Rugged and Ready

Since its release in 2017 by Hirose Electric, the ix Industrial Ethernet connector has been used in a vari- ety of industrial markets. Multiple suppliers offer a wide range of availability and second source strat- egy to customers. The ix Industrial connector has been adopted for smart factory equipment due to its space-saving and durable Ethernet connection design. Offering a re - ceptacle volume reduction of 75% compared to conventional RJ45 modular solutions, the ix Industrial connector supports 10 mm pitch parallel mounting. The narrow width of the receptacle is particularly ben- eficial when multiple connectors are positioned on a single PCB side-by- side. The reduced mounting space enables a high degree of board

design freedom in applications like servo drives and robot controllers. Either more functionalities can be added to a device in the same foot- print, or the entire device can be made smaller. Unlike many other miniature con - nectors, the ix Industrial connector is specifically engineered for rug - gedness and high reliability in harsh industrial environments, including applications with strong vibration and mechanical stress. For exam- ple, standard RJ45 connectors are susceptible to contact-to-contact motion from vibration, which can cause micro fretting and premature failure. Standard RJ45 jacks are also prone to crosstalk, as the signal and return arrangement of these jacks

causes current loops to overlap This effects signal integrity and reliabili - ty. RJ45 connectivity also limits the miniaturization of devices. Specialty industrial RJ45 connectors are avail - able to reduce micro fretting, but the versions are expensive and still sensitive to interference. Conversely, the ix Industrial connec- tor (IEC 61076-3-124 compliant) in- corporates a rugged metal housing to deliver high mechanical strength, superior electromagnetic compati- bility (EMC), and reliable high speed Ethernet in harsh industrial environ- ments. Its optimized 360° shielding supports Cat.5e (1 Gb/s) and Cat.6A (10 Gb/s) performance while en- suring secure, noise resistant data transmission. The metal housing reduces stress on SMT leads, pro- vides high PCB retention force, and incorporates a metal lock for robust, vibration resistant mating. The ix Industrial connector's lock has a spring mechanism that provides a clear tactile click upon full insertion, ensuring complete, secure mating. and to guarantee the operating life up to 5,000 mating/unmating cycles. Because the ix Industrial connector’s receptacle supports through-hole reflow (THR) soldering as a substi - tute for manual or wave soldering, the receptacle can be mounted on the PCB containing SMT com - ponents in a single reflow/SMT process. The THR also contributes to high PCB retention force, com - parable to through-hole technology (THT) connectors which cannot un- dergo reflow mounting. The ix Industrial can be used as a next-gen replacement for RJ45 con - nectors, and they utilize the same cable diameters (6.3 to 7.2 mm diameter cables). The ix Industrial connector plug comes in straight and right-angle versions, while re- ceptacles are available in vertical, and upright/horizontal right-angled versions to offer even more design flexibility and space-saving options.