What this 8-position Buchanan plug does on the line
The 284506-8 is an 8-position plug from the TE Buchanan series, designed for wire-to-board termination with a 3.50mm pitch. It mates with a fixed header on the PCB, and the free-hanging body lets you route the harness directly to the board edge. The 14-30 AWG wire range covers both power feeds and sensor signals from the same connector.
Side stacking and multi-level routing
Side stacking lets you gang multiple plugs side-by-side on the same header, increasing the effective circuit count without changing pitch. For a dense I/O panel, two 8-position plugs can sit adjacent and share a common header footprint. The single-level design keeps the wire entry at 180° straight into the clamp, which simplifies wire routing in a shallow enclosure. Insulation height is 0.437" (11.10 mm) — enough clearance for the screw clamp mechanism above the board.
Mating and wire preparation checklist
Strip the wire 5-6 mm, insert into the rising cage clamp, and tighten the M2 screw to 0.31 Nm. The clamp grips the conductor directly — no ferrule required, though ferruled stranded wire is accepted. Phosphor bronze contact material provides good spring retention and corrosion resistance.