The HARTING Technology Group, headquartered in Espelkamp, Germany, is one of the largest manufacturers of connectors worldwide. The company develops innovative products for the areas of solar and wind energy, electromobility, hydrogen production, and robotics, thus making an important contribution to a sustainable energy future.
An important partner on this journey is Rösler Surface Technology, which has been supporting HARTING with reliable machines and first-class service for over 30 years. This long-standing collaboration with the surface specialist was also the reason for the decision to rely on a proven system concept from Rösler at the new HARTING plant in Hai Duong, Vietnam.
In mid-2023, HARTING opened a production facility in the Southeast Asian country, where both small plastic connectors and heavy aluminum connectors are manufactured. The production is carried out under the motto 'In the region for the region' for the Asia-Pacific region. To efficiently process the so-called heavy connectors in the new plant with the usual quality, HARTING invested in a new mass finishing system from Rösler. This technology is already successfully used at other locations, including Germany and China.
Philipp Borcherding, Plant Manager of HARTING Vietnam, emphasizes: 'The very good business relationships with Rösler and the trust in their machines convinced us to make this investment.'
Different aluminum connectors for a variety of industries
Connectors are essential for the efficient functioning of electronic systems in almost all industries, including automotive, telecommunications, and the green energy sector. The Vietnam plant is intended to meet the high demand in the growing Southeast Asian market and ensure direct supply to customers on-site. The heavy connectors processed in the Rösler system primarily supply the markets in Japan and Korea, specifically the robotics sector, allowing Rösler to also participate in this rapidly growing future market with its technologies.
HARTING has specialized in the production of aluminum connectors at this location. The housings are initially produced using die-casting and then mechanically processed, with threads being milled and holes drilled. The cooling and lubricants used necessitate subsequent cleaning of the parts, which is carried out in the Rösler system in parallel with surface processing and edge deburring. This process step prepares the workpieces for a subsequent powder coating process that serves to protect against corrosion and surface damage. The size of the processed connector housings varies from 60 x 40 x 30 millimeters to 220 x 140 x 60 millimeters, and depending on the workpiece size, up to 1,500 parts can be processed per batch.
Proven multi-stage production process for best results
The system integration from Rösler consists of six units: Workpiece boxes are transported to the feeder via a roller conveyor using a tipping device and fed onto the conveyor belt. There, the operator selects the appropriate processing program depending on the size and geometry of the component. Subsequently, the connector housings are automatically dosed from the conveyor belt into a vibratory bowl and deburred and degreased in one process step. After the defined processing time, the machine begins the automatic emptying of the vibratory bowl, and a mesh screen separates the parts from the grinding medium. Subsequently, these are sprayed with a water-compound mixture on a vibratory washing machine and cleaned with separated process water before being dried in an automatic through-drying system. After that, the parts are transported via a conveyor belt into the customer’s transport containers. With few exceptions, such as the selection of the processing program, the process runs completely without the support of operating personnel.
To keep noise emissions for the workers as low as possible, the entire system is housed in a soundproof cabin that is almost 13 meters long and 3.7 meters wide. An intelligent process water cleaning system rounds off the unit: A semi-automatic basket centrifuge Z800 for separating the solids from the process water is also integrated into the system integration. The post-treatment of the processed process liquid takes place in a vacuum evaporator. Both occupational safety and ecological aspects are usually not a topic among competitors or at comparable production sites in the Southeast Asian region, allowing Rösler and HARTING to set entirely new impulses in the region together.
Since the processing process was transferred from the five identical Rösler systems that HARTING already has in operation, no reassessment was necessary. Only a few minor adjustments were made, and the transitions between the individual elements of the system were adapted. 'We developed this process together with HARTING and continuously optimized it so that it can be integrated as best as possible into the company’s production conditions and deliver the best processing results that meet our customer’s high standards,' says Matthias Ender, Technical Sales Manager at Rösler.
Strong partnership with future options
The mass finishing system was put into operation at the end of 2024 and currently processes around 300,000 to 400,000 aluminum connectors per year. 'We are more than satisfied with the system. The entire handling concept, the high degree of automation that Rösler offers, and the durable and robust construction of the system continue to impress us. Just like the many features regarding occupational safety and, of course, the quality of the parts, which is significantly better than the usual standard in Asia,' explains Philipp Borcherding from HARTING. 'The technical sophistication of the Rösler system is also excellent and works reliably.'
With the system, HARTING is also relying on European know-how and the proven partnership with Rösler in the Southeast Asian market. 'We have had only good experiences with Rösler over the decades and know that we can rely 100% not only on the systems but also on Rösler's worldwide service,' Borcherding continues. 'Given the enormous dynamics with which the Southeast Asian region is currently growing, we at HARTING are very interested in a consistent and continuous development of the Vietnam location. We will, of course, involve Rösler as a strategic partner in this development.'
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