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Power clamp springs ahead
New spring and plug extend terminal block utility
By Design News Staff -- Design News, March 3, 2003
An innovative spring design and a locking cam make the WAGO Power Clamp the only purported spring-pressure, DIN rail mount terminal block capable of handling 200A and 1,000V. Touch safe, the block uses coil spring technology that allows for connection of conductors from AWG 2 to 3/0.
Traditionally, WAGO clamps have employed a stainless steel Cage-Clamp spring that passes around through itself and crosses a copper current bar. "Because of the size and strength of the spring, we are limited to a maximum AWG of 2 and current of 100A," says Jim Bachle, electrical product manager at WAGO. "So we completely re-evaluated our spring design."
The Power Clamp now boasts a stainless steel coil spring at each connection point, which is operated with a cam. WAGO engineers designed the cam mechanism to actuate the conductor clamp.
"We did this to accommodate the larger conductors that are required for 200A circuits," says Bachle. "The large physical size required of our traditional Cage Clamp for this size circuit would have been impossible to operate."
With this design, an operator can actuate the clamp using the cam, press a lock tab, and have both hands free to manipulate the conductor.
"Another benefit of the spring design is a proportional clamping feature which adjusts to the physical size of the conductor so that the proper pressure is applied to retain the wire and provide proper conductivity," adds Bachle.
WAGO's newest accessory, a Power Distribution Terminal, simplifies wiring when using large conductors to eliminate voltage drop in industrial applications. Its development came from one of the design challenges engineers and systems controllers are faced with—how to take a large conductor with high capacity and break its current down into useable "bites." It can be very expensive and very time consuming. "We designed a way to tap into a high current circuit and easily branch off with smaller conductors with less capacity," says Bachle.
The Distribution Terminal plugs into the power clamp jumper slot and allows tapping into the high current device to come off with a more useable current. "It is kind of like eating an elephant one bite at a time," says Bachle.
WAGO Corp., www.wago.com Enter 509
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