New Industry Products

Bringing Ethernet / PoE Straight to the Circuit Board

July 21, 2017 by Paul Shepard

Manufacturers of industrial devices have been following the trend for miniaturization for some time now, but what if they can’t make their product smaller because the required connector is too big? HARTING addresses this problem with its new M8 in D-coded product. Fast Ethernet and PoE can now be brought via an individual miniaturized interface straight to the circuit board - a big space saving for customers.

Sensors, actuators, cameras and switches are just some of the field components that are getting smaller and smaller as they follow the trend for miniaturization. The trend for shrinking devices, their housings and naturally their inner workings more and more is also a calculated enterprise, as materials, energy and space are just some of the resources that can be saved. At the same time, smaller and smaller field components need to be able to communicate via the Ethernet.

And components don’t just need to be smaller – they also need to speak a single language end-to-end, right down to the last sensor: Ethernet. Power and Data are the vital lifelines, but two separate connections are now a luxury from back in the days of bigger housings. This means that PoE is the number one prerequisite for supplying both lifelines via a single interface.

But what happens if they fail as device manufacturers due to the trend for miniaturization simply because connectors are too big? The logical answer is that connectivity has to shrink, too. HARTING saw the trend for miniaturization a while ago now. With the M8 D-coded, HARTING now offers a connector that carries power and 100 Mbit Ethernet to the smallest field application.

And the PCB version even goes straight to the application’s circuit board. Following the tradition of the larger circular connectors, it is IP67 protected and can also carry the necessary power to small field components via PoE. Standardization to PAS IEC 61076-2-114 also makes it a safe investment, as it can be combined with the connectors and sockets of various manufacturers. This means that all users can benefit from a smaller but totally reliable interface for miniaturization.