Empowering Automation Systems with Industrial HMI
Industry 4.0 offers manufacturers a data-centric approach to optimize production and processes. Human Machine Interfaces, or HMIs, can contribute additional efficiency and agility by making it easier for operators to communicate in real time with today’s automated, connected equipment.
This blog will answer the question what is HMI and explain the role industrial HMIs play in empowering today’s digital factories to become even smarter and more productive.
What is Human Machine Interface?
An HMI is a user interface that connects equipment operators with a machine, system or device. Industrial HMIs visually display data and equipment information, track trends and monitor machine inputs and outputs, enabling users to monitor and control automated machines and processes in real time. Key features of modern industrial HMIs include graphical user interfaces and network connectivity to permit easy integration with a facility’s automation systems.
Industrial HMIs are available in a variety of formats, including:
- Human Machine Interface touchscreens that enable operation via touch.
- Key-based HMIs with physical buttons that serve as traditional operational panels.
- Mobile HMIs allow remote monitoring control of automated equipment.
Human Machine Interface touchscreens are commonly used in industrial applications because they provide a user-friendly way to operate, control and monitor complex automated equipment. In this type of modern industrial HMI, the graphical interface replaces traditional buttons and switches and promotes easy navigation through menus to simplify operation.
HMIs are used across a broad range of industries in a variety of ways. For example, HMI in the food industry may be used to monitor filling machines to ensure precise fill levels and in process industries, HMIs may be used to adjust the temperature and pressure of a reaction.
While HMI management and HMI programming should be performed by technical experts, operation of industrial HMIs is intuitive and easy for operators to grasp. When properly designed and executed, industrial HMIs provide users with graphical interfaces that allow them to quickly and easily view machine status, production data and error messages and then adjust and control machine parameters based on this information, all in real time. This helps simplify operation of complex automation systems and increases efficiency, productivity and consistency.
In addition, maintenance teams can use the data provided by HMIs to analyze trends and troubleshoot machine issues so they can quickly identify and resolve problems, reducing the amount of time spent diagnosing equipment failures.
7 Ways Industrial HMIs Empower Automation
Industrial HMIs can optimize production by making it easier to operate and control automated equipment. The ability of operators to interact with automation in real time, means they can make quick, data-based decisions that allow them to adjust machine or process parameters for more efficient and effective operation.
Industrial HMIs can also alert users to errors, empowering them to identify and rectify problems faster, which increases uptime and productivity and reduces costs associated with raw material waste that can result if a machine or process goes out of spec during production.
Seven benefits of industrial HMIs include:
- Optimized Operations: Because industrial HMIs employ simple graphical interfaces to display complex machine information in a digestible way, operators can easily visualize and understand machine status, production data and alerts, as well as suggested actions. This allows for quick and informed adjustments to machine parameters, helping to optimize operations.
- Reduced Downtime: Industrial HMIs can help maintenance technicians troubleshoot and diagnose machine faults by providing detailed information and instructions on how to remedy common issues. Not only does this minimize downtime, but it helps prevent equipment failure as minor issues will be noted and addressed before they become catastrophic.
- Smarter Processes: Because they are integrated with the automation ecosystem, industrial HMIs provide real-time actionable data, enabling users to see and react to machine and process information so they may quickly adjust parameters in real time, keeping processes and production consistently on track.
- Better Product Quality: Industrial HMIs can serve as hubs for complex automation workflows, simplifying the process of operating multiple machines, resulting in fewer operational errors. HMI programming can send alerts when automated equipment and processes go out of spec and suggest corrective actions directly on the screen, allowing operators and maintenance techs to attend to issues before equipment fails or processes must be stopped, preventing bad batches. And, because workflows are programmed into the HMI, fewer manual adjustments are made by operators, leading to greater process consistency and accuracy. All of this results in increased product quality and less waste.
- Greater Efficiencies: The ability to view data in real time using an HMI allows informed decisions to be made about how to resolve bottlenecks, allocate production resources and schedule maintenance. It also allows operators to make equipment or process adjustments on the fly, enabling more efficient processes and optimizing production and product quality.
- Energy Optimization: By providing real-time data on energy consumption on the HMI, processes can be tweaked to reduce power usage and consumption usage patterns can be analyzed to determine if there are areas or times when energy usage can be reduced to help minimize energy costs and increase sustainability.
- Reduced Costs: By maximizing efficiency, effectiveness and product quality and minimizing waste, downtime and energy usage, industrial HMIs can help manufacturers reduce operational and maintenance costs to provide significant benefits to the bottom line.
By serving as an interface between man and machine, modern industrial HMIs simplify interactions, increase efficiency, productivity, and product quality and reduce downtime and waste. To learn more about applying HMIs to optimize and empower your automated systems, contact the experts at JHFOSTER, a Tavoron company, today.
