Ever since the Han
connector was first developed in the 1950’s, it has continued to set the worldwide standard for quality. From the start, the idea was to develop a connector that would be robust, easy to handle and suitable for a variety of applications. In the intervening years, the Han range has expanded and developed, an ethos of continuous innovation that gives customers simple yet reliable solutions, even as markets and industries evolve.
For example, within production and manufacturing, using connectors in control panels has always been difficult, mainly because installation was complex and time-consuming. As companies now need to change the configuration of their connections quickly in order to offer the flexibility of modular manufacturing, a new way of working was required.
As a result, HARTING have developed the Han-Eco B, a new series of hoods and housings available in a range of designs including bulkhead, surface mount and cable-to-cable, with sizes from 6B to 24B. They are manufactured from high-performance plastic, which provides IP65 protection, and are fully compatible with the standard metal Han B housings, meaning it’s easy to combine new units with existing equipment. In addition, the hoods and housings are suitable for both indoor and outdoor applications, thanks to their resistance to environmental impacts.
The Han-Eco B offers substantial time savings during the installation of control panels, thanks to the ability to rear mount inserts. Instead of installing cables through the bulkhead before assembling the contact inserts, the Han-Eco B allows you to snap pre-assembled inserts into the housing from the rear. Not only does this simplify cabinet assembly, saving time and money, it also gives you the flexibility to separately pre-assemble the switch cabinet units and cable harnesses.
Rail transportation is another industry which can benefit from the innovations offered by these new polyamide connectors. Manufacturers are striving to minimise energy consumption in order to improve efficiencies, and reducing the weight of components is one way of delivering savings. By switching from metal connectors to Han-Eco B, you can achieve substantial weight savings of up to 50%. These reductions may seem minimal compared to the weight of a train, but as connector usage in trains increases, so too does their proportion of the overall weight.
As well as being lighter, the Han-Eco B supports modular inserts, meaning data, signal and power options can all be combined into one standard-sized industrial connector housing. This not only makes them flexible and versatile, it also reduces the space requirement for connectors within the train. Finally, the Han-Eco B range also complies with standards IEC 61948 and EN 45545-2 and is fire-resistant according to UL94 V0.