Harting recently won the German Design Council’s highest category gold on the har-modular® interface, which is a user-configurable modular solution for PCB connectors. Depending on the requirements and intended use in the device, developers can compile the required contacts online in terms of design, number & arrangement and order them from batch size 1. The interface represents an absolutely ground-breaking innovation in this field, saving valuable time for designers while optimising the development of industrial devices. With over one trillion possible combinations, the system offers unlimited freedom for modern device developments.
According to the jury’s statement, "To date, manufacturing batch size 1 in industrial quality still represents a major challenge. This problem now seems to be a thing of the past with har-modular®."
Expressing his views on overcoming the challenges of industry 4.0, Ralf Klein, MD, Harting Electronics, stated, "The challenges of Industry 4.0 can only be mastered with innovation and new solution approaches. har-modular® is precisely such an innovation, where we have also taken a step back, thoroughly grasped the problems developers are faced with, and designed an entirely new modular solution approach. I am proud of the team around the har-modular® and would like to thank all the creative minds at Harting."
The German Innovation Award's top-class and interdisciplinary jury of experts comprises a multifaceted range of expertise, including product design, marketing, computer science, technology history, physics, patent consulting and financial services. "Drawing on this range of expertise, we guarantee an individual, neutral and expert assessment," as Lutz Dietzold, MD, the German Design Council, emphasised. "User-centricity represents a major criterion in the evaluation. It is the distinguishing hallmark of the German Innovation Award," Dietzold went on to comment. "Many companies already involve future users in product and design development at an early stage. Here, they are relying on expedient methods such as 'design thinking' or 'lean start-up' in order to identify genuine customer needs and develop commercially relevant products based on these requirements."
More information about har-modular®: https://www.harting.com/har-modular