Industrial computer platform expanded with more computing power

The new MICA versions include the MICA 2, which offers three to five times the computing power of the MICA Basic for demanding data acquisition and processing; the MICA Wireless with 2G/3G/4G, 802.11a/b/g/n and Glonass for data acquisition and communication without cabling; and the MICA Energy, which allows data from current meters and current transformers to be read, compressed and transferred to MES, ERP and Cloud systems.

By integrating the InfluxDB OpenSource time-series database and the Grafana dashboard software, analysis and visualisation can also be performed directly on the MICA. For OEMs, customers, and third-party developers, HARTING also offers MICA kits which can be equipped with customer-specific function boards.

Implementing sensor and data fusion with the MICA can quickly add value, 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 own manufacturing facilities have clearly shown that integrating these applications makes it extremely easy to add other KPIs such as machine running times or asset management of tools using the modular MICA architecture.