HARTING presents Single Pair Ethernet at Hannover Messe

In addition to clear standards for industrial infrastructure, the production of the future requires ever more intelligent systems and processes. The field of activity ranges from the collection of sensor data, analysis in edge environments or in the cloud, initial results presentation in connection with predictive maintenance, and through to machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI).

AI is ubiquitous. AI is considered the key driving force behind the digital revolution. In the production sector, the technology has now outgrown its infancy. For HARTING, this year's Hannover Messe motto of "Integrated Industry – Industrial Intelligence" means the convergence of human and artificial intelligence into industrial intelligence in order to create added value for customers.

In the factory of the future (Future Factory), different components and products need to be able to communicate with each other and exchange data to enable new services. Standards are therefore needed to facilitate communication.

The HARTING group developed the T1 Industrial connector to meet the demand for an end-to-end communication infrastructure. The company has already used the T1 to define the IEEE connector standard for the Single Pair Ethernet concept to be deployed in the industrial sector. This is an intelligent connectivity solution that better supports miniaturised sensors and actuators.

With specific application scenarios, HARTING demonstrated the example of a working plastic injection moulding machine at Hannover Messe 2019, to demonstrate services such as tool recognition or energy management to achieve increased productivity in connection with energy requirements. Whether cloud-bound or at the edge, HARTING partners and system integrators from the MICA.network were once again represented in Hannover and presented additional applications from a wide variety of industry segments.

Single Pair Ethernet

Generations of network engineers, planners, installers and users have known that Fast Ethernet 10/100 Mbps requires two wire pair cabling and that Gigabit Ethernet requires four wire pairs. The new Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) is now pushing a technology into the market that can transmit these TCP/IP-based data streams via just one pair of wires.

HARTING also supplies the appropriate standardised interfaces for SPE and demonstrated the first series products at Hannover Messe 2019 in order to actively promote the next generation of automation devices.

However, the necessary eco-system also requires partners that actively co-support this development. HARTING wants to market Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) solutions with its technology partner HIROSE, with which the HARTING ix Industrial has already been successfully placed on the market. Likewise, TE Connectivity will co-develop products for the future SPE infrastructure as a cooperation partner.

Small and robust connectors

To ideally achieve all the elements of a modern network, more customised connector solutions are needed to bring power to the edge. HARTING’s contribution is the Han 1A, claimed to be the world’s smallest rectangular connector.

The Han 1A is significantly smaller than the previously smallest rectangular HARTING industrial connector, the Han 3A. Despite its small dimensions, the connector offers powerful solutions for all lifelines in industry. Thanks to the simple "Click & Mate" principle, users also save valuable working time during assembly.

The new interface uses black plastic housings and can be equipped with coloured coding. It requires little space and is very versatile, as it integrates contacts for data, power and signal transmission. In addition, it features a flexible connection technology that offers an optimum solution both for on-site installation — screw contacts — as well as crimp contacts for the pre-assembly of separate units. The combination of few basic elements results in simple and efficient interfaces, eg, for mechanical engineering, automation, robotics, medical, energy and traffic engineering.