The HD Bus Terminals (High Density) feature 16 digital channels in the housing of an electronic 12 mm terminal block, have identical external dimensions to existing Bus Terminals and are compatible with these. The inner workings, however, have been completely revised. What seemed unthinkable years ago – a doubling of the number of channels – can now be realised due to state-of-the-art contact technology and electronics. The general evolution of electronic components, which are designed smaller and with lower power dissipation, a more compact structure technology in the manufacturing of circuit boards as well as new materials and manufacturing processes in contact technology have provided the conditions required to set this milestone in I/O technology.

Reduction of control cabinet space
The Beckhoff I/O system is based on the 12 mm terminal block with an internal system bus: the K-bus for Bus Terminals and the E-bus for EtherCAT Terminals. With the introduction of Bus Terminals, 4-channel terminals were initially available. 8-channel digital terminals followed in 2001 and, in 2004, 8-channel analog terminals in a 12 mm housing. The majority of the I/O terminals produced by Beckhoff are digital terminals. In most machines and systems, the acquisition and output of digital 24 V inputs and outputs form the main part of the controller. The compact 16-channel Bus Terminals offer new possibilities for project planning here: the doubling of the channel density leads to a halving of the required control cabinet space, the price per channel is reduced and assembly is simplified.

Wide range of applications – more compact machines
The benefits of HD Bus Terminals can be utilised for a wide range of applications, from building automation to mechanical engineering. Miniaturisation in the field of control technology allows designers to build their machines even smaller and more compact. The reduced volume requirement also leads to greater creative freedom, because the design does not have to give so much consideration to the space requirement of the controller.

Tool-less assembly
Despite higher channel density, wiring is simpler due to tool-less assembly. The conductors are connected without tools for single-wire conductors using the direct plug-in technique, i.e. the cable is simply plugged into the contact point. The cables are released, as usual, using the contact release with the aid of a screwdriver. The power consumption of a single terminal is limited to 8 A or 0.5 A per channel. The permissible conductor cross-section for conductors with a wire end sleeve is 0.14…0.75 mm², for single core wires 0.08…1.5 mm² and for fine-wire conductors 0.25…1.5 mm².




The new 16-channel terminals are available for both the Bus Terminal system and the EtherCAT Terminal system.
Product overview 16-channel terminals

The usual colour coding for the signal types is also employed in the HD Bus Terminals. The coding is integrated into the LED display.

The HD Bus Terminals with 16 connection points are characterised by a particularly compact design, because the packing density in the 12 mm housing is twice as high as in standard Bus Terminals. Single-wire conductors and conductors with a wire end sleeve can be inserted directly into the spring loaded terminal point without tools.