Fieldbus & Industrial Networking


Scalable power interfaces for the rail industry

January 2014 Fieldbus & Industrial Networking

The trend towards mega cities continues, with the result that more and more people have to be transported by rail. The vehicles for high-speed trains, local passenger trains, electric tramways and driverless subways all have one thing in common: their requirement profiles include a demand to convey people as quickly and reliably as possible. In modern rail vehicles, there is also increasing attention being given to the energy expenditures. The idea is to minimise the moved mass by utilising lightweight construction as much as possible.

The vehicles are constructed modularly in order to make it possible to manufacture and test individual sub-assemblies separately and then to be able to exchange these quickly and simply for maintenance or upgrading and modernisation purposes. As a result, more and more interfaces for these sub-assemblies and modules are being given pluggable designs. This minimises the life-cycle costs (LCC) which benefits the operator.

A modern connector must consequently fulfil an extremely wide range of requirements. The reliable contact transfer and power transmission during a long life in harsh environments, with the most compact and lightweight construction possible and with a high level of operator comfort are just a few of these requirements.

The general idea behind such a high-current connector inevitably includes a certain number of solid contacts that are enclosed in a robust aluminium housing. These solutions are well-known and useful, and consequently are used successfully in vehicles. Due to the protective housing of these components, however, the design continually reaches limits with regard to the contacts that can be implemented. Harting now offers a completely new additional series, the Han HC Individual. This connector expands the possible arrangements of high-current interfaces substantially. The central idea is based on high-current insulator inserts that are locked separately into a universal aluminium rail. Each contact pair is sealed individually and, when combined with the connection-side threaded joint, offers IP 66/67 protection in accordance with IEC 60 529. Up to six contacts can be strung together individually and without special tools in a very simple and quick process.

The locking with opening aid

In rail applications, high stress levels, due to environmental influences and shock and vibration, must always be expected. In order to avoid malfunctions during operation, the components must fulfil the pertinent railway-specific requirements in accordance with DIN 61373. The Han HC Individual satisfies the demanding Category 2 in this regard, which allows attachment to the bogie. The locking also has a modular design, which means that users can choose the number of locking elements depending on the application requirements. These are made out of light aluminium and are screwed together to the aluminium rail. One of the special highlights is the integrated and exchangeable stainless steel guide bolts that protect the insulator insert from damages while conveniently supporting the insertion process during handling with large cable cross-sections. Because the lever system pushes the connector halves apart during opening, the activation and separation forces in this family are especially small, with forces less than 50 N.

Stackable contact arrangement

Besides extending the contact arrangement along the fixing rail, the connectors also allow layers to be placed one on top of the other. The result is a power interface with a large number of pins in the most compact space. This stacking does not require any additional components, because the locators of the locking elements can be rotated by 180° to connect two levels to each other. The use of materials such as aluminium and plastic makes the product light, but without creating obstacles to outdoor utilisation.

If the installation situation, such as on a vehicle floor, makes additional protection necessary, an aluminium plate can optionally be added to protect the insulator insert from impact and flying stones. The plastic elements are tested for resistance to environmental influences such as ozone, hydraulic oil, and acidic and base materials. They furthermore exhibit good flame protection levels, such as F2/I3 in accordance with NFF 16 101/102.

The Han HC Individual series is a technological extension of the Han HC 350 contact inserts for transmitting high currents by means of individual contact arrangement. Thanks to this new technology, the product family is qualified for individual interface formation in rail applications in the areas of the car-to-car transition points, traction motors and power converters.

For more information contact Errol Mann, Harting South Africa, +27 (0)11 575 0017, errol.mann@harting.com, www.harting.co.za





Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

EtherCAT interoperability removes industrial networking barriers
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Selecting the right communication technology is one of the most important decisions engineers make, and interoperability helps with that decision. Key development tools and standards ensure interoperability among many EtherCAT devices and manufacturers.

Read more...
Condition monitoring to go
Turck Banner Southern Africa Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Anyone who wants to efficiently monitor the climate in control cabinets will find a comprehensive range of control cabinet monitors for the DIN rail in Turck Banner’s cabinet condition monitoring family.

Read more...
A new standard in high-speed Ethernet communication
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
The TXMC897 module from TEWS Technologies supports a range of Ethernet standards and speeds, making it suitable for diverse applications, including the defence, industrial, and IIoT markets.

Read more...
Data-driven battery production
Turck Banner Southern Africa Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
The availability of high-performance batteries at moderate prices is one of the most important factors for the success of electromobility. As a long-standing automation partner to the automotive industry, Turck Banner supports the major battery manufacturers with its know-how.

Read more...
Bring critical temperature data to your condition monitoring system
Turck Banner Southern Africa Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Data conversion just got easier. Turck Banner converters are compact, simple add-ons that seamlessly fit into your factory applications. You can take various types of signals such as discrete, analogue and many others, and convert them to protocols like IO-link, PICK-IQ, PWM/PFM, and Modbus.

Read more...
Case History 190: Measurement problem ruins level control.
Michael Brown Control Engineering Editor's Choice Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
The widely held belief in many plants that tuning will solve all base layer control problems is completely fallacious. Bad tuning is generally not the main reason for loops to perform badly. It is important when performing optimisation that all elements in a loop are considered, in addition to the control strategy, before even thinking of tuning.

Read more...
Precise part machining
Beckhoff Automation Editor's Choice Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
toolcraft manufactures on behalf of its customers using its 60 CNC machines, and designs, plans and builds turnkey production systems for companies in various industries, having added injection moulding, mould making and additive manufacturing technologies along the way. Robotics is the company’s newest technology division. This is why toolcraft relies on PC-based control, including in the production cells, which have seven-axis milling robots for machining components at CNC level.

Read more...
Fully digital vertical roller mills
Loesche South Africa Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Vertical roller mills are found in mining and cement milling operations worldwide. They require complex technology for their operation. As a leader in this field, LOESCHE has proven software solutions for digitalisation that can optimise each piece of milling equipment for energy efficiency, and increase its availability and output, making the plant easy to operate.

Read more...
CNC cycle package for triple-axis milling and drilling
Beckhoff Automation Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Beckhoff provides a comprehensive package of different cycles for triple-axis milling and drilling machines with the TwinCAT 3 CNC milling base.

Read more...
Precise machining of small parts
Beckhoff Automation Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Producing large parts with precision is not easy. But how do you produce the smallest components, such as gears and screws for the watch industry or contact pins for connectors, with micron-level accuracy and in large quantities? Swiss companies Esco and Affolter achieve this feat in their CNC machines with TwinCAT CNC and servo drive technology from Beckhoff.

Read more...