The family-owned company HARTING, a leading global supplier of industrial connection technology headquartered in Espelkamp in the Minden-Lübbecke district with around 6,200 employees worldwide in 44 sales companies, 15 production facilities and six development sites, introduced the so-called Domino modules as a "new generation of modular connectors" in 2022. They offer a miniaturization of the previous market standard. Since then, each slot in the modular holding frame can be occupied by two modules, known as cubes. HARTING connectivity solutions are used in numerous industrial sectors. These include transportation, electromobility, renewable energy generation, automation and mechanical engineering.

A cube as a round thing

These "cubes" divide the previous modular plug-in face into two almost square units in which industrial contacts from D-Sub to Han D, Han E and M12 can be accommodated. Each cube is equipped with a small or large tab, which allows it to be combined with another. This creates individual and space-saving interfaces as required. A Han 16 B standard housing, for example, offers space for eight different transmission types instead of the previous four. Their impressive overall properties have now earned the Domino modules in the Han-Modular series the German Design Award 2024 in the "Eco Design" category. This prize is awarded in particular to products that stand out in terms of production, raw materials and material use, quality/longevity, required transport routes and/or recycling.

Miniaturized modular connector series now offers an RJ45 option

The latest product in the award-winning series is the Domino RJ45 module. The socket module is designed as a double socket, a so-called "gender changer", so that standard RJ45 patch cables can be plugged in for connection. Despite its compact design, the gender changer contains complete, metallic 360-degree shielding and is therefore protected against external interference. Data transmission of 10 gigabits per second in accordance with the Cat. 6A standard is guaranteed.

The CO2 footprint is reduced

The RJ45 Domino pin module is also suitable for standard patch cables. Thanks to an innovative fixing mechanism, these can simply be snapped into the module, regardless of the outer contour of the RJ45 patch cable. The Domino modules offer optimization possibilities for the modular connector. By halving the basic size, two different modules can be accommodated in a space that was previously reserved for a single Han-Modular module. This means that different transmission types can be placed next to each other in a very small space. All in all, space and weight savings of up to 50 percent should be possible - and at least as important: the CO2 footprint is reduced accordingly. Installers should also benefit from shorter installation times.

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