3M Joins CC-Link Partner Association Board of Directors to Accelerate Wire-saving Connector Development

3M recently accepted an invitation to join Digital Electronics Corp., IDEC Corp., NEC Corp., Mitsubishi Electric Corp., and COGNEX Corp. on the CC-Link Partner Association’s (CLPA) board of directors effective May 12, 2010. CLPA is one of the world’s leading open control networking organizations promoting CC-link, the market leader of factory-automation networking technology in Asia that is also gaining acceptance in North America and Europe.

CC-Link reduces wiring and automation system costs while enabling multiple field devices to communicate to each other and to automation controllers over a single cable. For many years, 3M has contributed to CLPA as a member company, making important contributions in the specification and promotion of the CC-Link products that help to increase production efficiency.

3M has developed several families of wire-saving connectors for the factory-automation market, based on insulation displacement contact (IDC) technology developed by 3M in the 1950s. These connectors use IDC technology to terminate to both flat ribbon and discrete wire cables and do not require special tooling in order to achieve a quality and reliable termination. The result is an installation process that does not create material debris or waste and potentially saves labor relative to traditional interconnect wire termination alternatives.

“As a diversified technology company, 3M brings considerable experience in the design and development of connectivity and wiring systems to the CLPA board of directors," said Mitsuaki Tanaka, CLPA Director. “As a regular member of CLPA for many years, 3M helped formulate specifications. We welcome 3M to our board of directors in this 10th anniversary of the founding of CLPA and look forward to working together.”

Several 3M connectors approved by CLPA already play an essential role as factory-automation industrial equipment interfaces: the Power Clamp Connector from 3M is the CLPA approved connector for CC-Link; the Link Connector from 3M is the CLPA standard connector for CC-Link/LT, and the Mini-Clamp Connector from 3M is widely used as the sensor connection interface for the remote I/O devices for CC-Link and CC-Link/LT.

As a member of the CLPA Board, 3M will work with Digital Electronics, IDEC, NEC, Mitsubishi Electric and COGNEX to provide guidance on standards and specifications for CC-Link-compatible connectors and cables. 3M will also continue to develop connectors and cables for the next generation network, CC-Link IE.

3M Electronic Solutions Division

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