DIN Rail Terminal
A DIN rail terminal is a modular connection element clipped side by side onto a DIN rail that organises distribution inside a panel. It can be joined to the neighbouring terminals with a bridge bar to form a common supply or a common chassis bar. It comes in sizes such as 2.5, 4, 6 and 10 mm² according to cross-section class.
The real value of a DIN rail terminal is order: every circuit passes through its own terminal, is labelled and can be isolated on its own. This makes it easier to isolate a circuit both during commissioning and during fault diagnosis.
- Bridging: comb-shaped bridge bars join neighbouring terminals; this way a single supply is distributed to many loads. Remember that the bridge also has a current limit.
- Disconnect type: knife or lift-type terminals open the circuit without removing the cable; they are practical for measurement and insulation testing.
- Fused type: DIN rail terminals carrying a glass fuse holder gather the sub-circuit protection at the distribution point.
In panel design, place the power and signal terminal groups in separate areas, put a partition plate between them and use a different colour for each group. This separation both reduces the risk of a wrong connection and limits power lines coupling noise into the signal terminals.
Context in which this term is used: Installation, redundancy and field continuity