PanelView 550

Howdy just a quick question on the PV-550. I am looking to install a PV in a Control Station for Operator input, here is the catch, temp around 100 F external, 85 ish internal to control cabinet, external dust, daily X 3 washdowns of floors, and vaporized (minimal) phos-acid from the production process, what I am looking for is DURABILITY and EASE of use for a GLOVED operator, USE KEYBOARD ONLY WITH TOUCH DISABLED FOR A BACK-UP in case a key is damaged, will the anti-glare sheets prevent scratching of LCD, if so how DURABLE (to maintain correct number of spares) are they. I have seen the PV and did the demo routine (fully functional for the process) now it is just a matter of WILL IT LAST. READY SET "LEARN"

Operating Temperature 0 to 55° C (32 to 131° F)

Storage Temperature -20 to -85° C (-4 to 188° F) -25 to 70° C (-13 to 158° F)

Humidity 5 to 95% (without condensation)

@ 0 to 55°C (32 to 131° F) 5 to 95% (without condensation)

@ 0 to 30°C (32 to 86° F)

Ratings NEMA Type 12, 13, 4X (indoor only), IP54, IP65
Certifications cUL certified, UL Listed, CE marked for all applicable directives; North American Hazardous Locations Class I Div 2 Groups A, B, C, D CSA Certified, UL Listed, CE marked for all applicable directives; North American Hazardous Locations Class I, Division 2, Groups A, B, C, D, Demko pending

The specs say it should, I have worked in environments with even harsher conditions then those stated, have seen PV's fail and some last and last and last.

The last place I worked we had some panelviews close to some ovens and they worked fine. To keep the flour dust ot of them and the sanitation crew from hosing them down we put up some lexan covers, hinged at the top, over them. Then if you had to get to the panelview all you had to do was lift up the window.
As far as the gloves that may be a problem if they are bulky golves. The operator may have a hard time getting the correct button pushed.
We have great service out of them. Though they do tend to burn out those very expensive light bulbs about 1 per year. Even with the screen saver enabled.

Steve

We have a PV 550 in one of our fill/close rooms. It is installed as the OIT for the capper. The capper has a 1/2" steam line attached to provide vacuum under the lid so the ambient temperture and humidity is very high in the area of the PV 550. The capper was installed over 5 years ago and the line is subject to washdown and harsh chemicals just as you describe. The only protection that the PV 550 has during washdown is the sanitation crew places a trash can liner over the PV enclosure while they are using high pressuse hoses (@800psi) in the room. I would think that the PV 550 will be okay in the application that you are considering.

The PV550 has three weak points; the touchscreen, the gasket, and the backlight (let the debate on the graphical editor begin !).

Drop it on the floor and hit the corner, and you're up to four weaknesses... the bezel has a tendency to crack when dropped more than 4 or 5 feet.

I've gashed resistive touchscreen PanelView 600's (dragged demo across the floor on it's face) to the point where a curl of the outer layer of the screen peeled off and the screen still worked. The touchscreens are durable, but I'd go with a Keypad Only; the keypads are nearly indestructible. Don't bother with the expensive A-B "glare protectors"; get a roll of ordinary transparent contact paper and apply it to a clean screen with a kitchen squeegee.

The gasket is neoprene, so it will withstand most acids very well (including phosphoric); it's weaknesses are carbon tetrachloride and xylene (heck, Carbon Tet is one of my weaknesses, along with beer and redheads). I use acetone to clean my PV screens, I just don't slop it on the gasket. You'd need concentrated solvent to damage the screen; industrial "graffiti remover" is a good way to ruin a PanelView.

There's some good news on those horrid little high-intensity lamps and brittle fiber optic bundles; they're gone ! The new hardware for the PV550's are "Blue Mode"; they have a blue tint to their LCD and use a LED backlight. They run cooler, and the backlight is supposed to be dang near eternal.

I've been using the anti-glare covers on a PV900 for the last year, we have a lot of acid fumes and oxide residue, haven't had a problem yet clean it and go.

"There's some good news on those horrid little high-intensity lamps and brittle fiber optic bundles; they're gone ! The new hardware for the PV550's are "Blue Mode"; they have a blue tint to their LCD and use a LED backlight. They run cooler, and the backlight is supposed to be dang near eternal."


This is great news! I've stopped using these for just that reason. Now to just prevent the mounting screws from pulling out.

M.A. Bell