FactoryTalk ME vs Indusoft?

[arlenjacobs]

Last week we shipped a machine with an Indusoft runtime PC to a customer. Our field engineer flew out this weekend. Tight schedule, but everything's OK, the machine all arrived intact.

Except for the IWS license USB hardkey, which I found in my office this morning when they told me it was missing from the HMI PC.

Oh, s***.

See now, if you compare that to a PanelView Plus then the PVP is better.
It needs no activation, ever, and that never expires.

If you compare that to FactoryTalk View ME Station running on a PC, then that would be comparable to the IWS activation. Either a USB stick or file activation needs to be transferred; both are a hassle to me.

Are there features in one that are not in another? Is one easier to use, and why?

A PanelView Plus can be maintained by most electricians, without IT involvement.
Anything running on a PC is usually maintained by IT, or at least with heavy oversight.

There will be some to disagree, but I have found replacing a PanelView Plus to be much easier, have less downtime, and need fewer specialized skills when compared to a PC with software.
(really, that goes for any HMI compared to a PC)

 

[Ken Roach]

Neat to find that OnTop displays finally have global connections and screen numbers in v8.

But to solve the general problem of wanting to both write a tag and open a display with a single button, I have to resort to Parameter Files and a Macro ActiveX.

As I said, in IWS, this is two lines in the Button properties. I find IWS to be far more flexible and powerful than FTView ME.

I agree that PV+ is typically more robust and easier to replace when the unit fails than any PC-based HMI. And they're hard to kill: I have very seldom seen a failed one that was not burned, shattered, or drowned.

 

[ganutenator]

One of these days, one of these days, I may finally catch Ken being wrong about about some shyt.

 

[arlenjacobs]

One of these days, one of these days, I may finally catch Ken being wrong about about some shyt.

If you do, buy a lottery ticket that day.