HMI solution designed to cut replacement, upgrade costs

A new HMI solution from CCS-Inc. and strategic partner InduSoft is said to significantly reduce the cost of replacing or upgrading proprietary products, according to the developers.

By Control Engineering Staff June 10, 2004

ClearView HMI workstations from CCS-Inc. provide a cost- and time-saving turnkey solution.

A new HMI solution from CCS-Inc . and strategic partner InduSoft is said to significantly reduce the cost of replacing or upgrading proprietary products, according to the developers. ClearView is a turnkey product designed to replace Rockwell Automation PanelView stations with new technology that automatically converts existing applications to run in the new environment. S

ystem integrators, OEMs, and machine builders using ClearView can import existing PanelBuilder applications running on PanelView stations, convert the screens to run on a PC-based device running Microsoft Windows, and view the screens over the Internet or an intranet using a standard browser. Conversions include transfer of data tags, attributes, and graphics. During the conversion, new and old systems can run in parallel to save downtime.

ClearView consists of an industrial flat-panel PC and HMI products that come in almost any size, coupled with InduSoft’s Web Studio product and Import tool for PanelBuilder. It runs under Windows NT, 2000, XP, CE, and CE .Net and conforms to industry standards, such as .Net, OPC, DDE, ODBC, and XML. Users can retain original controls, while adding functionality to the existing system, including Web-based control and mobile computing.

Responding to the competitors’ introduction and claims, Rockwell Automation’s Clark Kromenaker, PanelView product manager, said; “We’re flattered, as this news demonstrates the kind of success the PanelView operator interface terminals have enjoyed. However, Rockwell Automation has already developed and introduced numerous HMI solutions that allow PanelView users to leverage their investments on newer and more advanced Rockwell Automation technology platforms, including PanelView Plus terminals and Ver-saView CE industrial computers, RSView Development Studio, and RSView Machine Edition.

“None of the Rockwell Automation PanelView Standard products is obsolete,” Kromenaker continued. “We are committed to continued development and support for all our PanelView products. HMI is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. For some of our customers, the Panel-View solution is more than appropriate for their needs. For others, we have helped them develop migration strategies to our new PanelView Plus lines, using the tools we have developed specifically for PanelView to make migrations virtually seamless.”

For more on these products, visit the CCS-Inc ., InduSoft , and Rockwell Automation Web sites.

—Jeanine Katzel, senior editor, Control Engineering, jkatzel@reedbusiness.com