A building block kit, a cup win and a vision

In 2021 we will notch up the triple win - for the third time our innovative spirit will be honoured by the coveted German Innovation Award. Read my blog contribution on the individualized har-modular? connector and find out how an invention becomes an innovation.

Have you ever asked yourself why some developments, despite their ingenuity, do not succeed, while other, seemingly ordinary and prosaic everyday things have revolutionised our world? And what actually defines success?

An invention can rightly be called successful

• if it sells well,
• solves a pressing problem or two or
• facilitates daily work for a lot of people.

Most of the time, sales are related to the other two points. When engineers, inventors and tinkerers have created something genuinely great that has become a massive success in the past, three points have usually played an important role: Innovation, passion and zeitgeist.

Innovative and above all revolutionary ways of solving a problem in an entirely new way has always fascinated people. Then there is passion. A mere idea does not necessarily become a success. You have to be on fire for it, believe in it and not give it up lightly as soon as obstacles cast their shadows on the horizon. And then you have to have a feeling for the right moment in time. Because there is nothing more disappointing than a good invention that lags behind its time or is even centuries ahead. It simply does not meet the problems and the zeitgeist of people in the here and now. Just think of Leonardo Da Vinci's drawings of flying machines. Visionary, but way too far ahead of their time.

We are confronted with these challenges in the development of electrical connectors, day in, day out. Because anyone who thinks that the transmission of electrical current is a simple matter that can be accomplished in a manageable number of ways and with different types of connectors is mistaken. The variety of sizes, shapes, areas of application and general conditions is simply incalculable.

And the HARTING Technology Group is already contributing to this diversity. Assuming that we only have one single series, with which we have been the market leader for several decades - there will already be several hundred variants. This familiar quantity is known under the name DIN 41612. It is, so to speak, the driving force among the interfaces that connect the PCBs within devices. In order to meet all the conceivable numbers, arrangements and geometric requirements of different devices, our developers have come up with new variants time and time again in the course of the years. With success. We are the DIN 41612 market leader. So what’s next?

The building block kit

You can rest on your laurels. But that’s not us.

Instead, we asked ourselves what alternatives we could offer in future to a catalogue in which customers had to pick the right solution out of hundreds of options. The solution was both simple and complex at the same time. Customers will simply build their own connectors. To do this, break down the familiar DIN strip into many small individual modules, add a few new ideas for fastening and securely connecting the modular components and the har-modular? construction kit with over a trillion possible combinations is up and ready to run. Power, signals and data, the lifelines of industry, can be arranged and connected in any optional order.

Drawing on an online configurator, customers with special wishes can now simply pick and choose and assemble THEIR connectors. Without unused contacts or wasted space, because no previous catalogue solution was able to fit the bill to 100 percent. For someone who doesn't have to deal much with connectors, this would appear to be a rather ordinary matter. But for developers, however, it is a daily chore and a nerve-racking process to arrange all the necessary small parts on a PCB in the device. With the advent of har-modular?, we are making valuable development work a lot easier for these clever minds. And this is obviously going down well.

The Cup Win

As the name suggests, the German Innovation Award honours innovations from a wide variety of fields. From special designs of a bathtub, to sunscreen lotion that doesn't stick, to a modular interface for industrial devices – the award acknowledges outstanding achievements. This is also the case with our har-modular? that took the special Gold award in the category for industrial solutions on top. Besides all the positive feedback from our customers, this award is a terrific recognition and confirmation of our work. An innovative idea that has been implemented with passion and is ready for our users – just at the right time.

At this point, I would like to personally thank all the clever minds, masterminds and driving forces at the HARTING Technology Group. The har-modular? is your big hit, with which we have once again been able to set a new milestone in the industrial arena.

For my part, this project is confirmation that we are on the right course.

The vision

Genuine innovations in technology development do not happen for their own sake. They must always have a goal, solve a problem, as mentioned, or make life easier. Only then is a technological development truly valuable and will succeed. In developing the har-modular, we reminded ourselves of these aspirations and claims.

The world is turning faster and in industry, engineers are facing ever shorter cycles for the development of new solutions. So the pressure is on the rise. The completely new approach to solution configuration, individually controlled by customers, brings our corporate vision to life:

"We want to shape the future with technologies for people".

Here is a solution developed entirely from a new point of view that offers the clever minds of this world more freedom, makes life easier and saves time - time for the really important things.

So step out of your accustomed environment every now and then and look at your business model, your solution and your way of thinking from the outside. And then, be brave and honest with yourself. If there is something you can fundamentally shake up and transform to make it better: Go ahead and do it! That's where innovations come from.

Some helpful links

Now that I've talked about the importance of innovation and about HARTING har-modular? in particular, I wouldn't want to miss to share some links for further information with you.

• More information about the HARTING har-modular?
• HARTING har-modular? in the HARTING eShop
• Information about the All for PCB connectivity