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Operator Interface Resource Center

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Controls engineers need a variety of information on topics such as display terminals, HMI software, industrial PCs, alarm & annunciation, data acquisition and touchscreens.

Display terminals provide varying levels of operator interface from simple panel meters and text messages to graphical representations of entire processes by use of various types of HMI software.

Industrial PCs are ruggedized versions of PC technology that are suitable for industrial environments, largely by eliminating moving parts and providing more-protective enclosures.

Touchscreens are an alternative to keyboard or pointing device data entry, working well with graphical operator interface software, and providing prompt response to machine alarms.

Timely news, back-to-basics primers, feature articles, technical white papers and descriptions of the latest products all provide valuable insights that can be used in designing and building machine controls.

White Papers: In Depth Research

Evolution in Motion
Author: Omron
Posted: 12/02/2011
The Machine Automation Controller (MAC) Meets Market Needs More Effectively than Previous Controller Solutions

To paraphrase Albert Einstein, the opportunity for development is directly related to the potential for value. This is particularly relevant to technological development, where market forces establish need and value, and then science and engineering are applied to meet them.

Case in point: Look at the use of machine control hardware for automation. During the past 50 years there has been a powerful and dramatic development of controllers: Distributed Control Systems (DCS), Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), Industrial PCs (IPC), and Programmable Automation Controllers (PAC).

The explosion of industrial applications continues to challenge the functionality of those controllers, fostering further innovation. The need to combine the capabilities of traditional process/discrete industrial control has led to adaptations or extensions of existing technology. The efforts to evolve resulted in underperforming machine automation due to limitations in architecture and a lack of cross-discipline expertise.

Today we see the emergence of a new controller type: a Machine Automation Controller (MAC). A MAC resolves the integration of control technologies without sacrificing performance. Only after painstaking development from the ground up--specifically for high-speed, multi-axis motion control, vision, and logic--has the MAC emerged. Let's revisit how this point was reached.

Is Cloud Computing Right for You?
Author: IDC Manufacturing
Posted: 10/03/2011
Drawing on the manufacturing-specific responses from a broad IDC survey, this report details the trends surrounding cloud computing in the industry. The report looks at adoption rates, important characteristics, and business benefits and how those factors will impact manufacturing IT budgets in the next two years.

In our 2011 predictions for manufacturing, we discussed the growing business need for dealing with complexity. We noted that survey work indicated that CEOs wanted to "capitalize on" complexity rather than simply reduce it. This wording provided a nuanced but important distinction between unnecessary complication or waste that must be eliminated and the unavoidable complexity of sophisticated products produced in elongated supply networks and sold into global markets. The impact of complexity was further magnified by the volatility of macroeconomic conditions, raw material costs, and consumer confidence.

Capitalizing on complexity in a volatile context requires sufficient information and adept analysis - normally good news for IT investment. However, manufacturing IT organizations established an excellent track record of improving IT productivity in the decade from 2000 to 2009, when IT spending as a percentage of revenue improved some 25%. So the need for new IT capabilities in the complex context is couched in an expectation that productivity improvements will continue. And cloud computing is the most important productivity platform for the next decade.

Five Myths of Cloud Computing
Author: HP
Posted: 10/03/2011
In recent years, cloud computing has been as visible as any topic in IT. Its front-page news status has been accelerated by Amazon, Salesforce.com, Yahoo, and Microsoft, among other firms aggressively vying for leadership in providing cloud infrastructure or services. However, this race for mindshare has obscured cloud computing facts. Many admit to the haze surrounding cloud computing.

This white paper separates fact from fiction, reality from myth, and, in doing so, will aide senior IT executives as they make decisions around cloud computing. While dispelling cloud computing myths, we will answer tough questions: How hard is it to adopt a private or hybrid cloud? How difficult is it to maintain and secure a cloud? How will the cloud transform my business? Do I have the right skill sets in place? What are some of my cost considerations? HP is committing extensive resources to helping customers with all of their questions and concerns around cloud computing.

So, where did cloud come from?

A Web Broker Architecture for Remote Access
Author: eWON SA, Francis Vander Ghinst, Head of Sales & Marketing Ops
Posted: 10/29/2010
A simple and cost-effective way to remotely maintain and service industrial machinery worldwide.

Providing industrial remote access systems for machine builders and OEMs has become a critical requirement for enterprises, often making the difference between companies that are successful and those that are not. Regardless of whether maintenance engineers work in the office or at home, they need easy and seamless access to machines and industrial assets in order to do their job, which primarily involves remote maintenance.

In the early 1990s, there were only limited options for worldwide access to machines and industrial assets. A modem communicating via the public switched telephone network was the prevalent option. Unfortunately, this required making long-distance calls, and the available throughput was so low that it was difficult to service machines in practice. As the Internet grew, it provided an opportunity for free or public long distance communication for remote access. Now combined with cellular technologies that provide wireless communication or DSL based technologies, this offers the market new communication media for accessing devices. However, DSL based technologies require installing a dedicated line to the machine location, while cellular technologies requires that wireless receivers are available in the vicinity of the machine providing adequate coverage for good communication.

An alternative approach is for machine builders to utilize the network infrastructure of their customers, assuming that the customer’s machine can be connected to the Internet via a LAN connection point. This is the preferred way to access the machine, since it provides the lowest-cost connection, high throughput, and almost no deployment effort on the media side. Using Internet implies the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) to ensure secure IP connections. Using a LAN connection point requires the integration of these VPNs into the corporate LANs of the machine builders' customers.

With a remote access turnkey system approach, the machine builder must assume responsibility for the integration activities and will probably need to collaborate with the customer's IT staff in order to perform the integration. Although this is a viable approach, it has some drawbacks. For instance, each customer may require a different VPN configuration, which increases the complexity of the integration process and extends the installation and commissioning period, which of course impacts the cost of the machine installation.

It is therefore important to choose technologies which allow the installation cost to be kept to a reasonable level by minimizing the integration factor as much as possible.

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