Worst HMI Ever

[grnick50]

For years I believed that Siemens Simatic Basic panels where the worst panels ever with no reason to exist.
That was until I was forced to work with an Allen Bradley C1000 panel.
OMG!! This is even worse than anything else!
Why do companies like AB & Siemens even bother with the low end HMI market! I thing these products are a stain in their catalogs!
There are plenty of cheap HMIs out there that one could buy in a low price with better functionality than the above mentioned panels.

I will never use them again.

 

[bkottaras]

Is AB pushing hard in Greece Nick?
Last I heard of from a friend (working for an OEM) was that they offer ultra copempetitive pricing to capture a share of the market.
How is the local support?

 

[ASF]

The AB rep brought the component series HMI's in to show them to me. As soon as they walked out, I turned to my boss and said "I don't care how cheap they are, do NOT, EVER quote one of those on a job and expect me to program it".

He's listened so far. Any by all accounts I've heard from the poor suckers who've ended up using them, I'm glad he did.

 

[jstolaruk]

They are pretty "clunky/slow" to work with but for a cheap display I've had to use/program worse. C400 is be the biggest I go, smaller than that's its a step up from a 2-line display.

 

[harryting]

I bet you haven't done a HMI that required block transfer/write.

 

[jstolaruk]

I have and it wasn't that long ago either. Multiplexing pages because it didn't fit in the transfer was quite the pain; I'll take the Panelview Component first.

 

[rta53]

We have used some of the PV Component HMIs and I don't like them either. There is a new series coming out called the PanelView 800 that is supposed to supplant the Component. I have not seen one but my local AB rep implied that they are a big improvement. The PV800 is supposed to integrate well with the Micro800 controller series.

 

[Kelkoon]

Have you tried the new Siemens Basic Panels (second generation)? Its screen is much better and It's possible to create a log in a USB Stick.

Best regards,
Kelkoon

 

[GTUnit]

I like Advantech panels. Affordable, good software, lots of features, easy to use.
And they look decent. Don't have that AD cheap feel.
Beijer is very good but the learning curve is very steep.