Recommendations for HMI

Hi, I was wanting to reach out to the community and get some feedback on some recommendations for HMIs. I have been using EZautomation and C-mores from automation direct due to their low price and functionality. However, we have been having some backlight failures after 3-4 years of operation. I wanted to know if anyone had some recommendations for HMIs with longer backlights and are more economical than say an AB panelview plus. Any feedback is appreciated. Jason

To further clarify, I am looking for a simple HMI, not a computer, that enables users to press buttons, see status points, and enter in setpoints. Predominantly in the water/wastewater field. I do not require datalogging, do require either serial or ethernet communications, and would like good graphics with a symbol library similar to the C-more panels. More than anything, I am looking for recommendations on the backlight. Municipal water treatment operators are worse than children when their HMI's stop working. Thanks

Welcome to the forum Jason.

Take a look at Redlion controls. The G3 and Graphite series are very powerful and flexible, and the Crimson 3 software is free. A large number of forum members use them and you can find lots of threads here about them.

I've worked with both the C-more panels and the Redlion panels. I much prefer the Redlion products, they are significantly more powerful while being competitively priced.

AB panelview plus
or Component Panelview is a low end Costing panelview under 500.00
and ethernet

Redlion WOW the price-point isn't good at all #3,000 geesh

Rockwell Component Panelview under $700

Ive had them in the Field for 4 Years now Never a Issue at all

Jason, you should confirm this with Red Lion, but I was told recently that they have switched to LED backlighting on all their panels. It would seem to me that this would make backlight burnouts a non-issue. (I have experienced a few CCFL backlight failures on their older panels.)

CrashBeta said:

Redlion WOW the price-point isn't good at all #3,000 geesh

Rockwell Component Panelview under $700

Ive had them in the Field for 4 Years now Never a Issue at all

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Wow, a Panelview Component 15" for under $700.00! Where can I get them?

Since you priced a Redlion G315 (15") you must have priced a 15" Panelview.

I have to put in my 2 cents about PC based HMI software....

When your proprietary hardware HMI fails, you better have a spare or your machine may be down for days. If your PC based hardware fails, grab any computer available to keep your machine running.

When your proprietary hardware becomes obsolete and no longer available, it's typically time to redevelop for a new platform. If you PC based HMI hardware becomes obsolete, just find another PC based hardware platform and put the same software on it.

If your machine outgrows the capabilities of your proprietary HMI hardware, it's time to buy new hardware. If your PC based HMI isn't fit for the job, just find a different software package and run on the same PC hardware.

You can find panel mount PC based hardware with Windows 7 starting at about $1000 and PC based HMI software starting at $0

Archie said:

I have to put in my 2 cents about PC based HMI software....

When your proprietary hardware HMI fails, you better have a spare or your machine may be down for days. If your PC based hardware fails, grab any computer available to keep your machine running.

When your proprietary hardware becomes obsolete and no longer available, it's typically time to redevelop for a new platform. If you PC based HMI hardware becomes obsolete, just find another PC based hardware platform and put the same software on it.

If your machine outgrows the capabilities of your proprietary HMI hardware, it's time to buy new hardware. If your PC based HMI isn't fit for the job, just find a different software package and run on the same PC hardware.

You can find panel mount PC based hardware with Windows 7 starting at about $1000 and PC based HMI software starting at $0

Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip, that makes a lot of sense.

Jason Burnett said:

Thanks for the tip, that makes a lot of sense.

Click to expand...

If I may offer a counter-point. I have designed many systems that use both (at the same time) PC Based HMIs and Dedicated HMIs.

If you choose a reputable vendor (such as Redlion) a replacement is usually on the shelf and can be had the next day. Of course, a spare on the shelf is smart if you have a large enough installed base.

As long as you have a backup of the configuration, the HMI can be back online within 2 minutes of receipt (not including opening the package and installing it in the control panel.) If you don't have a backup, you probably don't have a backup of the PC Based HMI either.

All I can say is that I challenge you to *install* the PC Based HMI software on the new computer that you have sitting around in 2 minutes. After that you have to restore the configuration.

I rather like to think of the two different options as simply that - options. In my case I use them for different purposes and that is why I quite often have both. However, our philosophy is that on critical equipment, we would rather have the stand alone HMI that is not PC based due to how easy and quick they are to replace.

CrashBeta said:

Redlion WOW the price-point isn't good at all #3,000 geesh

Rockwell Component Panelview under $700

Ive had them in the Field for 4 Years now Never a Issue at all

Click to expand...

You can get a 10" Red Lion for almost half that price.
In addition to that, I invite Jason to take a look at the reviews for Crimson 3 (free software for Red Lion) and the ones for the software you have to use for the Panelview Component. You will be comparing one of the best HMI softwares available vs one that makes the design process slow and has lots of bugs.

Elcan said:

You can get a 10" Red Lion for almost half that price.
In addition to that, I invite Jason to take a look at the reviews for Crimson 3 (free software for Red Lion) and the ones for the software you have to use for the Panelview Component. You will be comparing one of the best HMI softwares available vs one that makes the design process slow and has lots of bugs.

Click to expand...

And if you compare apples to apples, I bet price isn't *really* an issue. Certainly not if you take the software price (and lack of support renewals) into account.

Jason,

We distribute a line of HMIs from KEP.

Feel free to look at the specs. I didn't see where you mentioned a screen size, so the link is to the HMI home page of our web site.

http://www.eternity-sales.com/KEP/MMI8000.htm

Feel free to pm or email me through the link below if you have any questions.

JHarbin said:

All I can say is that I challenge you to *install* the PC Based HMI software on the new computer that you have sitting around in 2 minutes. After that you have to restore the configuration.

Click to expand...

2 minutes to have a machine back running with a failed PC based HMI is not unreasonable at all. Based on the assumption that you develop on a laptop (I would guess the majority does now), boot up time at about 60 seconds, log on time 10 seconds, starting HMI application in about 15 seconds for a total of less than 1:30. You now have the machine back running with an HMI while the permanent fix is being sorted out.