Fischer Connectors Catalog Scraper

Extract the public Fischer connectors catalog into structured records for engineering research, distributor catalog synchronization, sourcing, and data-pipeline work. The Actor returns public part numbers when exposed, product families, electrical and mechanical specifications, technical-document links, images, and canonical Fischer source URLs.

Use a catalog search, exact part numbers, public Product Finder URLs, connector-type filters, or product-line filters. Results go to the default Apify dataset as integration-ready JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, RSS, or Parquet.

What does this Actor do?

The Actor reads Fischer's public Product Finder and normalizes connector variants into one predictable record per catalog item. It supports:

• browsing the public catalog;
• searching names, descriptions, and part numbers;
• extracting exact product pages;
• selecting exact product lines or connector types;
• limiting output for samples or bounded synchronization jobs;
• retaining the detailed source specification fields in a specifications object;
• linking to public datasheets, STEP archives, drawings, and product images when available.

It does not download binary assets. It returns their public URLs, which keeps runs fast and inexpensive.

Who is it for?

• Electrical and mechanical engineers comparing connector variants.
• Distributor catalog teams synchronizing structured manufacturer data.
• Procurement analysts checking public part numbers and technical attributes.
• Product-information managers building or refreshing PIM records.
• Data engineers feeding public connector metadata into warehouses or change-detection workflows.

Why use it?

Fischer's Product Finder exposes rich fields, but manually copying thousands of connector variants is slow and error-prone. This Actor provides repeatable, typed extraction with pagination, deterministic limits, exact-source links, deduplication, and bounded transient retries. It uses the public structured catalog route directly rather than loading a browser, images, or fonts.

What Fischer connector data can I extract?

Field	Meaning
recordId	Stable source record identifier
partNumber	Public Fischer part number, or null when not exposed
designation	Official product designation
description	Public catalog description
productLine	Connector family or series
seriesSize	Published series size
connectorType	Plug, receptacle, accessory, feedthrough, or related type
inStockAtDistributor	Stock flag exposed by the linked distributor integration
specifications	Available electrical, contact, material, sealing, temperature, vibration, mounting, and other fields
imageUrls	Product, layout, dimensional, and keying images
technicalDocumentUrls	Public datasheet and STEP archive URLs
sourceUrl	Canonical Fischer Product Finder product page
scrapedAt	UTC extraction timestamp

Source records differ by product type. Optional values may be null, and the contents of specifications vary with the fields Fischer publishes for that variant.

How to run the Fischer Connectors Catalog Scraper

1. Open the Actor in Apify Console.
2. Enter a catalog query, exact partNumbers, or public Fischer startUrls.
3. Optionally add product-line or connector-type filters.
4. Set maxItems to the largest number of records you need.
5. Click Start.
6. Open the Dataset tab to review or export results.

A useful first run is:

{
  "query": "MiniMax",
  "maxItems": 10
}

Input parameters

Input	Type	Default	Description
query	string	—	Text search across the public Product Finder catalog
partNumbers	string[]	—	Exact public Fischer part numbers, such as 108464
startUrls	object[]	—	Exact my.fischerconnectors.com/product-finder/product/... URLs
productLines	string[]	—	Exact published product-line names, such as MiniMax™ Series
connectorTypes	string[]	—	Exact types such as Plug, Receptacle, or Accessory
maxItems	integer	100	Maximum records, from 1 through 10,000

When exact URLs or part numbers are supplied, the Actor returns only those products that also satisfy any provided filters. Without an exact-product input, it searches or browses the catalog page by page.

Output example

A real extracted record is shaped like this:

{
  "recordId": "6a22b64f91f473344d277f19",
  "partNumber": "108464",
  "designation": "WSO 105 Z110-130+",
  "description": "Cable Mounted Right-Angle Plug Push-pull",
  "productLine": "Core Series Brass",
  "seriesSize": "105",
  "connectorType": "Plug",
  "inStockAtDistributor": false,
  "specifications": {
    "locking_system": "Push-pull",
    "housing_material": "Brass",
    "sealing_performance": "Up to IP68"
  },
  "imageUrls": [
    "https://fischerconnectors.com/app/uploads/img-pf/CO_BR_MU_LV_WSO.jpg"
  ],
  "technicalDocumentUrls": [
    "https://fischerconnectors.com/app/uploads/img-pf/Fischer_108464-wso-105-z110-130.pdf"
  ],
  "sourceUrl": "https://my.fischerconnectors.com/product-finder/product/108464-wso-105-z110-130",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-08-02T05:04:45.517Z"
}

The complete record can contain many more public fields inside specifications.

How much does it cost to extract Fischer connector catalog records?

The Actor uses pay-per-event pricing:

• $0.0025 once per run for the start event;
• the item event for each saved connector record;
• $0.0018 per item on the BRONZE tier, with lower unit rates on higher tiers.

