Plastic connectors for railway applications

Jun 25, 2023

For rail use, Smiths Interconnect has created Easy REP, a lower cycle-life variant of its REP connector series.

For rail use, Smiths Interconnect has created Easy REP, a lower cycle-life variant of its REP connector series.

"Today a number of rail and industrial applications do not require high-cycle life as a technical requirement, but still require compliance with the railway standard of 500 cycles and other important qualified features," according to the company. "These are the kind of applications that Smiths Interconnect intends to serve with the Easy REP connectors."

The original REP series is rated at >20,000 mating cycles and have the company's ‘Hypertac’ hyperboloid contacts.

With what company general manager Mark Kelleher calls "value aligned contact technology", Easy REP connectors provide "rating up to 18A and a reliable signal integrity with no contact interruption above 50ns".

Dubbed the ‘MR contact’ (Original REP is ‘HC’), these are 1.5mm diameter screw-machined contacts, available for cables from 0.75 to 2.5mm2 (18-13AWG). Assembly is crimp-and-poke.

2, 6 and 12 contact Easy REP connectors are available, with a silicone over-moulded grommet, and interface sealing, that avoids leakage between the plastic connector body and the silicone seal allowing the company to claim IP66/IP67 environmental resistance.

Materials are RoHS III compliant, and rail industry compliance is to NF F 61-030 and EN 45545-2, and to EN 61-373 Category 2 for vibration resistance.

Both Easy REP and REP products can be found on this page.

—