HMI Touchscreens

ORMEC’s MMI-8000 flatpanel touchscreens provide a variety of sizes and functionality for human-machine interfaces. MMI-8000 units are available in six, seven and ten inch screen sizes (diagonal), with TFT color displays. Update: in December 2009 the MMI-8080 and MMI-8104 were replaced by the MMI-8070 and MMI-8100. Update #2: in January 2010 we have added two additional models MMI-8121 (twelve inch screen) and MMI-8150 (fifteen inch screen).

 Key Features

The MMI8000 touchscreen is designed to provide the operator an effective way to control machine operation. The operator can easily be alerted to machine alarms and status conditions. Different panels can be quickly selected to present different sets of machine functions typically found for setup, maintenance, changing product runs and fault conditions. Operator control functionality can be built into the MMI-8000 representing a typical factory operator panel, without the bulky hardware, I/O modules and wiring needed to build it.

Each individual panel can be designed and built in minutes using the “drag and drop” graphical objects found in the EasyBuilder 8000 application development utility. EasyBuilder 8000 includes a library of standard shapes to select from, as well as the ability to use bitmap images, when creating various panel objects. When upgrading a machine, the “look and feel” of an existing physical panel can be maintained to reduce operator retraining. After the design and installation of an MMI-8000 is complete, its flexibility allows the designer to easily add and change control functions without having to physically add switches, legend plates, I/O modules and their associated wiring.

MMI-8000 touchscreens include built-in recipe management, allowing for easy storage and retreival of machine setup parameters. Having this powerful capability in the HMI eliminates the need for developing recipe management in the machine control application program, saving software development time and simplifying the system design.

Each MMI-8000 unit is shipped with the latest revision of the EasyBuilder 8000 development software and an Ethernet crossover cable. This insures that the customer has the software and cabling necessary to properly install and configure their HMI. EasyBuilder 8000 can convert and import EasyBuilder 500 projects for MMI-320/640 HMIs.

Operation

Communications with an SMLC or ORION motion controllers can be through either a serial connection using Modbus RTU, or Ethernet using Modbus/TCP. Communications with a SAC-XD Indexer is done via Ethernet and Modbus/TCP. Screen objects are tagged to input and output registers that are mapped to input and output variables in the CoDeSys application program running on the SMLC (or MotionBASIC variables in an ORION application program). Touching a screen object, or entering data, sets the state of the variables in the application program. How the change of state is used in the program defines the object’s control function.