Reduce downtime with field assembled connectors
Beke Nieszytka | 17. September 2019
Have you ever had to modify your machines afterwards or adapt them to a new situation? Customer requirements, quality assurance specifications, as well as market needs are generally changing constantly. Companies and their machines must meet these requirements in order to remain competitive and meet existing needs.
How and when do you adapt yourself and your machines to a new situation? Modifications to machines must be calculated and planned precisely in order to avoid long downtime due to machine failure. After all, you want to deploy your employees efficiently and not keep your customers waiting long.
Did you know?
A modernisation or a conversion/retrofitting of existing plant and equipment is called retrofit. By replacing obsolete components with new ones, existing machines can be brought back up to date.
The advantage of modernising machines is an increase in productivity at significantly lower costs compared to the purchase of a new machine.
If you have to modify your machine in such a way that new cables are required, which have to be harnessed first, or cables have to be shortened, for example, connectors are recommended, which you can easily harness yourself – with or without standard tools. Screwdrivers, hand crimping pliers or soldering irons help you to modify your cables or plug-in connectors as required. In this way, you can make the desired adjustment in the field directly on site.
The advantages of field harnessing
- Quick and easy
- Tool-free or with standard tools (no special tools)
- Independently harness according to the requirements
- No maintenance time, no downtime (no waiting for new deliveries)
Harnessing that you can undertake in the field
Among others you can apply the following techniques yourself:
Crimp connection technology
With the crimp connection technology you can easily and quickly assemble circular power connectors (e.g. TE Intercontec or ITT Cannon) yourself. Here the contact is made by pressing the copper strands with a crimp sleeve or a crimp contact. The contact is crimped gas-tight by the appropriate crimping pliers.
The advantage of this method is the reproducible and constantly high quality through calibrated hand tools or fully automatic machines with crimp force and crimp depth monitoring.
Screw connection technology
The screw connection technology is one of the best known and probably most widespread connection techniques in electrical engineering. It can be used, for example, to harness rectangular connectors (manufactured by Harting). The connected conductors are simply fixed with a screwdriver in a conductive body using a screw and, if necessary, a screw cage.
The advantage of this technology is that it requires no special tools.
Read more here about other connection technologies:
As a reliable partner, we offer you the possibility of borrowing the required tools directly from igus®. Just tell your readycable® product manager your wish.
Why not just fix it and be done with?
igus® will gladly undertake the harnessing for you. Use our readycable® product finder to find the right harnessed cable for your application.
Or contact your readycable® product manager directly.