Need Panel Meter with modbus input. Need to install approximately 30 of these units in field at reasonable cost.

Would like to eliminate need to wire analog indictors in series with PLC inputs. Additional A/D conversions in analog indicators will require routine calibrations and may intoduce differences in readings of PLC data and operator displays. Process values presently reside in PLC.

Display characters need to be approx. 2" in height to allow readability by operator at long distance. Would appreciate help in locating source.

 

You may use:
http://pvbrowser.org

Modbus access is also included.

It's Open Source software.

 

If by "panel meter" you mean a power meter I would recommend Square D's PM800 series meter. Great value, alarming, accuracy, DAQ, and I/O capabilities. Their "no surprises" ModBus RS-485 link is dependable and rich with INFO, while the front LCD screen covers the entire fascia of the meter. This provides large and dynamic operator-cherished visibility. They also have a lower cost "Energy Meter" with ModBus connectivity but a smaller LCD and limited DAQ capabilities. Good luck.

If you instead meant HMI, then for bang-for-the-buck I use Telemecanique's XBT-G units. The 5.7" unit comes with built-in ModBus RS-485/232, animated graphics/objects/text (easy 2"+ characters), live/historical trending, Compact-flash Card DAQ... Options include monochrome blue or grayscale, color STN or TFT, Ethernet port... This unit's cost/capability ratio has made me stop using traditional alphanumeric HMIs.

 

Have you think about using a device like an iPaq with a wireless connection.

Then you create a single interface on a PC and publish the information trough a web page.

That will be very cheap in price and in devellopement. You could use a OPC server to obtain the value in the PLC then transfert it to the Web page.

We have done a project like this and save a lot of $$$$$

 

Beijer electronics has a line of LCD touch screen HMI's that can take care of this. The brand name is Cimrex and they come in various sizes.

 

We will be introducing just such a meter shortly, but the display is 0.56" high (6 digits). A larger display version is slated for the end of the year.

Tom Paden
Senior Eng.
www.predig.com

 

We have a cost-saving OPC-based solution for this, as franbel has suggested.

Web pages are true thin clients (suitable for any web client such as a PDA) and include both textual and graphical real-time and historical information without the need for Java, Flash or ActiveX plug-ins.

Please contact me through our website if you are interested, I will send you the details.

Neil Kingston,
Data Layers
Connecting processes with IT
http://www.opcware.com

 

If you can't find anything appropriate, I think that custom made hardware with MODBUS enabled firmware may be a solution.

I can offer an affordable development of hardware, firmware, scada/hmi, opc, db, software, for windows/linux and avr/pic.

Device can have large displays, and MODBUS communication via RS232/485 or Ethernet in RTU, ASCII, or TCP/IP mode (fixed or selectable by dip switch). Baud rates can also be fixed or selectable. They can be servers (usually) or clients.

I am PLC and SCADA consultant and I have references in more then 20 factories in Serbia and Bosnia. My MODBUS server driver will be included in new v4.0 of E-Lab AVRco Multitasking Pascal compiler. For more info you can contact me or Mr. Rolf Hoffman at www.e-lab.de.

Zeljko Avramovic
[email protected]