Parker Hannifin has come up with a snazzier take on distributed HMIs. The company's patent-pending Interact Xpress Manager allows users to create Web-published HMI applications that use Adobe Flash technology.
“Using Flash is pretty unique in this kind of application,” says James Brashear, a senior software engineer for Parker's Electromechanical Automation Div. “But we like the way it allowed us to display great graphics.” What's more, Flash allows the HMI applications to contain movies, animations and other rich media useful for training and alarming functions.
As part of a distributed system, the kind you might find on very large machines or production lines with multiple HMIs, Interact Xpress Manager supports multiple browser-based client stations at any given time. Each client hosts a separate instance of the same applications, allowing multi-station and even remote support. Application development and support is “versionless,” as it takes place within a Web-browser environment. “It's a good choice for users who want remote access to their HMIs or who want to remotely edit their applications,” says Brashear.
Interact Xpress also goes along with its own line of HMI hardware. Parker's XPR Powerstations are industrially hardened HMI stations specifically designed to run the company's Interact Xpress' Flash-based software. These units include a “headless,” or no-display, model that provides remote Web access to an existing control panel, as well as self-contained models with TFT displays up to 15 inches. All of the units are designed to operate in 0 to 50C ambient temperatures with NEMA 4/4x sealing on all the display units.
Andrew Morris designed a circuit that could detect a stroke victim's groan and convert the sound into a signal so caregivers would know when help was needed.
New disc magnet motors fit into the design trend of stepping up to closed loop performance while maintaining the cost advantage of stepper motor technology.
At the Design News webinar on June 27, learn all about aluminum extrusion: designing the right shape so it costs the least, is simplest to manufacture, and best fits the application's structural requirements.
On April 21, NASA launched a novel project, putting into orbit three satellites that employ an off-the-shelf commercial smartphone as the control system.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
AUTOMATION
0 
