire cables. This is done in two parts on both sides, making the eight-pin wire manager easily accessible to the user. Colored coding on the wire manager makes it easy to map the wires of the cable that have been exposed with the stripping tool. Wires need not be cut to a certain length to make them easy to handle. In fact, the wires do not have to be exclusively inserted in the wire manager; they can also be pushed through the plug as well. Handling is easy due to the relatively long wires. Once all eight wires have been passed through the wire manager, the installation engineer firmly presses the plug on the cable end. The two casing parts can be closed without tools. The insulation displacement contacts on the inside connect to the wires one after the other and additional cutting brings the wires to the appropriate length in the casing. Protruding wire ends on the casing can then be removed by hand. The snappy plug with its interior cutting and insulation displacement contacts thus enables very easy assembly of eight-wire industrial cables with the correct length, even in difficult environmental conditions, such as a poorly lit control cabinet on a construction site. 01 The plug has a robust metal housing, a FC connecting method and a 180° outgoing cable to the plug much faster and the wires already inserted are prevented from slipping back from their intended position. Integrated cutting and insulation displacement contacts enable tool-free contacting between the cable ends in the RJ45 plug. This new solution from the automation equipment supplier can significantly reduce installation and follow-up costs for locating potential errors. Cat6A connections for up to 10 Gigabit Ethernet can now be made in the field fast, easy and without errors. www.siemens.com Easy handling reduces the overhead in time and costs The new Cat6A-capable Industrial Ethernet FastConnect RJ45 plug makes connecting eight-wire industrial cables as easy as 1-2-3. Unhindered access to the wire manager through a wide-open casing and color coding on the wire manager significantly reduce the assembly time. The push-through system for the wires in the wire manager connects the cable 02 After closing the plug, the casing will be fastened with a screwdriver (2a) and the protruding wires will be removed (2b)
