AutomationTechBrian
Lifetime Supporting Member
Oh boy! Another HMI design possibility just fell in my lap! I'm stuck on one thing, though... I'm not sure what to recommend for input signals/hardware. I'm hoping you guys have some ideas.
They want a HMI that's programmed for recipes. I've been working with the Red Lion HMIs and I'll be looking at using them for this project. The part that I'm not sure about pertains to the inputs that would confirm the correct connections have been made.
Specifically: They have 5 "feed" pipes that can be hooked up to 7 "receiver" pipes in any combination. For instance, the recipe might call out for feed pipe 3 to hook into receiver pipe 6. I've got to come up with a system for that confirmation, and for all permutations.
The first thing that comes to mind is RFID. BUT.... I have no experience with that, other than stopping at the booths at tech shows. Anybody with an opinion on this? It seems to me that there would have to be 5 "readers"... which may or may not be practical.
The second idea would be using a wire that you plug in once the pipe connection is made. (thinking out loud)... not sure the best way to distinguish which feed pipe was hooked to which receiver other than testing each wire connection one at a time. Hmmm...
Any other thoughts??? I've only thought about this for 15 min, but I told the guy I'd get back to him on Monday.
They want a HMI that's programmed for recipes. I've been working with the Red Lion HMIs and I'll be looking at using them for this project. The part that I'm not sure about pertains to the inputs that would confirm the correct connections have been made.
Specifically: They have 5 "feed" pipes that can be hooked up to 7 "receiver" pipes in any combination. For instance, the recipe might call out for feed pipe 3 to hook into receiver pipe 6. I've got to come up with a system for that confirmation, and for all permutations.
The first thing that comes to mind is RFID. BUT.... I have no experience with that, other than stopping at the booths at tech shows. Anybody with an opinion on this? It seems to me that there would have to be 5 "readers"... which may or may not be practical.
The second idea would be using a wire that you plug in once the pipe connection is made. (thinking out loud)... not sure the best way to distinguish which feed pipe was hooked to which receiver other than testing each wire connection one at a time. Hmmm...
Any other thoughts??? I've only thought about this for 15 min, but I told the guy I'd get back to him on Monday.