Red Lion Graphite Series?

Elcan · Jul 1, 2013

Hello all (in particular Red Lion folks),
On the Red Lion website there's a new Crimson 3 Build (573.001).
The description reads: Added support for Graphite HMI series.

Is "Graphite" a new Red Lion series or just another HMI brand?

Thank you!

Ken Roach · Jul 1, 2013

Interesting ! There's a link to 'Graphite' panels on the Red Lion Products website, but the link goes nowhere.

It would be a lot like Red Lion to come out with a totally new and exciting product line and not advertise it. They're great at a lot of things: Marketing is not one of them.

Elcan · Jul 1, 2013

So now we know there is (or there will be) a Graphite Red Lion series.
I don't know about the new hardware, but if they keep using the old fashioned graphic objects in Crimson, it won't make a big difference for me.

JHarbin · Jul 1, 2013

Elcan said:
Hello all (in particular Red Lion folks),
On the Red Lion website there's a new Crimson 3 Build (573.001).
The description reads: Added support for Graphite HMI series.

Is "Graphite" a new Red Lion series or just another HMI brand?

Thank you!

According to Redlion it is a new line that they will be releasing later this month. It doesn't have Softkeys and has some sort of modules that can be added to the back of the unit. I didn't press my source on this but I don't think it is a secret.

diat150 · Jul 1, 2013

I saw a demo unit and it looked pretty nice. a big plus not having those stupid buttons on it.

I was surprised I didnt see anything about it on here.

JHarbin · Jul 1, 2013

diat150 said:
I saw a demo unit and it looked pretty nice. a big plus not having those stupid buttons on it.

I was surprised I didnt see anything about it on here.

I guess I'm the only one who likes the buttons, but I do - especially the Menu Button.

robertkjonesjr · Jul 1, 2013

I think they accidentally posted some info on the website over the weekend; this rings a bell as I perusing the site. Looking through my web cache I can't see much, but google picked up some of them:

G07 :: RED LION CONTROLS ::
www.redlion.net › ... › Human Machine Interface › Operator Interface‎
G07 :: 7" WVGA 800 x 480 LCD color touch screen; Indoor and Outdoor Models Available; Protocol Conversion Feature Converts Numerous Protocols ...

there are other models - I guess they will be the 'G' series?

G07
G09
G10
G12
G15
G303
G306
G308
G310
G315
G304K2
G307K2

The google cache feature seems to fail me now so the info does not appear to be around anymore. I guess we have to wait until the end of the month...

diat150 · Jul 1, 2013

JHarbin said:
I guess I'm the only one who likes the buttons, but I do - especially the Menu Button.

I guess my issue with the buttons was that you had to identify them, which defeated the point of having the button because you could have just built your own button on the screen. not to mention, put it anywhere on the screen that you wanted,

ggc · Jul 2, 2013

google search turned up a password protected PPT for a redlion distributor's meeting, but the cached version is freely viewable, so I think it's fair to say the information is now freely available. Looks like the following:
7" Display Models, Wide Screen
Indoor, WVGA (800 x 480)
Outdoor, WVGA (800 x480)
9" Display Model, Wide Screen
Indoor, WVGA (800 x 480)
10" Display Models
Indoor, VGA (640 x 480)
Outdoor, VGA (640 x 480)
High Resolution, SVGA (800 x 600)
12" Display Model, Wide Screen
Indoor, WXGA (1280 x 800)
15" Display Models
Indoor, XGA (1024 x 768)

Power – Currently 24 VDC, 12 VDC models to come
Temperature – Currently 0 to 50˚, working towards -20 to 60˚
Cast aluminum construction with NEMA 4X front panel
Reduced footprint and easier to install
Complete serial port isolation
Agency approvals will come; UL Listed, UL Hazardous, ATEX, ABS – others will be considered
Crimson 3 compatible
add-on modules
Eight versions of PID Modules
Four Output Analog Module
Six Input RTD Module
Eight Input TC Module
Eight Input DC Current Module
Eight Input DC Voltage Module
Eight Input, Six Output Digital Module
Four Input Universal Module

JHarbin · Jul 2, 2013

Elcan said:
It seems that Crimson 3 will show the same old fashioned graphic objects, like the one I'm attaching for the gauge...

