Harting adds three MICA options to increase application possibilities
Three models have been added to the MICA industrial computer range by Harting. At this week’s Hannover Fair, the company announced new models for the universal modular platform to capture data, process it at the machine level, and exchange it wired or wirelessly.
The introductions are the MICA 2, the MICA Wireless and the MICA Energy. MICA 2 offers three to five times the computing power of Harting’s MICA Basic for demanding data acquisition and processing. The MICA Wireless has 2G/3G/4G, 802.11a/b/g/n and Glonass for data acquisition and communication without cabling. The third addition, the MICA Energy, allows data from current meters and current transformers to be read, compressed and transferred to MES, ERP and Cloud systems.
Analysis and visualisation can be performed directly on the MICA, explains Harting, by integrating the InfluxDB OpenSource time-series database and the Grafana dashboard software. OEMs, customers, and third-party developers, can use Harting’s MICA kits, equipped with customer-specific function boards.
Implementing sensor and data fusion with the MICA can quickly add value, explains Harting, particularly in the production of circuit boards and other manufacturing and quality-assurance processes. For example, with a combination of RFID tags on circuit boards fitted with energy, compressed air and optical sensors, a production line can be monitored, production steps can be correlated with energy consumption at any time, and data for predictive maintenance can be collected and pre-processed.
Initial trial runs at Harting’s manufacturing facilities have shown that integrating these applications help customers add other key performance indicators, such as machine running times or asset management of tools using the modular MICA architecture.
The Harting Group develops, manufactures and distributes electrical and electronic connectors, network components, pre-assembled system cables, and backplane assemblies able to withstand the harshest demands in industrial environments and provide high data rates for electronic applications.
Harting connectors and network components are used in mechanical engineering and plant manufacturing, in automation systems, energy generation and distribution, and in electronic and telecommunication markets, together with industrial connectors vital in construction machinery, rail vehicles and shipbuilding. Harting offers Ethernet network components and cable systems for both indoor and outdoor networking applications involving power and data.
