Good day to all.

I was given a preprogrammed Panelview Plus 600 by Allan Bradley. This comes in a machine produced on the other side of the world. A slight application change occured in which a second HMI is required. The problem is that the S/W for this is greatly expensive as is the HMI. Also the delivery is too long. I have access to Schneider, Panasonic GT series HMI's as well as Unitronix's Vision line. I think that my first step is to verify compatibility. In this case, I need to know if the communication is compatible, which it is and to know whether the register bits are in the same range. How can I find out compatibility and testing without overspending?

Thanks,
Yari.

 

Yari,
It won't matter which other brand you use as long as it is able to
communicate with your PLC, which you have not mentioned, but you will need to program the HMI from scratch as there really isn't any way to import projects from others. I have used the Schneider Magelis screens a few times with various AB PLC's using DF1 serial or Ethernet. The HMI supplier should have the details on which PLC's, networks and protocols are supported for AB.

Trevor.

 

I would bet the hardware cost of a comparable HMI is not much different than the AB unit.

Just how did you plan to maintain this machine without the HMI software or a spare HMI? What did you plan to do when it died one night?

Since you did not tell us what PLC or communications interface was used, it is going to be near impossible to tell you much else.

 

I have used Schneider, many Panelview +, and others, and unless you look to Automation Direct or some low cost alternative, you will likely find the Panelview + to be relatively competitive. The lower cost units are ok but the software tools are found to be wanting.

 

Hi,

I'm not a fan of AB's HMIs but a PV+600 would cost you about $1500. You should be able to copy the configuration onto a memory card which you can then copy back to a new PV+, change the port address and you are in business.

If you need to make changes to the graphics RSView Studio is about $1,000.

If you decide to go with another brand I suggest RedLion Controls. You may find you can replace the old unit and add a second for about the same price as ABs.

Hope this helps,
Roy
roy_matson at yahoo dot ca