Solutions for narrow installation spaces and complex cable routing

The growing demand for ever-higher power transmission and faster data transfer for passenger information systems and other comfort systems is leading to increasingly complex cabling in rail vehicles. The amount of cables is increasing. The given space for installation and cable routing is getting smaller and smaller.

It's obvious that railway engineers need ingenious ideas to overcome these challenges. HARTING, the global market leader in industrial connectors, has developed a wide range of solutions to make life easier for installation and maintenance teams.

When HARTING launched the Han® HPR VarioShell a few years ago, it set a new benchmark. Standardisation, easy handling and weight reduction were the main development backgrounds to create a new highly flexible housing system for inter-car connections.

The VarioShell has now established itself as a proven solution for jumper and other connections. The dual-row housing system (VarioShell 24 and 34) can be flexibly configured with a wide variety of different connectors or single poles.

The new single-row ‘Mini’ variants tailor the well-known VarioShell advantages to very confined installation conditions, enable 90° connections and prevent large cable bend radii. The removable cover allows easy accessibility from all directions. This reduces the effort required for initial installation, maintenance, and servicing. Thanks to its full compatibility with the entire Han® HC Modular and Han-Modular® product lines, it is the ideal housing for future-proofing and retrofitting.

With the Han® 4 HPR, HARTING is expanding the Han® HPR housing range with an additional connector size between Han® 3A HPR and Han® 6 HPR. The new connector is suitable for very harsh environments such as bogie applications with limited space.

It enables 50% space and weight savings (approx. 300g per connector) compared to the actual standard Han® HPR Size 6. This is made possible, among other things, by using a plastic module mounting frame instead of a metal one.

Despite the weight savings, the solution meets high standards for durability and protection rating (IP68/IP69) and is certified according to IEC 45545 and UL 1977. The integrated PE-connection saves additional space. More than 150 different connector inserts ensure future viability.

For applications with limited space or dedicated installation or assembly specifications that only permit a circular connector, HARTING is offering a broad range of industrial circular connectors incl. ready-to-roll cable assemblies.

The new ICC 20 Outdoor sets new standards for circular connectors in very harsh environments, such as single-pole connections for drives. Its modular design, featuring up to 50 different connector inserts, enables efficient solutions for power, signal, and data transmission.

Applications in the railway and off-highway sectors benefit from high protection ratings in accordance with IP67/IPX9 and salt spray resistance of up to 1,440 hours (ISO 1299). Compared with rectangular solutions, the ICC offers space savings of up to 20% for individual interfaces, making it ideal for circular environments. Thanks to the optional integration of Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) technology, users benefit from a future-proof solution.

Every single component should be as light and flexible as possible, and no installation space should be wasted. However, not all requirements are always predictable: For example, the use of modular connectors can prove to be complicated because the bending radius of cables and hoses are larger than calculated in advance.

In addition, it could become apparent only in later deployments that an interface requires a different connector, which requires more space for cabling. This can be the case due to subsequent adaptations to standards, such as a conversion from Cat. 6 to Cat. 7A/8.

Here, the Han^® HPR Compact offers a simple solution with its extension frames: each frame increases the height of the enclosure by 3 centimetres, while the other components can remain as they are. Service teams only need to screw one extender frame onto the hood, gaining space for all connections and contacts.

The extender frame can also mean considerable advantages for the assembly. For example, the connectors can be freely arranged on the extender frame and the shielding frame be fixed. Afterwards, the assembly technician only needs to screw on the hood. The extender thus brings more flexibility and freedom for optimising a cable assembly.