New-Tech Europe Magazine | Dec 2017

Motion Control Special Edition

Human Machine Interface “Good operating concepts bring considerable added value”

Eaton

They have not been restricted to digital natives for a long time now: tablets and smartphones provide many new mechanical engineering opportunities. The human machine interface combined with PLC is becoming a core element of Industry 4.0 and value-added functions. As long as the operating and visualization concept works. Eaton expert Tobias Ischen explains what matters. Human machine interfaces with touch & feel: Will the next generation of machines still have conventional push buttons? Tobias Ischen: Mechanical pushbuttons are sure to remain important even for the human machine interface (HMI) in Industry 4.0 environments. Touch elements are not permitted for security reasons, for functions such as

EMERGENCY OFF switches for example. However, the internet generation and smartphones have changed things a lot for modern operating and visualization concepts. Where can mechanical engineering companies see the changes from the smartphone generation? Ischen: The change affects operating habits and creates many new opportunities as well. Production managers and service employees specifically benefit in accessing machine status or maintenance plan data from anywhere. The market for operating devices is sure to grow. The 2016 Machine Operation market study published by the VDMA working group on control technology provides evidence of such growth. Not only is the number of mechanical engineers, who equip 100 and more

operating workstations per year, growing significantly but a trend towards touch screens and mobile operating devices can also clearly be discerned. What are the new benefits? Ischen: They are many and varied as human machine interfaces are easy to operate and modified to the user’s needs to speed up operating sequences, reduce operating errors and therefore increase user productivity, for example. Operators also benefit from a lower workload. The key benefits in applications such as Industry 4.0 can be seen in the very processes. The integrated approach to production, planning, and supply chains in intelligent factories will need to process and display ever increasing volumes of user-friendly information in the future.

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