Rockwell Logix Plant PAx and Other HMI's

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen.

I was wondering what the alternatives are to ME Station.

Can I use something like Ignition or Indusoft and still use AOI's and one tag?

Sorry if this is a stupid question, just wondering if I can get around paying $5k for a 10 inch (640x480) touch screen with CE PC with ~ 20 megs of usable memory for a mer.

Thanks,

Paul

I would say yes, but you will have to create the graphics/displays/faceplates for the new platform yourself.

Thanks for the reply.

Not worried about the work upfront to build a library for my needs.

The Rockwell PanelViews are expensive for what you get inside (processor, memory, screen res).

I find the Rockwell Pax code written with an "interesting" style, not easily understood at first glance.

I also find the Plant PAx objects are huge because they have to meet the world's needs, I don't need all the options, just a basic set for IO, and devices and a few Equipment Modules.

I would do away with the AOI in an AOI, and just build in the features I need (Interlocks, RT, Per missives, Mode and Alarms in one AOI with no nesting.

I am not a fan of using Alias Tagging either.

If you don't need all the things that the Pax AOIs do and don't like the cost associated with panelviews, and you are comfortable building your own library, I would build both the PLC and the HMI libraries. Maybe use the Pax objects as a base to get started?

I am comfortable building the Library.

Been doing process for 20 years, so I have a good idea of what the operator needs vs management.

Back to the original question, do other HMI software options, that can run on a PC, support the AOI, one tag, Direct tagging with the parent tag and all the children under it.

Global Objects with Global Parameter definition and tagging.

Does AdvancedHMI fit the bill? Those features may not be built-in, but they could certainly be coded easily enough.

I should have mentioned that the software required 21CFR11 operator Audit Trail capabilities.

celichi said:

I am comfortable building the Library.

Been doing process for 20 years, so I have a good idea of what the operator needs vs management.

Back to the original question, do other HMI software options, that can run on a PC, support the AOI, one tag, Direct tagging with the parent tag and all the children under it.

Global Objects with Global Parameter definition and tagging.

Click to expand...

Ignition does. When you browse the OPC, and drag a UDT/AOI tag to the tag library, all the children come with it. Caveat, you have to be online with the PLC to do so, as it doesn't have an offline browse of an ACD. However, you can also create your own UDT tag types on Ignition side, pass a single parameter to the type to identify the root tag, and then quickly create multiples of this tag in the tag DB. It's very powerful.

Thanks, I am downloading the demo, will see how quickly I can build a basic faceplate and then repeat.

I know they support 21CFR11.

I found this on another forum a while back.



I'm not sure how advanced it is, but maybe it's worth looking into it and avoid reinventing the wheel.



https://www.reddit.com/r/PLC/comments/fc032q/ignition_faceplatesgraphics_for_plantpax_aois/

celichi said:

Can I use something like Ignition or Indusoft and still use AOI's and one tag?

Click to expand...

Absolutely. My favorite of the two you mentioned is Ignition. But, you should look at Indusoft, which is now Aveva Edge. I've never tried, but apparently Aveva can convert FactoryTrash ME/SE. This could save quite a bit of time. My issue with Aveva is software cost, they charge for development and in my experience the runtime licenses are more than Ignition.