HMI for Windows 2000

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Thread Starter

Arturo Reyes Rosas

Hi all:

Does anyone know if there is a HMI which work with Windows 2000 and How they are working together?.

thanks in advance.

Arturo Reyes
[email protected]
Ing. Arturo Reyes Rosas
Ingeniero de Proyecto
Instituto Mexicano del Petr=F3leo.
 
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I've been using Citect under Win 2000 for some weeks now (in a support role) and on the whole I've been quite happy with it. There are some
odd quirks but generally these are easy to work around, so I'd be surprised from what I've seen so far if any NT-based HMI or SCADA would have significant problems. Certainly, if you were to use Citect (and I would of-course suggest that you should :), then I would have no problems recommending that you consider using Windows 2000, if only for the improved hardware support, and the simplified installation (ie you don't yet need to install several service packs to get to a usable state).

Time will tell, of-course, but so far the core of Win 2000 has seemed very hard to bring down (much harder than NT). The supporting applications are less stable - ie it still seems very easy to crash
explorer - but application problems like these do seem less likely to affect the stability of other running applications (such as your HMI).

Citect is, of-course, a lot more than just an HMI, but I see no reason why in principle any well written NT package shouldn't run fine on Win
2000. Your mileage may vary, of-course, and I'll be very interested to see what other comments get thrown up in this thread.

Mark
[In case it isn't obvious, I am employed by Citect (UK) so I 'may' be biased. However, the views above are my own, and not those of my
employer.]
 
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Dave Osborne

I've been using RSView 32 version 6.30 on Windows 2000 for a short time with no problems. Version 6.30 is still a candidate release to support 2000 but appears to operate okay. I am only using the 2000 package for developement and testing but version 6.30 is running operationally on Windows NT with no trouble.
 
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Christopher Di Biase

The new version of RSView32 from Rockwell Software (6.3) works quite well under Windows 2000. Though depending on the OPC server you use to get data that will effect how well it really works. I know that RSLinx won't support Windows 2000 for another few weeks (till they get version 2.20 out the door). But RSView32 works with any OPC/DDE data server. I can't speak for Wonderware or Intellusion, but perhaps someone else on the list knows if there are any issues.

Christopher Di Biase
[email protected]
 
What do you mean "Citect is, of-course, a lot more than just an HMI"? We use Citect and I refer to it as our HMI. Perhaps I've never quite figured out what the heck the accepted definition of HMI is. If I don't call the PC/touchscreen running Citect on my plant floor an HMI than what should I call it?

Mike Ryan
Aerojet Fine Chemicals
 
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Read the note at the bottom of that post for your answer:

[In case it isn't obvious, I am employed by Citect (UK) so I 'may' be biased. However, the views above are my own, and not those of my
employer.]

That is why it is "a lot more than just an HMI".

I think I even have a copy of the citect demo CD. Right next to Cimplicity, Plantscape, RSView, Gensis32, etc. etc. ad naseum

They all purport to be more than an HMI package. I would also like to pose the question of what these comapnies consider an HMI package, and why theirs is more than just one....

IMO, An HMI is a piece of hardware, and possibly software, that allows an operator to interact with the production machine.

If tacking on some trending, and logging to a database makes a package that much better, then have I got some soon to be overpriced VB apps to sell you.......

{In cartoon chicken voice} : "That's a joke, son! I made a funny!"

--Joe
 
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> What do you mean "Citect is, of-course, a lot more than just an
> HMI"? We use Citect and I refer to it as our HMI. Perhaps I've
> never quite figured out what the heck the accepted definition
> of HMI is. If I don't call the PC/touchscreen running Citect
> on my plant floor an HMI than what should I call it?

I must admit that the definition of HMI does seem to depend on who you talk to. (My comment was based on my interpretation of how the phrase
HMI had been used in the original question, although with hindsight it was actually quite open and it could well have been SCADA which was
required.)

To me, an HMI is the graphical front end side of things, something which is an inherant part of SCADA and of-course something which Citect does. The bits that SCADA does and (to me) and HMI does not are the alarms, trends, reports, etc.

This is just my working definition, though - please don't consider it definitive!

To answer your final question, then since the PC/touchscreen is presumably providing a Human/Machine Interface then (in my opinion, at
any rate) HMI is a perfectly good term for it. The extra functionality of the SCADA package is being used elsewhere (and the HMI part providing an interface to it).

