HMI Factory-Floor Visualization Products

The company offers OpenHMI with Windows CE, a line of human machine interface (HMI) factory-floor visualization products for manufacturing and process control systems. In addition to Windows CE operating software, the products are equipped with flash drives. Windows CE was specially developed for use with non-rotating flash drives to provide ruggedness and stability against plant-floor vibration, moisture, and shock hazards- protection not available with rotating hard drives.

The line of products enables operators, engineers, and maintenance personnel to see the process on the factory floor and analyze machine performance. The products are bundled with the company's DesignStudio and OpenHMI runtime software. By offering these bundles with one point of contact for sales, support, and service, the products simplify the task of integrating open automation.

Because the system is built on open, PC-based computing technology rather than on a proprietary operating system, users have flexibility to determine their own mix of tools for development and runtime. This open environment includes development tools such as "C" and Visual Basic, application tools such as Windows Excel, Word, and CAD, and a standard suite of communications tools. Users can add audio and visual machine set-up, as well as troubleshooting and maintenance diagnostics.

The company's line of 3400 Industrial Workstations serve as the base for the Series 3400 OpenHMI. This product line is available with a 5.9 in. to 12.1 in. color display, and is available with a keypad and/or touchscreen. Keypads have 39 to 63 positions with up to 20 relegendable function keys. Hitachi or AMD processors are available up to 133 MHz. Ethernet is built into the units (10/100 BaseT on most units). The displays have up to two modules for PC/104 expansion. Enclosure options include NEMA 4/4X/12 front panel or UL Class 1, Division 2 HAZLOC.

The system integrates the plant floor directly into the enterprise, effectively eliminating programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and other gateways in a cost-effective manner. Leveraging available commercial PC technology to industrial applications brings innovation and cost savings to the plant floor. For example, taking advantage of Windows CE and flash drives not only helps PCs face the rigors of the plant floor, it also increases data storage capabilities- exponentially decreasing the price per MB of storage. And, because Windows CE is already widely used in consumer products, the company is able to leverage that technology to generate a new, lower price point for open HMI technology.

OpenHMI is a natural link for integrating manufacturing systems to the rest of the enterprise because it eliminates the networking or dissimilar operating systems and databases. It flattens the architecture, eliminates gateways, and enables data flow across the enterprise. Enterprise systems and plant-floor systems can communicate seamlessly. Information about management, finance, engineering and plant-floor processes, as well as information about logistics, inventory, suppliers, customers, and distributors is accessible from one overarching system.

Xycom Automation, Inc., 750 N. Maple Rd., Saline, MI 48176-1292. Tel: 734-429-4971. Fax: 734-429-1010.