Panel Wiring Terminal Selection: TE Buchanan 282861-2
The TE Connectivity Buchanan 282861-2 is a 2-position PCB-mount terminal block from the Buchanan series, designed for fixed-wire power distribution on a board. The 7.62 mm pitch gives enough clearance between adjacent circuits for the 300 V rating and for routing traces between the pins — it is a wider pitch than the 5.08 mm or 3.81 mm blocks used for signal-level wiring. The 24 A per-circuit rating means this block is sized for power feeds, not signal lines — think AC mains input, DC bus distribution, or motor-drive power stages on the PCB. The screw rising cage clamp termination accepts wire from 12 AWG down to 30 AWG, covering the full range from a 4 mm² power feed to a signal-level sense wire on the same terminal.
Termination and Assembly: Screw Rising Cage Clamp
The 282861-2 terminates wire via a screw-driven rising cage clamp. The M3 screw, torqued to 0.79 Nm (7.0 Lb-In), lifts the brass-nickel-plated cage against the conductor — the wire is clamped between the cage and the tin-plated brass contact pad. This design pulls the wire into the clamp body as the screw tightens, giving a gas-tight connection on solid or stranded wire. The through-hole mounting pins are soldered into the board; the interlocking side feature allows multiple blocks to be ganged together without a separate jumper bar, maintaining the 7.62 mm pitch across adjacent positions.