IKA Hotplate & Overhead Stirrer — MCP Server

Let an AI agent heat and stir with IKA hotplate stirrers (C-MAG HS control, IKA Plate / RCT digital) and drive IKA overhead stirrers (EUROSTAR control) through IKA's documented NAMUR interface commands: read plate, probe and medium temperatures, speed and torque; set and start heating and stirring; wait for a temperature; and arm the hotplate's hardware watchdog so it switches itself off if the computer stops talking to it.

Try it without hardware

uvx labmcp-ika --simulate --check
uvx labmcp-ika --simulate --option device=overhead --check   # EUROSTAR simulator

Connect your stirrer

1. Cable: USB A–B (the stirrer appears as a virtual COM port; on Windows install IKA's USB driver, linked in the manual) or the 9-pin RS-232 PC 1.1 cable. No setting on the device is needed. The interface is fixed at 9600 baud, 7 data bits, even parity, 1 stop bit, no flow control, and every command ends with a blank + CR LF.
2. Find the port: uvx labmcp ports
3. Test the connection:
   bash

   uvx labmcp-ika --address /dev/ttyACM0 --check                          # Linux, hotplate
   uvx labmcp-ika --address /dev/tty.usbmodem14101 --check                # macOS
   uvx labmcp-ika --address COM5 --check                                  # Windows
   uvx labmcp-ika --address COM6 --option device=overhead --check         # EUROSTAR
   

   --check prints the name the device reports (IN_NAME).

Add to your MCP client

Claude Code

claude mcp add ika -- uvx labmcp-ika --address /dev/ttyACM0 --limit max_temperature_c=120

Claude Desktop / Cursor / Windsurf (claude_desktop_config.json, .cursor/mcp.json, …)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ika": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["labmcp-ika", "--address", "/dev/ttyACM0", "--limit", "max_temperature_c=120"]
    }
  }
}

Add --read-only to allow monitoring only (the stop tools stay available). For other clients: uvx labmcp config ika-stirrer --address /dev/ttyACM0 --client vscode.

Tools

Safety limits

Override at launch, e.g. --limit max_temperature_c=250 --limit max_speed_rpm=1500. On top of these, the hotplate refuses setpoints above its own safety-circuit temperature (set with the screwdriver dial on the device, read with IN_SP_3), and overhead stirrers refuse speeds above the speed limit set in the device menu (IN_SP_6); the server checks both before sending.

Example prompts

• "Heat the round-bottom flask to 65 °C using the external probe, stir at 400 rpm, and tell me when it has been stable for a minute."
• "Arm the watchdog with 60 s, then start heating to 80 °C. I'm leaving it running overnight."
• "Log the medium temperature every 30 s while it cools down and tell me when it is below 30 °C."
• "Ramp the EUROSTAR up to 300 rpm and report the torque; the mixture is getting viscous."
• "Something smells wrong, stop everything now."

Notes

• Two device types. The default is --option device=hotplate. Overhead stirrers need --option device=overhead; they have no heater, report their PT1000 probe on IN_PV_3 and torque on IN_PV_5. Tools that don't apply to the configured type return a clear error and send nothing.
• No state query for the heater. The NAMUR set has no "is the heater on?" command, so get_status reports the last start/stop this server sent (heating_commanded, stirring_commanded) and None when unknown. The front-panel buttons can change it without the server knowing.
• Setpoints are read back after set_temperature / set_speed (IN_SP_1 / IN_SP_4), and a warning is returned if the device reports a different value.
• Watchdog (hotplates, OUT_WD1@m / OUT_WD2@m, 20–1500 s): enable_watchdog arms it and the server re-sends the command in the background every quarter of the watchdog time. If the server or the computer dies or the cable is pulled, the hotplate switches heating and stirring off (mode 1) or falls back to the safety temperature and speed (mode 2). Stopping or reconnecting the server also stops the refresh, so the watchdog trips. Mode 1 has no documented cancel command; mode 2 is cancelled with OUT_WD2@0. The manual's watchdog error codes differ between sections (ER 2 vs Err. 1/Err. 2); a trip is visible on the display, not over the interface.
• Unverified reply layout. The IKA manuals document the commands but not the exact reply line. The driver takes the first number on the line (devices are reported to append the channel, e.g. 25.3 2), so both forms work. The value reported by IN_PV_1 when no external probe is plugged in is not documented; ignore external_temperature_c if you have no probe.
• The IKA manuals print the terminator as "Blank CR LF (hex 0x20 0x0d 0x20 0x0A)"; the extra 0x20 contradicts the text ("Blank CR LF") and is treated as a typo, so the server sends 0x20 0x0D 0x0A.
• Not implemented: SET_MODE_n (changes the power-on operating mode A/B/D, a persistent setting) and RESET; overhead-stirrer torque/speed-limit writes (OUT_SP_5/6/8) and direction change (OUT_MODE_n).

Hardware verification