Insulation Piercing Connector – Working Principle & Types

In 2023 India lost 15% of its generated electricity to technical and commercial losses. Power theft is a major component of this loss.

No wonder the debt of the power distribution sector in India rose to Rs 70,000 crore in the Financial year 2023.

But there’s a smart fix to this problem – the AB Cable System and its hardware like insulation piercing connectors. This system has made electricity distribution safer, and more reliable, and reduced power theft significantly. Let’s take a closer look at how these Insulation Piercing Connectors work.

In this blog, we will discuss Insulation Piercing Connectors. By the end of this blog, you will understand:

What is an Insulation Piercing Connector?
It’s Applications
Different types available in the market

What Is An Insulation Piercing Connector?

Also known as IPC, an Insulation Piercing Connector is a type of electrical connector that pierces the insulation of a cable, creating a conductive path with the conductor inside.

These Insulation Piercing Connectors are used in all AB Cable and other insulated cable systems. They create tap connections that can extend the line, distribute the line, connect to streetlights or connect to households.

These connectors come with a water-resistant design that seals the connection, guarding against water penetration.

Low-quality Insulation Piercing Connector allows water to enter the cable, and this can cause issues like short circuits and metal corrosion that will compromise the entire electrical system for a town.

Additionally, the connectors are designed to eliminate the need for insulation stripping. This makes the installation process quicker than in traditional bare conductors. This feature also reduces the likelihood of tampering or theft.

How Do They Prevent Theft?

Thieves steal electricity by stripping the cable’s plastic cover and hooking wires to the metal lines inside. This is very easy to do with traditional bare conductors, because there wasn’t even any insulation to strip.

AB Cable systems and Insulation Piercing Connectors are different. The metal cable stays fully covered by its plastic jacket. Insulation Piercing Connector simply pierces through the jacket to reach the metal lines, without uncovering them.

After piercing, the Insulation Piercing Connector covers and seals the hole, due to which the metal lines stay hidden under the plastic cover along the whole cable. Trying to uncover the lines anywhere else is very difficult without special tools. Only utility workers with proper tools can access these metal lines safely. This doesn’t even give the thieves the opportunity to reach the metal conductor

In simple words, IPCs make lives difficult for thieves.

Talk to our engineers!

How Do IPCs Actually Work?

On the top, the shear head bolt and nut tightly secure the connector assembly, ensuring it remains fastened for a reliable long-lasting connection.
The upper body’s entire section serves as a guiding path to pierce the XLPE or PVC insulation of the conductor. It makes sure the desired current flows from main line to the tap line.
These green and pink waterproof sealing bands create a moisture-resistant barrier right at the piercing point, preventing water ingress that could compromise the connection.
The connecting blades also known as busbars are the sharp, metallic tips that actually pierce through the cable’s insulation to make metal-to-metal contact with the inner conductive wires, for a for the smooth flow of electricity.
The lower body portion provides stability for the connecting blade tips.
At the bottom, there is a bolt that gets tightened to clamp the connector securely onto the cable, eliminating any potential loosening over time.
Lastly, the end cap covers the termination point after the connector is installed.

Key Applications

These connectors replace the junction box and T-connection box in traditional wiring methods. Both of these boxes required cutting into the main insulated cable, stripping wire insulation and joining conductors together, which was a more labour-intensive process as compared to using Insulation Piercing Connectors.

Whereas in the case of IPCs, there is no need to cut off the main cable during construction, branches can be made at any position of the cable, and no special treatment is required for wires and clips, making the operation simple and fast.

Compared with the conventional wiring method, the procedures of stripping the insulating layer, rinsing tin, crimping the terminals, and insulating wrapping are also eliminated, which reduces the environmental pollution that was unavoidable in the conventional method.

Hence, you will find these connectors installed in places like:

Low-voltage insulated wire T connection
Building power distribution system T connection
Street light distribution system and common cable field branch
Underground grid insulated cable connection
Branch connection of insulated cables (In 1kV distribution system)
Overhead Low Voltage Insulated Cable Connection

Types Of IPCs

There are different types of Insulation Piercing Connectors for different applications, let’s focus on the major ones used in Aerial Bundled Cable:

1. IPCs used in Street Light Connections:

These IPCs are generally used to tap the main AB Cable and connect it to a service line those powers streetlights or other applications.

2. The Multi-Tap Connection Type:

Also known as multiport connectors or satellite connectors, these IPCs are used to tap the main AB Cable and bring power to households. It is called Multiport because a one-tap connection from the main line can be used to bring connections to multiple households.

3. Distribution Box Charging Connection:

These IPCs are used to tap the main AB Cable Line to charge Low Voltage Distribution Boxes, which are further connected to different applications such as residential connections and street lights.

4. Jumper Connection Type:

These IPCs connect cables of the same size. They allow making T-shaped connections where the cable bends at a 90-degree angle.

I hope you now have a clear understanding of Insulation Piercing Connectors; it’s working and available types. There are more types, however, these 4 are among the prominent ones. At Axis, we manufacture more than 50,000 IPCs daily, our accessories have been used in various rural electrification projects in India, Africa and many other countries.