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The travel of the spring is limited by the upper surface of the cage and by a positive stop on the insulation material of the housing to prevent overstressing of the spring. This makes damage to the CAGE CLAMP® impossible for even the most inexperienced operator.
WAGO terminal blocks and connectors have a funneled wire entry which is closed on all sides. This is unlike some manufacturers’ blocks which need the adjacent block to provide this feature. WAGO’s housing design, in combination with the sides of the CAGE CLAMP® spring, insure that the wire is automatically positioned in the contact area.
The connection of very small wires such as in PLC or proximity sensor applications can be difficult with any terminal block. These fine wires can deform when being inserted into the terminal block. This can result in the insulation being clamped, making troubleshooting difficult and time consuming. WAGO insulation stops easily solve these problems.
The CAGE CLAMP® is designed to give proportional clamping, dependent upon the wire size. The larger the wire, the higher the clamping force.
The flat surface area of the CAGE CLAMP® coupled with the uniquely curved current bar provides a secure connection without wire damage.
Also, the angle in which the CAGE CLAMP® is positioned, increases the retention force when a pullout force is applied.
Each of the photos below show an AWG 24 and AWG 14 wire that was connected to the terminal block indicated. The tightening torque used for the screw-type terminal blocks was the torque specified by VDE 0609. In practical use this value varies and is dependent upon the operator, whereas, the CAGE CLAMP® connection is automatic and consistent every time.
For the purposes of safety, reliability and ease of trouble-shooting, a number of industry and national standards specify “one wire per clamping point” (regardless of the type of connection used). WAGO has a variety of alternatives to meet these requirements.
Multiple wire terminal blocks are available in three- or four-wire front-entry versions. Onepiece insulated jumpers easily common adjacent or alternate terminal blocks.
In both cases, each wire as its own CAGE CLAMP® and because of the front-entry feature, it requires no more space than a twoconductor terminal block.
Insulation material: For over 30 years, Nylon 6.6 has been the preferred insulation material for the housing of current carrying parts and accessories of terminal blocks and connectors. It has been approved by almost all international test houses. Nylon 6.6 is well known for its elasticity, rigidity and resistance to fuels, most oils and fats, detergents, etc. It is a very durable material and is rated 94V-2 or 94V-0 (UL flammability rating) depending on parts selected.
Contact materials: Pure electrolytic copper, hard and extra-hard, is the standard material used by WAGO for current carrying part. This material combines excellent conductivity and good chemical resistance without risk of stress cracking.
Contact surface: This tin surface is the standard contact surface of current carrying parts. This guarantees excellent long-term protection against corrosion.
CAGE CLAMP® spring: All WAGO CAGE CLAMP® springs are produced from high quality carefully selected austhenitic chrome nickel spring steel (CrNi) with high tensile strength and excellent corrosion resistance.
Further material information can be found in the he WAGO full line catalog.
Most agencies have minimum retention force requirements for both screwtype and screwless terminal blocks. As shown, the measured pullout values for CAGE CLAMP® meet and in most cases far exceed these values.
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