How PLCs and Smart HMI Design Keep Drugs Safe

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STERIS Corp. helps keeps drugs safe and compliant with electronic data security rules with simplified PLC configuration and user-friendly interface via WinCC and touch panels. In pharmaceutical manufacturing, minimizing contamination is of maximum importance. In some drugs, even extremely minor contamination can ruin an entire production run or cause even greater problems if contaminants cause patient reactions in the field. At STERIS Corp.’s Life Sciences division, employees... Read More

Comfort Panel HMI Wins Design Award

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SIMATIC Comfort Panels address the growing use of video in industrial environments, letting users display an Ethernet camera feed live on application screens during runtime. An add-on for WinCC Engineering Software (in TIA Portal) installs the new video display object in the HMI Toolbox, giving operators additional functionality. Cameras are often used for displaying inaccessible areas of a machine or process, for vision systems, or security.  The ability to stream video on the... Read More

Widescreen HMI Devices up to 22 Inches Combine Robustness with Prize-winning Design

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The Siemens Industry Automation Division has expanded its Simatic HMI Comfort Panels for local machine operator control and monitoring to include devices with 15, 19 and 22 inch color displays. The panels are operated by means of touch screens. There is also a version with key operation for the 15-inch format. The new 15 to 22-inch devices have a third Profinet interface for integration into an additional network. The product portfolio of widescreen format Comfort Panels now includes... Read More

Big News in Small Packages: Siemens Launches Line of Nano Computers

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Siemens Industry is significantly extending its range of embedded industrial computers by adding a new product line of compact, energy-saving PCs in the nano format. The new product line starts with two basic designs in several versions: the Simatic IPC227D Nanobox PC and the Simatic HMI IPC177D Nanopanel PC. Designed for maintenance-free, 24 hour service—even when subjected to high temperatures, vibration, shock, and electromagnetic interference—the Nano IPCs feature the... Read More

HMI is Small yet Powerful

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An HMI Panel from Siemens Industry Automation Division can replace both a panel or text display and an alarm indicator, yet it is small enough to squeeze into very limited space conditions. Though it is small, the 3.6 inch KP300 has an FSTN display with plenty of versatility. Its backlight color can be programmed for many functions, showing white, green, yellow or red backgrounds to provide easy visual information about the nature of the message being displayed. The monochrome... Read More

HMI Comfort Panels Deliver Integrated Functionality for Demanding Visualization Tasks

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Siemens Industry is continuing to roll out devices that enhance and extend the reach of its Totally Integrated Automation Portal – a unified engineering environment that simplifies the engineering tasks associated with automation projects. One result is significant time reduction during application development.  The latest offering is a new series of high performance SIMATIC HMI operator panels which deliver integrated functionality for demanding visualization tasks. “A big... Read More

Failsafe, Wireless Operator Control and Monitoring via “Rapid Roaming”

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Siemens Industry has provided plant floor engineers with added reliability and flexibility with two new mobile panels, the 277 IWLAN and its safety-rated version, the 277F IWLAN. “The latest additions to our line of portable devices for wireless operator control and monitoring communicate through what we call our ‘rapid roaming process,’” says Alan Cone, Siemens Industry’s HMI marketing manager. Rapid Roaming is based on the extended WLAN iPCF-MC (Industrial Point Coordination... Read More

Complete System Simulation Integrating both HMI and PLC – Part 3

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Video Tutorials: Combined HMI and PLC Simulation This is part three of a four part series showcasing the time and cost saving benefits of the STEP7 PLC-SIM software. Have an Inquiry for Siemens about this article? Click Here >>    Read More →

Scheduler added to HMI

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WinCC V7 enhancement simplifies scheduling Human machine interfaces continue to expand their capabilities, providing a single source for all the information operators need to run their equipment efficiently. The Simatic WinCC V7 enhances conventional HMI functions with a calendar-based user interface. The Simatic WinCC Calendar Scheduler option lets operators utilize both a calendar as well as editors for configuring and managing events and associated actions. The Calendar Scheduler... Read More

Wireless Integration Ensures Wastewater Plant Reaches Its Upgrade Goals

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Upgrading the control system for a municipal wastewater system was going to be costly and time consuming until facilities engineers reviewed available wireless technologies. The Persigo Waste Water Treatment Plant serves the City of Grand Junction, Colo., and the surrounding communities. The facility, which cost about $28 million, was put into service on Jan. 16, 1984. After two decades of operation, the existing control infrastructure was in need of replacement and upgrade. Although,... Read More