Build your own, it isn't that hard...

Edit - the gauge would be a little difficult to build on your own, but many of the others can be built from existing graphics elements.

I just never use the gauge and it doesn't bother me that it isn't "fancy". I never use other people's fancy ones either.

Elcan · Jul 2, 2013

It seems that Crimson 3 will show the same old fashioned graphic objects, like the one I'm attaching for the gauge...

Elcan · Jul 2, 2013

JHarbin said:
Build your own, it isn't that hard...

Could you share a picture of how your gauges look like?
Are your gauges easy to use? I mean, can you easily change the scale and renumber all the numbers within, for example?

JHarbin · Jul 2, 2013

Elcan said:
Could you share a picture of how your gauges look like?
Are your gauges easy to use? I mean, can you easily change the scale and renumber all the number within, for example?

Sorry, see my edited post. I misread yours and without the graphic I didn't catch my mistake.

However, do you *really* need a gauge? If so and could prove that having one would allow you to sell X number of G3xx displays, I bet they would build one for you that met your specs.

Elcan · Jul 2, 2013

JHarbin said:
However, do you *really* need a gauge? If so and could prove that having one would allow you to sell X number of G3xx displays, I bet they would build one for you that met your specs.

I don't sell HMIs directly. I use them for control panels. I only have control over which HMI brand I use, not over the number of HMIs I use.
I don't need nice graphics. My screens can do the job with ugly graphics too. Actually, I just display the number for Amps (for example), I don't use their gauge (too way ugly for me). In a very few specific cases I've created my own gauges, but they are not that pretty and its a pain to adapt to a different scale.

Going back to the "need", if you have nice looking screens on your HMI, you system looks "smarter", doesn't it? It's just eye candy, but it surely makes your job shine a little more.
Some customers of us (a few of them, for now) have been asking for more appealing graphics. I think they are comparing the Crimson screens to some of the SCADA system around.

Going back to the gauge, how hard can it be for the Red Lion engineers to create nice graphics? I've been playing with the Advanced HMI software, and the graphics are very nice, the gauge in particular.

Let me make it clear. I'm a big Red Lion fan. Crimson 3 is far superior than any other HMI software I know. Except for the graphics.

JHarbin · Jul 2, 2013

Elcan said:
I don't sell HMIs directly. I use them for control panels. I only have control over which HMI brand I use, not over the number of HMIs I use.
I don't need nice graphics. My screens can do the job with ugly graphics too. Actually, I just display the number for Amps (for example), I don't use their gauge (too way ugly for me). In a very few specific cases I've created my own gauges, but they are not that pretty and its a pain to adapt to a different scale.

Going back to the "need", if you have nice looking screens on your HMI, you system looks "smarter", doesn't it? It's just eye candy, but it surely makes your job shine a little more.
Some customers of us (a few of them, for now) have been asking for more appealing graphics. I think they are comparing the Crimson screens to some of the SCADA system around.

Going back to the gauge, how hard can it be for the Red Lion engineers to create nice graphics? I've been playing with the Advanced HMI software, and the graphics are very nice, the gauge in particular.

Let me make it clear. I'm a big Red Lion fan. Crimson 3 is far superior than any other HMI software I know. Except for the graphics.

I program both standalone HMIs and PC based SCADAs. I don't expect the same level of capability in the former as I get in the latter. That includes graphics as well as data storage, etc.

That said, I have been very pleased with the graphics available in the Redlion Crimson 3.0 series. Yes, there are some holdovers from Crimson 2.0 (and probably 1.0) that aren't all that pretty and it would be nice to see them updated.

The tradeoff is that someone who has Device A from Manufacturer Y sure would like to have a driver to communicate with Device A. So he would rather have his driver rather than a new gauge. You would rather have the gauge than the driver because you never use Device A in your projects.

Every business has to make decisions based on bang for the buck (or buck from the bang)

Redlion reads these threads and I am sure they have heard your complaint. Who knows, maybe they will go back and work on their legacy primitives.

Red Lion Graphite Series?

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