August 29, 2007 -- Stewart Connector, a division of Bel Fuse Inc., has released its SS-51 Series of punch down blocks, engineered to allow the field termination of insulated AWG 22-26 solid copper wire in Category 6a, as well as in Category 7 applications, in which wires are individually shielded.
The RoHS-compliant parts are the newest additions to Stewart's offering of connectors specifically manufactured to meet the requirements of emerging high-speed networking and computing applications. Employing IDC [Insulation Displacement Contact] technology, the punch down blocks allow for the rapid mass termination of multiple wires in telecom and datacom systems.
The blocks feature a notched-head design to secure the wires in the plastic housing prior to termination to ensure a mechanically stable connection between the conductor and terminating contact. The design allows for staggered pair-to-pair arrangements in multi-port designs to reduce alien crosstalk in Cat 6a applications. The punch down blocks can be terminated with industry-standard punch down tools.
Stewart says SS-51 Series may be confidently used to terminate Category 6a and Category 7 cables in premise wiring systems and 10GBASE-T (10 Gigabit Ethernet over twisted-pair copper cabling) applications. It is most commonly employed in telephone and network wall sockets, patch panels, and distribution frames. The punch down blocks may also be used in conjunction with the company's SS-60300 Series of Cat 6a jacks in Cat 6a and 10-Gigabit Ethernet applications in patch panels and wall outlets.
Provided in 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-pair configurations, the punch down blocks are offered pre-printed with TIA 586A/B color-coding, and with the option to match custom colors to wires. The IDC connectors are manufactured of UL94V-0 thermoplastic, with tin-plated, copper contacts.
Pricing for the SS-51 Series of punch down blocks starts at $0.33 each in quantities of 5,000 for the Cat 6a version. To view a PDF file with more information about the product, click here.