HMI manufacturer using for Rockwell PLC

b.jansen · Jun 16, 2021

Hi Guys,

Question, just out of curiosity, we are busy extending our market from europe to america.
We already deliver small components towards the american market but now we like to start with our big machines.

I'm busy with building the PLC program and HMI interface, and i must say PLC is really easy (we normally use siemens) but i'm struggling a bit with the HMI.

We selected the PV plus 7 performance for now.

Our tech. supplier says american market only wants Rockwell products, but what kind of other HMI manufacturer are also generally accepted?

Weintek?

Any input would be great!

travispedley · Jun 16, 2021

RedLion Graphite, AutomationDirect C-More.
Those are what I generally come across in the field that aren't Panelviews.

Phrog30 · Jun 16, 2021

Rockwell/AB PLCs are great. Their HMIs are garbage.

Which one you pick really depends on the complexity of the project. Ignition is expensive for single client projects, but may be worth the look. Edge is comparable to standalone applications.

spif · Jun 16, 2021

We use Maple HMI products, and I love how you can easily import your Allen-Bradley PLC tags into the Maple.

celichi · Jun 16, 2021

I would not standardize on anything PanelView.

The product line has gone down hill, and I mean in the gutter.

SE running on a PC if you have to stick with Rockwell.

How complicated are your machines? PVP 7 maybe okay for a few screens, but I would seriously consider other products if you have more than 25-30 screens.

If you are in the process world, PlantPAx is pretty decent, although overly complicated for most applications, it is a good starting point to get some sample code and ideas.

I have used maple, the price is good, and the product is decent.

Ask me how long it takes to create an mer file, and download and for the HMI to reboot.

20-25 minutes!!!

gbradley · Jun 16, 2021

Get yourself a Red Lion HMI and play with it.
You'll be glad you did.

roxusa · Jun 16, 2021

I use Weinview which is the company that makes Weintek for USA market, They both use the Weintek software which is free, They actually make The Mapel Systems also along with the software it is just re branded for Maple and the software is change a little. I have converted older Maple System HMI's with the EB8000 software then converted to EB Pro
with the concersion tools to reload into the Newer Weinview/Weintek's
The only trick on them is when you have custom graphic's you need to import them into a liprary preferably a "project library" so it stays attached to the program.

mk42 · Jun 16, 2021

In my experience, people are a lot less picky about the HMI than the PLC. AB PLC is like religion, whereas the AB HMI tends to only be there because they don't know any better.

Depending on how much functionality you need there are tons of brands out there, but I'll mention that if you already use Siemens HMIs, they have decent support for AB PLCs. You could just keep using the same HMIs on your existing machines.

LadderLogic · Jun 16, 2021

I used to think Pro-face was big. Not anymore?

OkiePC · Jun 16, 2021

Another vote for Red Lion. Today, I had a job at a site with a failed EZ-Touch HMI talking Modbus RTU to a RFScada board. I was able to quickly make up a Crimson 3.0 emulated HMI to do my troubleshooting for the 6 necessary tags so we could diagnose what was going on. It took about 30 minutes to get this working through my laptop serial port and when the operator (who was impressed by this capability) gives the thumbs up for me to sell them a new Red Lion HMI, that part of the application is already developed AND tested.

Switching from Painelview to Red Lion is like switching from ColecoVision to PS5.

Red Lion can talk to just about anything, the software is free and runs circles around FctMeView.

kbpatton · Jun 17, 2021

I know a lot of the Auto Manufacturers use Siemens with AB PLCs.

celichi · Jun 17, 2021

LadderLogic said:
I used to think Pro-face was big. Not anymore?

I am not sure, but I hear from distributor, that ignition is taking Rockwell's SCADA market in north america.

How long has 5000 been under development? I remember hearing about the PanelView 5000 > a decade ago.

All the layoffs, and restructuring have consequences.

rdrast · Jun 17, 2021

celichi said:
I am not sure, but I hear from distributor, that ignition is taking Rockwell's SCADA market in north america.

How long has 5000 been under development? I remember hearing about the PanelView 5000 > a decade ago.

All the layoffs, and restructuring have consequences.

Since you can get a decent 12-15" PanelPC, WITH Ignition Edge Preloaded, for basically the same price as a similar HMI terminal nowadays, I've been moving more and more to pure Ignition. Whenever a Rockwell PanelView dies here, even just the backlight going out, I trash it, and put in either a C-More, or a PPC with Ignition/Ignition Edge. The best day of my life, will be when I can trash the Last FTView ME/SE applications here on site!

Phrog30 · Jun 17, 2021

Keep in mind that even though ignition edge may come preloaded you still need to purchase a license.

But, ignition has definitely taken the market away from Rockwell. Rockwell didn't put up much of a fight though. They just watched it happen.

JesperMP · Jun 17, 2021

mk42 said:
Depending on how much functionality you need there are tons of brands out there, but I'll mention that if you already use Siemens HMIs, they have decent support for AB PLCs. You could just keep using the same HMIs on your existing machines.

+1

Not that the PLC programs are trivial, but my experience is that there is a lot more programming effort placed in HMIs nowadays than there used to be.
Lots of graphics, and lots of language adaptations. And, if you are forced to change your HMI design because the new panel works slightly different than the old panel, then bingo you have to update the user manuals - in all the languages.
Given the choice, I would prefer to keep the HMI and change the PLC, rather than the other way around.

HMI manufacturer using for Rockwell PLC

b.jansen

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travispedley

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Phrog30

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spif

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celichi

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gbradley

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roxusa

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mk42

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LadderLogic

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OkiePC

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kbpatton

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celichi

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rdrast

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Phrog30

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JesperMP

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