SIGMATEK ETT Series HMI Replacement and Selection Guide

SIGMATEK ETT Series HMI Replacement and Selection Guide

SIGMATEK ETT/HGT series HMI replacement upgrade and Industry 4.0 integration guide

In today's rapidly iterating industrial automation field, engineers often face issues such as the discontinuation of old equipment spare parts, processor performance bottlenecks, or the inability of existing single touch panels to meet the complex visualization requirements of modern smart factories. When the existing single touch human-machine interface (HMI) lifecycle reaches its end or cannot support the networked and modular architecture required for Industry 4.0, how to choose an alternative solution that can seamlessly upgrade and replace, and has a forward-looking technological architecture, has become the core challenge faced by automation engineers. SIGMATEK, as an automation solution provider originating from Austria, provides highly valuable solutions for this problem with its new series of operation panels, control panels, and mobile terminals.

This article will analyze SIGMATEK's core advantages in multi touch technology, dual/multi CPU separated architecture, HMI Link remote communication, and configuration software from the perspective of system upgrade and replacement engineering, providing detailed professional guidance for engineers facing equipment upgrade and selection challenges.

Core pain points and architecture reconstruction for replacing outdated HMI

When considering replacing outdated human-machine interfaces that have been discontinued, engineers first need to evaluate the limitations of the existing control architecture. The traditional single CPU solution has inherent risks throughout the project lifecycle: as program code continues to expand and visual interfaces become increasingly complex, a single processor will soon reach its performance limit. Once the CPU is overwhelmed, the response speed and stability of the entire production line will face severe challenges.

SIGMATEK's flexible dual CPU or multi CPU solution provides a perfect breakthrough solution for this pain point. The core concept of this architecture is to separate the "visual interface" from the "logical control and motion control". Through this separated design, the computational workload can be modularly adjusted according to actual needs. When replacing the original single control terminal, users only need to add a programmable separated display terminal (such as SIGMATEK's HMI Link unit), which can greatly reduce the burden on the main control CPU. This modular future trend allows the system to adapt to new needs by flexibly expanding modules, and although multi CPU solutions have more flexible configurations, their costs are comparable to single CPU solutions, making them highly economical.

At the software level, replacement and upgrade is not only a hardware replacement, but also a reconstruction of data flow management. SIGMATEK's object-oriented programming software LASAL combines modern and efficient programming techniques to simplify modularity while improving software utilization. For communication between distributed machines and system components, the "Machine Manager" in LASAL environment can perfectly manage the data flow in the network system vertically and horizontally. It can clearly and systematically display individual software projects in machines or systems, and intelligently adjust distributed communication to achieve arbitrary data exchange. In addition, all SIGMATEK control panels support OPC UA communication protocol, which can be used as a server or client to connect to third-party software for cross platform data exchange, completely breaking the information island problem in traditional HMI replacement.

Core replacement device selection: in-depth analysis of ETT multi touch operation panel

After determining the top-level architecture of the separated control, selecting a suitable front-end display operation panel is the top priority of the replacement project. SIGMATEK's ETT series panels offer a wide range of options from 4:3 format to modern widescreen format, fully utilizing advanced projected capacitive touch technology (PCT).

1. Modern widescreen series (10.1 inches to 21.5 inches)

For high demand modern visualization projects, modular series human-machine interfaces are an ideal choice to replace old equipment. This series of widescreen HMI provides great clarity and freedom. The ultra-thin design covers five display sizes, with resolutions ranging from 1280 x 800 pixels (10.1 inches and 12.1 inches) to 1366 x 768 pixels (15.6 inches and 18.5 inches), and the largest 21.5-inch model reaches the full HD level of 1920 x 1080 pixels. Whether installed vertically or horizontally, the widescreen panel can perfectly adapt to any complex control cabinet or workstation space.

In terms of hardware configuration, this series of modular widescreen HMIs provides extremely high flexibility. Users can customize the required performance and display size according to their personal preferences. It can choose to add CPU units (ET series) or HMI Link units (TAE series). The CPU unit can use EDGE2 technology processors or x86 processors for higher performance requirements (such as Intel Celeron J4005 dual core 2.0 GHz). Integrate 2 Ethernet ports, 1 USB 2.0, 1 USB-OTG, and support external OPC UA. Whether it is EDGE2 technology, x86 processor, or HMI Link unit, HMI can be easily upgraded after installation.