Connectors
Industrial connectors, terminal blocks, cable glands, ferrules and the tooling to terminate them: M12 sensor connectors, heavy-duty rectangular connectors, circular power connectors, DIN-rail terminals and screened cable glands.
A connector is specified by four things: contact count and arrangement, current and voltage rating, IP rating when mated and unmated, and the termination method. The last of those decides who can install it. Screw and spring-cage terminations need no special tooling and are field-repairable; crimp terminations are more reliable and faster in volume but need the correct crimp tool, and a crimp made with pliers is a joint that will fail later under vibration.
M12 has become the default for sensors, and the keyway coding matters — A-coded for sensors and general signal, D-coded for Ethernet, and they will not mate across codes by design. That is a feature, and trying to force one is how a port gets destroyed.
See the parent Electrical Components page for IP rating detail. Sourced to order — send the contact count, current, IP requirement and termination method.
Lines in this category
- M12 and M8 sensor connectors
- Heavy-duty rectangular connectors
- Circular power connectors
- DIN-rail terminal blocks
- Spring-cage and screw terminals
- Cable glands (plain and EMC)
- Ferrules and crimp lugs
- Crimp and stripping tools
Products
We source this line to order
We do not hold this category in stock, and we would rather say so than list parts we cannot ship. Send a part list, a specification or a photograph and we will quote it with a lead time — this is a line we supply regularly to order.
How to choose
Contact count and current first, then the IP rating in the state that matters — many connectors are rated only when mated, which is no use on a port that spends time uncoupled. Then the termination method against who will install it: spring-cage in the field, crimp in a panel shop with the right tool. Then check the coding on anything M12, because A-coded and D-coded will not mate and are not meant to. Then buy the correct crimp tool once rather than improvising, since a bad crimp fails months later under vibration.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between A-coded and D-coded M12?
The keyway. A-coded is for sensors, actuators and general signal; D-coded is for industrial Ethernet. They physically will not mate, deliberately, so that a network port and a sensor port cannot be crossed. Do not force one into the other.
Screw terminals or spring-cage?
Spring-cage for anything subject to vibration — it maintains contact pressure as the conductor relaxes, where a screw terminal loosens and eventually arcs. Screw terminals are still fine for static installations and larger conductors.
Do you supply the crimp tools?
Yes, and it is worth buying the matched tool rather than a universal one. A crimp made with the wrong die looks correct and fails under vibration months later, which is a far more expensive fault to find than the tool costs.