Terminal block industry: application prospects in emerging fields
As a key component of electrical connections, terminal blocks have shown broad application prospects in emerging fields, and their technological iteration and market demand are forming a bidirectional driving effect.
The field of new energy vehicles is the core engine driving the growth in demand for wiring terminals. With the continuous increase in global sales of new energy vehicles, the demand for high reliability wiring terminals for battery management systems (BMS), motor controllers, and charging interfaces has surged. For example, the high-voltage wiring harness of new energy vehicles needs to withstand voltages above 600V, which imposes strict requirements on the high temperature resistance and arc resistance of the wiring terminals. Domestic enterprises have developed intelligent wiring terminals with integrated temperature sensors, which can monitor the temperature rise of connection points in real time and prevent the risk of thermal runaway. The proportion of such products in the supply chains of companies such as BYD and CATL has been increasing year by year.
The smart grid and the field of new energy generation have also given rise to new demands. Photovoltaic inverters, wind power converters and other equipment need to operate stably within a wide temperature range of -40 ℃ to 85 ℃, promoting the development of wiring terminals towards higher protection levels. For example, the IP68 waterproof terminal block launched by Phoenix Contact has been widely used in offshore wind power projects. Its silicone sealing structure can resist salt spray corrosion and has a service life of over 20 years. In addition, the micro wiring terminals used in smart meters need to meet the precision crimping of 0.2mm ² wires. Domestic manufacturers use laser welding technology to reduce the contact resistance to below 0.5m Ω, significantly improving data transmission stability.
The demand for wiring terminals in the fields of industrial automation and robotics is showing an integrated trend. The joint module of collaborative robots needs to achieve multi-channel signal transmission in a limited space, prompting enterprises to develop composite wiring terminals that integrate power, signal, and Ethernet. For example, Wanke Electronics' TOPJOB series adopts a push button design, which increases the efficiency of one handed operation by three times and has been applied to lightweight robot product lines of companies such as KUKA and ABB.
In the future, as the density of 5G base stations increases and data center computing power upgrades, wiring terminals will evolve towards high-speed transmission and low loss. The silicon-based optoelectronic hybrid terminal can achieve 100Gbps data transmission and is expected to be widely used in 6G communication equipment.
