Scalable graphic terminals help increase productivity

Rockwell Automation says its new AllenBradley PanelView 5310 family of graphic terminals can help machine builders increase productivity through tighter integration between controller and HMI.

The company says the graphic terminals are a cost- effective alternative to the PanelView 5500 terminals for smaller applications of up to 50 HMI screens, delivering the same usability benefits and enhanced integration with Logix 5000 controllers. The terminals are available in seven-inch, nine-inch and 12-inch display sizes. A six-inch display option will be available in 2018.

“Engineers can use the PanelView 5310 family to scale a tightly integrated automation system down to smaller applications,” said Jonathan Footman, commercial specialist – Hardware, Rockwell Automation. “This can help make design, operations and maintenance tasks more efficient. For example, engineers can now reuse controller alarms without creating HMI tags, which can help them reduce configuration time.”

Companies can also use the enhanced integration to create high-speed jog buttons in place of cumbersome hardwired buttons. These auto- diagnosing buttons can interact with the controller at I/O speeds to help reduce downtime and improve productivity, promises Rockwell.

Other productivity benefits of the PanelView 5310 graphic terminals include the following:

• The intuitive Rockwell Software Studio 5000 design environment allows users to create reusable faceplates, screens and custom graphics to help reduce development time. These objects seamlessly integrate with Logix add- on instructions and different user- defined data types.

• Emulation capabilities allow engineers to test run projects in the development environment. This can help them make changes without using the PanelView 5000 hardware or disrupting production.

• VNC connectivity allows operators to remotely monitor operations via a smartphone, tablet or personal computer. Historical-trending and data-logging features also allow operators to easily troubleshoot issues directly on the panel.

• Engineers can load projects onto the PanelView 5310 graphic terminals directly from removable media to more quickly recover information and make project updates without needing to use the Studio 5000 View Designer application.

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