Cantara/phoenixcontact

Phoenix Contact Manufacturer Skill

Manufacturer Overview

Phoenix Contact is a German industrial connector manufacturer specializing in:

• Terminal Blocks: Screw, push-in, and spring-cage types (UK, UT, PT series)
• PCB Connectors: COMBICON pluggable and fixed connectors (MC, MCV, MSTB series)
• Industrial Automation: DIN rail components, industrial Ethernet, I/O systems
• Power Distribution: High-current connectors, power terminal blocks

Phoenix Contact is known for industrial-grade connectors with comprehensive application support.

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MPN Structure

Phoenix Contact MPNs follow this general structure:

[SERIES] [GAUGE]/[PINS]-[TYPE]-[PITCH] [-SUFFIX]
    |       |       |      |      |        |
    |       |       |      |      |        +-- Optional: SMD, color, etc.
    |       |       |      |      +-- Pitch in mm (e.g., 3,81 or 5,08)
    |       |       |      +-- Connector type (ST, G, GF, PH, etc.)
    |       |       +-- Number of pins/positions
    |       +-- Wire gauge in mm2 (e.g., 1,5 or 2,5)
    +-- Product series (MC, MCV, MSTB, PT, UK, etc.)

Note: Phoenix Contact uses European decimal notation (comma instead of period): 3,81 means 3.81mm.

Example Decoding

MC 1,5/3-ST-3,81
|   |  |  |   |
|   |  |  |   +-- 3.81mm pitch
|   |  |  +-- ST = Plug (female connector)
|   |  +-- 3 pins/positions
|   +-- 1.5mm2 wire gauge
+-- MC = COMBICON Pluggable series

MCV 1,5/4-G-3,81
|    |  |  |  |
|    |  |  |  +-- 3.81mm pitch
|    |  |  +-- G = Header (male connector)
|    |  +-- 4 pins/positions
|    +-- 1.5mm2 wire gauge
+-- MCV = COMBICON Header series

PTSM 0,5/3-HH-2,5-SMD
|     |  |  |   |   |
|     |  |  |   |   +-- Surface mount
|     |  |  |   +-- 2.5mm pitch
|     |  |  +-- HH = Double-row horizontal
|     |  +-- 3 pins
|     +-- 0.5mm2 wire gauge
+-- PTSM = SMD Terminal Block series

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Product Series

COMBICON PCB Connectors (Pluggable)

| Series | Family | Typical Pitch | Current | Description | |--------|--------|---------------|---------|-------------| | MC | COMBICON Pluggable | 3.81mm | 8A | Plug (female) connectors | | MCV | COMBICON Header | 3.81mm | 8A | Header (male) connectors | | MSTB | COMBICON Standard Pluggable | 5.08mm | 12A | Standard pitch plug | | MSTBA | COMBICON Standard Header | 5.08mm | 12A | Standard pitch header | | FK-MCP | High Current Connector | 3.50mm | 12A | High current PCB | | FRONT-MC | Front Connector | 3.81mm | 8A | Front panel mount |

Mating Pairs: MC plugs mate with MCV headers; MSTB plugs mate with MSTBA headers.

Terminal Blocks (Non-Separable)

| Series | Family | Typical Pitch | Current | Description | |--------|--------|---------------|---------|-------------| | PT | Push-In Terminal Block | 3.50mm | 17.5A | Push-in connection | | PTSM | SMD Terminal Block | 2.50mm | 6A | Surface mount terminal | | SPT | Spring-Cage PCB Connector | 5.00mm | 24A | Spring-cage connection | | PC | PCB Terminal Block | 7.62mm | 24A | Fixed PCB terminal | | UK | Screw Terminal Block | 5.08mm | 32A | DIN rail screw terminal | | UT | Through-Wall Terminal | 6.20mm | 32A | Through-wall feedthrough |

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Connector Type Codes

| Code | Type | Description | |------|------|-------------| | ST | Plug | Female connector (mates with header) | | G | Header | Male connector (solders to PCB) | | GF | Header + Flange | Header with mounting flange | | STF | Plug + Flange | Plug with mounting flange | | V | Vertical | Vertical mounting orientation | | H | Horizontal | Horizontal/right-angle mounting | | HH | Double-row Horizontal | Two-row horizontal configuration | | PH | Push-In Header | Header with push-in termination |

Mating Connector Selection

To find mating connector for a plug:
- MC 1,5/X-ST-3,81 mates with MCV 1,5/X-G-3,81
- MSTB 2,5/X-ST-5,08 mates with MSTBA 2,5/X-G-5,08

Key: Same series base, same pins, same pitch
     ST (plug) pairs with G (header)

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Package Code Extraction

The extractPackageCode() method returns a formatted string:

| Series Pattern | Package Code Format | Example | |----------------|---------------------|---------| | MC/MCV/MSTB | {pins}P-{pitch}mm | "3P-3.81mm" | | PT/SPT/PC | {pins}P-{pitch}mm | "2P-3.5mm" | | PTSM (SMD) | {pins}P-{pitch}mm-SMD | "3P-2.5mm-SMD" | | UK/UT | {gauge}mm2 | "2.5mm2" |

Note: Comma notation is converted to periods (3,81 -> 3.81).