Mark
 
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Frank Iwanitz

Hi,
what do you mean with saying:

> The new version of RSView32 from Rockwell Software (6.3) works quite well
> under Windows 2000. Though depending on the OPC server you use to get data
> that will effect how well it really works.

Being an employee of a OPC Server provider I tried some systems being opc-aware. I found that the average quality of opc servers is much better than the average quality of HMI systems containing opc clients. I tried also a few opc servers from other companies.

The use of opc technology is not intuitive the performance is not sufficient. yes, the client can influence the performance by not implementing fast callbacks. There are even HMI that have limitations related to the accesable opc servers, i.e. they can be connected only to a number of servers at the same time.

Any remarks?

Regards,

Frank
 
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> They all purport to be more than an HMI package. I would also like to pose
> the question of what these comapnies consider an HMI package, and why theirs
> is more than just one....

I've just given _my_ definition (ie the one I meant when I got myself into this :) in a message which crossed this one. What I should have
also made clear was that, with hindsight, the phrase "more than just a" was a lot more provocative than it was intended to be.

All I meant was that HMI is a subset of SCADA (by the definitions I work with), so if all you want is an HMI then SCADA may be more than you need. Ironically, I said it because I was trying to be helpful, in saying that I'd used Citect with W2000, but without wanting to be accused of trying to sell it here. Or, "if an HMI is what you're after, then Citect is possibly more than you need, but it still might be useful to know that I have played with it under W2000 without any
significant problems".

For what little it is worth, I am not in sales and have no axe to grind trying to promote any product here. I would encourage people to try it and compare with the alternatives, but if it doesn't offer a cost effective solution to a genuine problem then I wouldn't expect anyone to use it!

> If tacking on some trending, and logging to a database makes a package that
> much better, then have I got some soon to be overpriced VB apps to sell
> you.......

Better? Yes if you need it, no if you don't. Different? Yes. I think that is what I was trying to say first time around. I really must go
out and buy some more hindsight - it seems I've run right out!

> {In cartoon chicken voice} : "That's a joke, son! I made a funny!"

Damn, and I had my cheque book all ready as well :)

All taken in the spirit (I think) it was intended; I just wanted to have a second (or third) crack at explaining what I meant.

Full .sig attached so there's no doubt who I am (although the views are still just my own). [There goes the work 'just' again...] I'll bow
gracefully out of the thread at this point, although I reserve the right to jump back in if there's something genuinely useful (ie not
defensive) I think I can add.

Mark Rogers, Product Manager
Citect (UK) Ltd, Peterborough, UK
 
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Eduardo Espino

Hi Arturo:

If you are looking for a good HMI-SCADA under the Windows 2000 plataform, I can suggest iFix Dynamics, and it works in VBA.

Best Regards

Eduardo Espino
[email protected]
México
 
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Alejandro Ramírez

I recommend Wizcon Windows & Internet 7.61 to you. It is part of the Wizfactory suite, of Emation Ltd., and is a very good package, in addition to being open 100% for modifications in VB or C++. If you are interested, I can send a sample CD to you for evaluation. You can contact me at [email protected] Te recomiendo Wizcon for Windows & Internet 7.61. Es parte del suite Wizfactory, de Emation Ltd., y la verdad es un muy buen paquete, además de ser 100% abierto para modificaciones en VB o C++. Si estás interesado, te puedo mandar un CD de muestra, para que lo evalúes. Me puedes contactar en Ingeniería Computacional para el Ser Humano, S.A. de C.V. ([email protected])
 
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Sharad Maheshwari

Hello,
Well you could you use Siemens WinCC ver5.0 with Service Pack 2. This runs on Windows 2000+SP1 and has channels for the following make of PLC's : Siemens ,Texas Instruments, Allen Bradely, Fanuc etc. You have other channels like Profibus FMS, Profibus DP, Modbus RTU/ASCII , OPC etc.

You could also use Siemens Protool Pro HMI ver 5.2 with service pack 3.It also supports the PLC's of Siemens,Fanuc,AB,LG etc. and OPC communication.

You could visit the Siemens site for further details on these product. You could also contact me at :- [email protected]
 
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Hi Arturo

ICONICS GENESIS23 v6.1 has been fully certified to work with Win2000, we have some large systems in the UK that are using DCOM and ICONICS new Communication protocol Genbroker.

More information email [email protected]

Carl
 
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