Europe | March 26, 2019

PFISTERER wins Golden Amper 2019 for FrontCon

PFISTERER was awarded the Golden Amper for FrontCon, its innovative connection and contacting technology for quickly and safely joining single-strand insulated power cables.

 

Germany, Winterbach – At Amper 2019, the international electrotechnics and electronics trade fair in Brno, Czech Republic, PFISTERER was awarded the Golden Amper for FrontCon, its innovative connection and contacting technology for quickly and safely joining single-strand insulated power cables.

High-voltage power cables increasingly utilise single-strand insulated conductor designs that significantly reduce skin and proximity effects, enabling more power transmission with the same cross-section. But this conductor structure complicates the cable connection process, because connecting single-strand insulated cables is a time-consuming task that works only to a limited extent. PFISTERER therefore takes a new frontal approach with FrontCon. Unlike the conventional solution, FrontCon is installed directly on the end of the cable – no work is required on the individual strands. Instead, specially developed contact balls make contact with the front faces of the individual strands. Together, these balls behave like a liquid. They compensate for slight unevenness at the conductor end, and ensure that the same contact forces are applied across the whole conductor cross-section. This enables a very short and compact contact system for all voltage levels and conductor cross-sections up to 2,500 mm².

Installation time is greatly reduced, taking only around two hours – not longer than for conventional cables. FrontCon is available as a connection technology for CONNEX cable connectors and IXOSIL terminations, as well as for cable connections in MSA joints and type-tested with specific cables. The contact system can be adapted for any fittings, enabling reliable and cost-effective solutions in cable systems.

Source: PFISTERER