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Ease the frustration of soldering and terminal screws to create reliable M12 cables for field wiring with the new slide-lock connectors from Banner Engineering.
Have you built a lot of custom cables for automation projects? If so, you’ll appreciate the latest innovation from Banner Engineering: a new series of M12 connectors with a simple slide-lock connection mechanism. The connectors are available in 4-pin and 5-pin straight and right-angle varieties.
Typical Connection Methods
Screw terminals have been the most popular connection style for field-wireable connectors over the last few decades. The small set screws provide a secure connection in a very small space, both of which are excellent for industrial connectivity. In addition, there are also many solder cup and spring-clamp styles of wire connection available.
A major disadvantage of many traditional connection styles is the need for extra tools. A small screwdriver or a set of soldering tools may be out of arm’s reach. The simple cabling job now involves gathering and setting up a workstation, which defeats the whole purpose of field wiring. As troubleshooting and maintenance tasks continue to be in high demand, new methods of securely fixing wires without the need for tools are a constant target of R&D innovation.
The color coding and numbering on the terminals can ease the confusion of wiring. Image used courtesy of Banner Engineering
Banner Slide-Lock Terminals
A number of excellent features have been built into this new connector series from Banner.
The terminals are color-coded with the familiar M12 lineup: brown, black, blue, white, and gray. Some models of cable only include four pins, while some include all five. Both are available in the new slide-lock series. As of this time, 3-pin and 8-pin M12 variants are not available with slide-lock connectors.
The terminals also have stamped conductor numbers in addition to the colors. On many sensors, only the wire numbers are provided, so this gives the technician an easy way to use whichever labeling method is provided on the field device.
Two form factors are available, depending on the application. Straight cables are more typical, but right-angle models can be useful in constrained spaces. For each form factor, there is a male and female version, with each style being further available with 4x or 5x pins, yielding a total of eight models in the new lineup.
Straight and right-angle variants of the slide-lock connector. Image used courtesy of Banner Engineering
Simpler Wiring and Connectivity
As the automation industry progresses to more user-friendly methods of programming and system configuration, the constant need for troubleshooting and hardware repair will need to see similar growth. The new slide-lock cord set series from Banner Engineering is a great example of providing a tool-free, simple, clear process to expedite commissioning and repairs in the field and reduce the downtime that comes all too often from looking up datasheets and retrieving tools.
