Any suggestions about putting HMI's in Large Front End Loaders

I am going to be starting a project next month that will include putting a HMI in a large front end loader at the tailend of the project. Have any of you done this before ? Any suggestions ? Was it successful ?

Thanks in advance, and have a great week.

I think it is a great idea.





N.B. What is a front end loader ?

A customer of ours uses iPads on their forklifts. I think they had a FactoryTalk HMI running on a server somewhere in the plant and they ran a remote desktop app on their iPad to access it. It looked pretty slick.

Jesper, a front end loader is a piece of heavy machinery for scooping up stuff: Link

When you said front end loader HMI, this is what came to my mind first:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5OjO8KnZno

Front end loader implies higher than typical vibration and shock loads. Also the potential for wider temperature fluctuation than normally seen by your typical HMI panel.

The information you put on the screens should be no more than necessary. You don't want the operator so focused on the HMI that he drives the rig into a ditch or worse.

OkiePC said:

When you said front end loader HMI, this is what came to my mind first:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5OjO8KnZno

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Thanks Okie. When the video came to the chain dragging part, it had to laugh. It has made my day so far.
That panel looks orc-proof.

The only issue would be vibration, depending on where the panel and screen are mounted.

You will want to check the specifications of the screen you intend to use. You will want to look for something like this:

Shock (operation): 10 to 25Hz(X,Y,Z direction 2G 30minutes)


This is from the spec. sheet for the touch screens we sell.


Hope this helps.


Shalom, and God Bless,

Check out IFM Efector for mobile controls for vehicles, they make several types of HMI displays that are IP67, and vibration/shock/temperature tested. I am putting several on oil rig equipment up here in the far north, -40F, dust, dirt, ect. They also make camera systems that integrate with their controls.

Thanks,

JesperMP said:

Thanks Okie. When the video came to the chain dragging part, it had to laugh. It has made my day so far.
That panel looks orc-proof.

Click to expand...

I only wish they made one with Crimson 3.0 OS, or at least full blown windoze:

http://www.wordmachinery.com/computers.aspx

Is there a good HMI software package for "Rom-Dos" or Windows XP embedded that will run on a 486?

I got that link from someone here years ago, and was showing it to my boss. He said, "That looks just like our PacMac touch screens. We never had one of those fail." Sure enough we have four of those things in service and I didn't even know it.

I worked on a SLC on an automatic tree cutter. It had a 12v panel view 550. Haven't had any problems with it, but probably not the beating a front end loader would give it. I would look for something industrial, and avoid any thing with a mechanical hard drive.

N.B. What is a front end loader ?

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Jesper, it is an industrial vehicle for moving heavy loads (usually granular materials, gravel, sand, dirt, but can be set up for pallets of materials). I owned a front-end track loader (John Deere model 755) for many years. I used it to build roads on my tree farm, and to build a dam for a lake.

One thing I learned the hard way: While driving a JD755, make sure that you want to either scoop up, push down, or run over everything in front of the loader. Because that is what will happen, as the new 6 x 6 main post in the corner of my barn will verify.

I have a customer who has been doing this since about 1990. They are on the 3rd or 4th generation now and currently use the 6" or 8" GEIP QuickPanel View. Some are used locally to display the weight of the product in the bucket and the total put on the truck being loaded, these use a Micro PLC that calculates the weight based on pressure in the lift cylinders, accuracy is within 2%. Others are wireless into a PLC that controls a process being loaded by the operator/driver.

Consider also brightness.

1) will the HMI be used at night ? can its screen brightness be turned down (for reduced glare)
2) will be it used during the day - is it bright enough to be seen in direct sunlight. Some HMI's get hoods over them for this reason.
maybe even tiltable for taller or shorter drivers(?)

Make sure that the HMI screen NEVER blocks the view of the driver. Front loaders can lift the bucket up pretty high (and then run it into the top of something) so just placing the screen in the ceiling of the cab might not be the best answer.

BIG +1 to the poster who said keep it simple - Big text, big buttons, contrasting colors, obvious changes and effects- large safety notices, audio confirmation of button presses(?)

People driving heavy equipment have a few things in common:
1) they break stuff
2) they get distracted
3) they dont need more distractions
4) they'll do 2, 3 or 10 things at once even if they shouldnt.
All due respect to the operators and operating engineers, but IIRC powered equipment accidents are very high up there in workplace accidents- in terms of $$$ and injuries (I know they are at my plant). Plan on multiple rounds of testing and operator feedback.

-John

Johnster said:

Consider also brightness.

-John

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Of the operator or the HMI?
I've seen a lot of both that weren't.
Sorry, I couldn't resist that one.

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned so far is that the DC power from any petroleum fired engine is usually pretty dirty. More so when the starter engages.

As a rule I recommend putting a DC to DC converter in between the battery and the electronics that is being powered as well as installing surge suppression.