Easy HMI alternative to FT View SE(local station)

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone has experience of using an HMI that is easier to use and interface with a CONTROLOGIX PLC.


I have alot more experience with Rs Designer Studio 5000, but much less with FT VIEW SE, so I am trying to find something that will be much easier & faster to generate some Screens/Trending/Datalogging on a Local Desktop attached to the COntrol network.


Any advise would be super, Im way behind schedule on the HMI and need to produce the ASAP.
THanks

Ignition hands down

+1 Ignition.
For a stand-alone station, you can look at Ignition Edge for a very cost effective solution.

I guess it depends what you are after. Ignition is great and I use it all the time but it is somewhat costly for a single station hmi.



I have a couple of customers that use Infilink HMI and the pricing is reasonable and it comes with a kepware driver of your choice. It seems pretty stable. If you are looking for something basic and similar to a standalone intouch scada system, I would recommend it.

diat150 said:

I guess it depends what you are after. Ignition is great and I use it all the time but it is somewhat costly for a single station hmi.

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Compared to SE? I really don't think so, especially if you need Historian.
Ignition has a one client license for $1600ish. I think the runtime for ME is close to $1000, SE is more as far as I recall, plus you need development software on top.

Just realized he posted two identical posts:
http://www.plctalk.net/qanda/showthread.php?t=125829

What is "easy" depends very a great deal on your experience and the support available to you.

One of the best features that FactoryTalk View has is close integration with the controllers and the Studio 5000 software via FactoryTalk Linx. You can rapidly and easily browse the tag database in the *.ACD file or live in the controller, and that often makes a huge difference in development and performance.

When I build single-seat HMIs, I reach for Indusoft Web Studio. The graphics are suitable for what I need, the alarming and history features are straightforward, the pricing and licensing are flexible and reliable. While it's not the flavor of the month, VBScript remains flexible and useful for scripting and extensibility.

Ignition is probably the best overall SCADA software, but for my IT environment and extensibility needs, its reliance on Java is a deal-breaker. And it's best for widely distributed systems, less for single-seat stuff.

You'll surely get folks popping in suggesting PeakHMI or AdvancedHMI or their favorite SCADA package from the heavy hitters (Wonderware, Citect, etc). All are worth talking about, but only you know your skill and experience.

Ken, I have found that Ignition's raw tag browsing is much, MUCH faster than anything in FTView. Ignition also monitors the processors for tag changes, so things are available immediately.



With Version 8 and up, the runtime engine is built in, so no external java installation is required on the clients.

rdrast said:

+1 Ignition.
For a stand-alone station, you can look at Ignition Edge for a very cost effective solution.

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Yeah, right! It's used to be, now no longer! They used to offer UA server component as free one, now they are charging for it as well.

BachPhi said:

Yeah, right! It's used to be, now no longer! They used to offer UA server component as free one, now they are charging for it as well.

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They aren’t charging for UA.

Phrog30 said:

They aren’t charging for UA.

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The proof is in the pudding!

EasyBuilderPRO with a Weintek for stand alone every time for me!

BachPhi said:

The proof is in the pudding!

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Yep, the pudding says no charge. To your point, if that’s the only module you want it’s not free. Why would that be all you want?

+1 Ignition for a 5th or 6th opinion. Once you use it you will honestly rarely look back (unless your customer insists on something different)

Thanks for all the input, looks like Ignition might be my best bet. I saw in the options cost posting there is a "Modbus RTU" driver addon, I have several Modbus RTU communicating Chillers... Would that be easy to use that driver to pull in all their status info?