At the BRONZE rate, 10 records cost approximately $0.0205, 100 cost $0.1825, and 1,000 cost $1.8025, including the run fee. Apify's active pricing tier for your account determines the exact item rate shown before the run.

Failed, rejected, duplicate, and empty records are not charged as items.

Engineering catalog synchronization workflow

For a repeatable catalog feed:

1. Filter to the product family or connector type your catalog supports.
2. Schedule the Actor daily or weekly in Apify.
3. Export the default dataset to your warehouse, spreadsheet, PIM, or object storage.
4. Compare records by recordId or partNumber against the previous successful snapshot.
5. Review changed specifications, documents, and source URLs before publishing downstream.

The Actor produces current snapshots. Snapshot retention and change comparison should be handled by your task, webhook, database, or automation workflow.

Integration ideas

• Populate connector attributes in a product information management system.
• Enrich a bill-of-materials candidate list by exact public part number.
• Build a searchable internal engineering catalog.
• Detect public datasheet or STEP-link changes between scheduled snapshots.
• Export family-specific records to Google Sheets, Airtable, BigQuery, Snowflake, or S3.
• Send a webhook after each successful run to start a downstream validation job.

Run through the Apify API with cURL

curl -X POST \
  "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/automation-lab~fischer-connectors-catalog-scraper/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query":"MiniMax","maxItems":10}'

To wait for completion and return dataset items, use the synchronous dataset endpoint documented in the Apify API reference.

Run with JavaScript

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('automation-lab/fischer-connectors-catalog-scraper').call({
  connectorTypes: ['Receptacle'],
  maxItems: 50,
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

Run with Python

import os
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient(os.environ['APIFY_TOKEN'])
run = client.actor('automation-lab/fischer-connectors-catalog-scraper').call(
    run_input={'partNumbers': ['108464'], 'maxItems': 1}
)
items = client.dataset(run['defaultDatasetId']).list_items().items
print(items)

Use with Apify MCP

Add the Apify MCP server to Claude Code:

claude mcp add --transport http apify \
  "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=automation-lab/fischer-connectors-catalog-scraper"

Claude Desktop: open Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Cursor: open Settings → MCP. VS Code: add the server to your MCP configuration. Use this equivalent JSON:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=automation-lab/fischer-connectors-catalog-scraper"
    }
  }
}

Example prompts:

• “Extract 20 Fischer MiniMax connector records with datasheet and image URLs.”
• “Get the public specification record for Fischer part number 108464.”
• “Build a 50-item feed of Fischer receptacles for catalog review.”

Limits and responsible operation

• The Actor extracts public catalog information and does not log in.
• Maximum output is 10,000 records per run.
• Product and asset availability remains controlled by Fischer Connectors.
• Product families expose different specification keys.
• Search behavior follows the public Product Finder's current matching behavior.
• The Actor does not guarantee stock, compatibility, safety, certification, or suitability for an application.
• Treat technical data as discovery and synchronization input; verify critical decisions against current official documentation and qualified engineering review.

Troubleshooting

Why did my exact part number return no record?

Confirm that the part number is publicly exposed in the current Fischer Product Finder. Some records use a public P identifier or expose a part number only after catalog updates.

Why did a filter return zero records?

productLines and connectorTypes use exact published values. Start with a small unfiltered run, copy the value from its output, and reuse it in the filter.

Why are some fields missing or null?

Fischer publishes different attributes for plugs, receptacles, accessories, feedthroughs, and cable assemblies. The Actor does not invent unavailable values.

Does the Actor download PDFs, images, or STEP files?

No. It returns public links so you can decide which assets to download and store.

Legal and ethical use

Use this Actor only for lawful purposes and in line with Fischer Connectors' terms, applicable database and copyright rules, and Apify's policies. Do not present extracted data as an official endorsement, bypass access controls, or redistribute protected documents without the necessary rights. Minimize collection, respect source availability, keep source attribution, and independently verify safety-critical specifications.

Related automation-lab Actors

• McMaster-Carr Product Scraper for another industrial product-catalog workflow.
• GlobalSpec Industrial Product Scraper for broader industrial product discovery.

FAQ

Can I scrape the full catalog? Yes. Leave the search and exact-product inputs empty, set an appropriate maxItems, and schedule larger snapshots responsibly.

Can I export to CSV or Excel? Yes. Use the Dataset export controls or dataset API after the run.

Can I filter by more detailed specification fields? The current input exposes product line and connector type. Extract a bounded catalog feed and filter detailed specifications downstream.

Are part numbers always present? No. The Actor includes them only when the public source exposes them.

Does it require a proxy? No. The current public structured route works directly, so the Actor does not enable paid proxy traffic.

Does it compare two runs? No. It produces current structured snapshots that can be compared by an Apify Task, webhook consumer, database, or data pipeline.