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Series Extraction

Series extraction returns the product family prefix:

| MPN Pattern | Extracted Series | |-------------|------------------| | MC 1,5/3-ST-3,81 | "MC" | | MCV 1,5/4-G-3,81 | "MCV" | | MSTB 2,5/4-ST-5,08 | "MSTB" | | MSTBA 2,5/6-G-5,08 | "MSTBA" | | PT 1,5/2-PH-3,5 | "PT" | | PTSM 0,5/3-HH-2,5-SMD | "PTSM" | | UK 5-TWIN | "UK" | | UT 2,5-MTD | "UT" | | FK-MCP 1,5/4-ST-3,5 | "FK-MCP" | | FRONT-MC 1,5/6-ST-3,81 | "FRONT-MC" | | PC 5/3-STF-7,62 | "PC" | | SPT 2,5/3-V-5,0 | "SPT" |

Critical: Longer prefixes are checked before shorter ones (e.g., "FRONT-MC" before "MC").

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Helper Methods

The PhoenixContactHandler provides additional helper methods:

| Method | Returns | Description | |--------|---------|-------------| | extractPinCount(mpn) | int | Number of pins/positions | | extractPitch(mpn) | String | Pitch in mm (e.g., "3.81") | | getFamily(mpn) | String | Family description (e.g., "COMBICON Pluggable") | | getRatedCurrent(mpn) | double | Rated current in Amperes | | isSMD(mpn) | boolean | True if surface mount | | getMountingType(mpn) | String | "SMD" or "THT" | | getConnectorType(mpn) | String | Type code (ST, G, etc.) | | getConnectorTypeDescription(mpn) | String | Human-readable type | | getWireGauge(mpn) | String | Wire gauge in mm2 | | isPluggable(mpn) | boolean | True if separable connector | | isTerminalBlock(mpn) | boolean | True if non-separable |

Usage Examples

PhoenixContactHandler handler = new PhoenixContactHandler();

// Extract specifications
String mpn = "MC 1,5/3-ST-3,81";
int pins = handler.extractPinCount(mpn);           // 3
String pitch = handler.extractPitch(mpn);          // "3.81"
String family = handler.getFamily(mpn);            // "COMBICON Pluggable"
double current = handler.getRatedCurrent(mpn);     // 8.0
String type = handler.getConnectorTypeDescription(mpn);  // "Plug (female)"
boolean pluggable = handler.isPluggable(mpn);      // true

// SMD check
String smtMpn = "PTSM 0,5/3-HH-2,5-SMD";
boolean isSmd = handler.isSMD(smtMpn);             // true
String mounting = handler.getMountingType(smtMpn); // "SMD"

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Replacement Compatibility

The isOfficialReplacement() method determines if two connectors are compatible:

Requirements for compatibility:

1. Same series (e.g., both MC or both MCV)
2. Same pin count
3. Same pitch

Example:

// Compatible - same series, pins, pitch (different variants)
handler.isOfficialReplacement("MC 1,5/3-ST-3,81", "MC 1,5/3-STF-3,81");  // true

// Not compatible - different pitch
handler.isOfficialReplacement("MC 1,5/3-ST-3,81", "MC 1,5/3-ST-5,08");  // false

// Not compatible - different pin count
handler.isOfficialReplacement("MC 1,5/3-ST-3,81", "MC 1,5/4-ST-3,81");  // false

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Wire Gauge Reference

| Gauge (mm2) | AWG Approx | Common Current | |-------------|------------|----------------| | 0.5 | 20 | 6A | | 1.5 | 16 | 8-12A | | 2.5 | 14 | 12-17.5A | | 4.0 | 12 | 20-24A | | 5.0 | 10 | 24-32A | | 6.0 | 10 | 32A |

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Common Applications

Low-Current Signal (0.5-1.5mm2)

• MC/MCV series at 3.81mm pitch
• PTSM for SMD applications
• Control signal wiring

Medium-Current (2.5mm2)

• MSTB/MSTBA series at 5.08mm pitch
• PT push-in terminal blocks
• Motor control, sensors

High-Current (4-6mm2)

• SPT spring-cage connectors
• UK/UT screw terminal blocks
• Power distribution, DIN rail

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Related Files

• Handler: manufacturers/PhoenixContactHandler.java
• Component types: CONNECTOR, IC
• Pattern registry patterns for series: MC, MCV, MSTB, MSTBA, PT, PTSM, SPT, UK, UT, FK-MCP, FRONT-MC, PC

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Learnings & Edge Cases

• Decimal notation: Phoenix Contact uses European notation (comma as decimal separator). Always convert to period for numeric operations: "3,81".replace(",", ".").
• Space vs hyphen: MPNs can use either space or hyphen as separator after series prefix (e.g., "MC 1,5" or "MC-1,5"). The handler patterns accept both.
• Series ordering: When extracting series, check longer prefixes first (FRONT-MC before MC, MSTBA before MSTB, PTSM before PT).
• UK/UT series: These DIN rail terminal blocks don't have pin count in the MPN - the number indicates wire gauge (UK 5 = 5mm2 wire gauge).
• Mating pairs: To select mating connectors, match the series base (MC with MCV, MSTB with MSTBA), keep same pin count and pitch, change connector type (ST to G).
• SMD identification: PTSM series is always SMD; other series may have "-SMD" suffix for surface mount variants.
• Package code format: The handler returns {pins}P-{pitch}mm format (e.g., "3P-3.81mm") which differs from semiconductor package codes - this is intentional for connector identification.
• getSupportedTypes() includes IC: The handler returns Set.of(CONNECTOR, IC) - the IC type is included for completeness but primary use is CONNECTOR.

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