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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
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.
Human Machine Interface
“Good operating concepts bring considerable added value”
Eaton
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
Motion Control
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