What are Industrial RJ45 connectors?  

By AJ Born

Meet the Connector: Industrial RJ45 connectors

Industrial RJ45 connectors are essentially an RJ45 Ethernet connector in a protective housing. The standard RJ45 is the most common twisted-pair connector. It is an 8-position, 8-contact (8P8C) modular plug and jack. RJ, or registered jack, is a standardized telecommunication network interface designed to connect telecommunications and data equipment to service provided by a carrier. Invented by Bell Labs in 1973, registered jacks are specified by physical construction, wiring, and signal semantics. The wiring schemes used to terminate the twisted-pair cable onto the RJ45 connector interface are T568A and T568B. 

Industrial RJ45 from Phoenix Contact is IP20 rated to meet rugged industry standards.

As the use of connected devices expanded to harsh environment applications, the need arose to protect those connections from a variety of conditions. Ruggedized RJ45s are used where system components are subjected to temperature extremes or sudden temperature changes, moisture, dust, shock and vibration, chemicals, mechanical stress, and more. Boots or strain relief features can improve performance and longevity in these environments. 

Amphenol Socapex RJF TV Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6A Rugged Ethernet RJ45 connectors for harsh environments are IP68-rated against fluids, and are resistant to dust, shock, vibration, and traction. 

High-reliability factors addressed by industrial RJ45s include improved EMI noise shielding with the use of magnetics integrated into the jack, improved corrosion resistance, wide temperature range, and long product life. 

Greenconn’s RJ45 connectors support 100 Base-T or 1000 Base-T Ethernet and are popular in telecommunication, data communication, industrial, and test equipment applications. The high temperature range goes from -40 °C to 85 °C. Contact pins within this connector are gold-plated for durability. Shielding offers EMI protection for high-speed applications.

Design Notes 

Standards 

The Industrial RJ45 meets a number of industry standards:  

  • ANSI/TIA 1096-A – physical dimensions, mechanical characteristics, and contact requirements.   
  • T-568A and T-568B wiring standards for wiring and pinouts.  
  • IEEE standards 802.3at, 802.3af and 802.3bt – Ethernet specifics and details for power over Ethernet (PoE) devices where the connector supplies electrical current to the end device.  
  • IEEE 1394 – Data interface bus structure used with RJ45 devices.  

TE Connectivity Industrial Ethernet RJ45 Connectors from TTI feature a mini circular sealed format that protects the integrity of data transmission in most operating environments.

Markets, Sectors, and Applications 

Industrial, military, aerospace, automotive, marine, robotics 

Suppliers

Bulgin, HARTING, Molex, Mouser Electronics , Phoenix Contact, TE Connectivity, TTI Inc., Weidmüller, Amphenol Socapex, Belden, Conec, L-Com 

Related products: 

CAT 6A cable assemblies 

D-Sub Bus connectors 

USB connectors 

HDMI connectors 

Data connectors 

Single-pair Ethernet (SPE) 

 

Like this article? Check out our other articles on Ethernet and RJ45, our Industrial Market Page, and our 2022 Article Archive

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AJ Born
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