Rectangular and circular plugs

The M12 is the most common representative in the field of metric circular plugs. It is a classic signal plug with a threaded connection for sensors and actuators. In recent years, this interface has increasingly become the go-to connector for D and X coding for Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet applications. However, they all feature threaded locking systems, which must be checked with a special torque wrench to ensure the specified IP 65/67 protection class. Obviously assembly takes a longer due to screwing and checking, and the packing density of interfaces on switches is rather limited as a certain amount of space for the tool is always required.

Due to the increasing number of use cases for the M12, HARTING has already been offering it with the PushPull mechanism for a long time and deployed it initially within the railway market. The requirements in the rail sector are among the highest available. If an interface can overcome demands here, it can be used in other application areas without raising concerns. Since feedback from railway manufacturers has been consistently positive and in general the trend in all industrial business sectors is towards increased modularity, HARTING has decided to supplement the PushPull connectors of all series with new types and, in future, to use printed circuit board connections for circular plugs within the PushPull system. This will not inconvenience previous users, because the interfaces are back-compatible and can still be used with conventional M12 screw locks. This means the switch to PushPull can be made gradually. The other alternatives in the M12 range are adapters that convert a standard M12 screw socket to a PushPull socket.

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