Operator Panel on Android Tablet

[marvis]

Hello everyone,

we need to use android tablets that simulate Rockwell's panel views (tablets will be replaced by hmi which are having very long delivery times).

I know, FactoryTalk ViewPoint, but licensing is very expensive and if possible we would like to avoid that expense.

Is there a cheaper way to handle this?
That is to have an operator panel directly on the android tablet that communicates and works with a Rockwell plc?

Thanks.

 

[woolie161]

Hi Marvis,
I am no expert but I have trialled connecting an Android tablet to mimic a Panelview Plus for a client. From memory the runtime file ".mer" needs to be created with Version 8.1 or above. When creating the runtime, there is a box to select that allows a Tablet to access the panelview plus builtin webserver. Both devices need to be on the same network, or IT needs to work their magic. I haven't got FactoryTalk ME open, but the tick box is clearly labeled. I hope this helps.
Woolie

 

[Saffa]

I think the problem is that the OP doesn't have the Panelviews yet, and they are looking for a short term solution using a tablet until these arrive.

I'd cancel the Panelview order... they're junk anyway, and order a copy of Ignition. You can have multiple HTML5 clients connected to the one server with the Perspective module, and i bet you'll get much more out of it in terms of usability and performance.

 

[5618]

If you want to run your PanelView application, you will need a physical PanelView or the runtime license on a PC. I think most PanelViews will do a VNC server you could remote to from a tablet. Even an old one with a broken screen could potentially work as a server. I have not messed with ViewPoint, and the one time I messed with VNC on a PVP7 it seemed a bit flaky. Runtime on a PC should work well with VNC or Remote Desktop.

Depending on the complexity of your application, maybe it would be worthwhile to create a new one, possibly a stripped down basic version until you get your PanelViews. For that, a headless C-More comes to mind. You might like it more than PanelView unless you're really into global objects.

Since you mention Android, a forum member, lfe, has created an Android app I haven't tried yet.

https://www.automationdirect.com/c-more/headless-hmi

https://suppanel.com/index.php/en/

 

[marvis]

Thank you very much for all these precious tips .. I'm going to work tonight! Have a nice day…

 

[Helliana]

You could use Windows based tablets such as a Surface and install Factorytalk View Station ME on them. The hardware is much more expensive and you have to purchase licenses, but it would be a supported solution and you wouldn't need the panelviews at all. You can also use a touchscreen monitor and a windows PC to completely replace the panelviews.

 

[marvis]

Hi, I'm not very familiar with Windows Surface but the same goes for all windows tablets? the problem is working with the full screen of the panel, in the sense that if I install Factory Talk and launch the application being tested, it will only occupy a part of the screen, right?

 

[plvlce]

I would expect the amount of screen space used to depend on the resolution of the application compared to the actual screen resolution.

 

[Helliana]

Hi, I'm not very familiar with Windows Surface but the same goes for all windows tablets? the problem is working with the full screen of the panel, in the sense that if I install Factory Talk and launch the application being tested, it will only occupy a part of the screen, right?

You can set the resolution in the development to be whatever you want if you are compiling a runtime for FTView ME Station. In the menu in FTView Studio where you select the model of panel, you can select "Custom" and then enter the resolution you want. You can also enable and disable the window borders, the minimize/maximize/close buttons, and other options as well. The application does not autoscale, so if the user changes the resolution in Windows after the runtime is created, it will not be fullscreen anymore. In the future, if you want to convert back to Panelview terminal, you can select the correct model in the development file and it should automatically rescale the screens to fit the selected model.


I have used Hope Industrial touchscreens in the past with standard Dell PCs. They had decent delivery times (3-7 days) and prices last time i ordered one, which was about 6 months ago.

 

[marvis]

Thank you very much, I had never thought about increasing and changing the resolution to see the panel full screen, also because we have always worked with Rockwell panels.

I'll take a look at Hope Industrial touchscreen too!

Thanks again!