Woodward easyYview Series: Technical Analysis of Mini SCADA Remote Control Panel Designed for Generator Sets and Switchgear

Woodward easyYview Series: Technical Analysis of Mini SCADA Remote Control Panel Designed for Generator Sets and Switchgear

Product Overview and Application Fields

Woodward's easYview family is designed for switchgear builders, genset packagers and system integrators as an HMI option for any application where a secure remote control, monitoring, and visualization are desired, such as hospitals, data centers, offshore rigs, landfill and wastewater gas-to-power applications to name a few. This manual describes the easYview family panels: easYview-07-030, easYview-10-150 and easYview-15-150.

The easYview is a touch screen remote control and annunciation panel for use with the easYgen-3000XT or LS-6XT series controls. It is particularly useful with the back panel mounted easYgen-3100XT/3400XT or LS-6XT, providing control from the front panel with greatly reduced wiring to the access door, while keeping high voltage connections located safely on the back panel.

The easYview can be used in Remote HMI mode for remote control and visualization of one easYgen-3000XT or one LS-6XT device. It offers all the HMI resources that the display variants easYgen-3200XT/3500XT offer, but with the state of the art touch screen technology.

Additionally, it offers multi device visualization capability generally referred as SCADA system. It connects to XT-family controllers over Ethernet interface and provides a broad visualization data nodes over Modbus/TCP protocol.

In mini-SCADA mode the easYview offers a system visualization. It can connect up to 3 (easYview-07-30) or up to 18 (easYview-10/15-150) devices at a time. The offthe-shelf easYview HMI solution offers a visualization of four easYgen-3000XT in island or parallel to mains application. The easYview is designed to save customers engineering efforts in field for most common visualization topologies. However, we understand there is no one size fits all solution. Therefore, if your project requirements are not covered by off-the-shelf easYview it is possible to make customizations. 

Core technology architecture and working mode

2.1 Dual working mode design

The easyYview series provides two basic application modes to meet different levels of monitoring needs:

Remote HMI mode: In this mode, easyYview connects to a single easyYgen-3000XT or LS-6XT device through VNC technology to receive and display remote HMI screens. This mode provides all HMI resources identical to the easyYgen-3200XT/3500XT display variant, but utilizes modern touchscreen technology. Depending on the screen size, 1-4 different remote HMI screens can be displayed simultaneously:

7-inch device: supports 1 remote HMI screen

10 inch device: supports up to 2 remote HMI screens

15 inch device: supports up to 4 remote HMI screens

Mini SCADA mode: In this mode, easyYview connects to multiple devices (up to 3 for 7-inch and up to 18 for 10/15 inch) through Modbus/TCP protocol, providing system level visual monitoring. The factory pre installed easyYview HMI solution can display visual information of four easyYgen-3000XT in islanded or grid connected applications, greatly reducing the customer's on-site engineering workload.

2.2 Cascade Function and Multi Device Management

The cascading function of easyYview allows multiple easyYview devices to work together in master/slave configuration. In this configuration, a master easyYview is responsible for establishing remote HMI connections for activities. The slave device sends remote HMI connection requests to the master device, which creates the connection and sends the remote HMI screen to the slave device. This design allows multiple easyYview devices to display the same remote HMI screen, while allowing the master and slave devices to display different remote HMI screens.

Cascade configuration is achieved by selecting the "Use your own IP" option on the settings page:

Main device: Set to 'Yes'

Slave device: Set to 'No' and enter the IP address of the master device

Hardware specifications and installation requirements

3.1 Comparison of Equipment Specifications

Specification parameters easyYview-07-030 easyYview-10-150 easyYview-15-150

Display size 7 inches 10.1 inches 15.6 inches

Resolution 1024 × 600 1280 × 800 1920 × 1080

Brightness 425 cd/m ² 500 cd/m ² 450 cd/m ²

Viewing angle 170 °/170 ° 170 °/170 ° 170 °/170 °

Touch Technology Projection Capacitive (10 point touch) Projection Capacitive (10 point touch) Projection Capacitive (10 point touch)

The maximum number of device connections is 3, the maximum is 18, and the maximum is 18

Typical power consumption is 6W, maximum 9W, typical 10W, maximum 12W, typical 13W, maximum 16W

Dimensions 205 × 146.92 × 52mm 283.1 × 202.3 × 52mm 419.7 × 269 × 52mm

Hole size 192.4 × 139.0mm 274.1 × 193.3mm 411.9 × 261.2mm

Weight approximately 2kg, 3.9kg, 6.9kg

3.2 Installation precautions

All easyYview models adopt a fixture fastener installation system, which can achieve IP66 protection level without drilling holes on the panel. Attention must be paid during installation:

If fixture fasteners are to be used, do not drill holes in the panel

The maximum allowable fillet radius is 5mm

Use appropriate force during installation, excessive tightening may cause the fixture or housing to break

Network configuration and communication protocol

4.1 Ethernet Connection Requirements

Easyview communicates with Easygen-3000XT or LS-6XT devices through LAN A port, with specific requirements including:

Use at least Cat 5 Ethernet cable with RJ45 plug

The switch should support a transmission speed of 10/100Mb/s

The maximum length between connections is 100 meters

Recommend using shielded twisted pair cables to reduce interference

4.2 IP Address Configuration

All devices that need to communicate with each other must be connected via Ethernet, and their IP addresses must be in the same network area (subnet). When configuring, the following situations should be avoided:

Assign the same IP address to easyYview and easyYgen-3000XT or LS-6XT

Mismatched network settings result in device invisibility

If the IP address of easyYview changes, the configured easyYgen connection will no longer be valid and the device will need to be restarted from the application configuration page.

Software configuration and personalized customization

5.1 Basic configuration steps

When setting up easyYview for the first time, the following configurations need to be completed:

Network settings: Configure IP address, subnet mask, gateway, and DNS server

Remote HMI IP Address: Configure the IP address for cascading settings

Display brightness: adjustment range 1-100%

Application mode: Select mini SCADA or remote HMI mode

Automatic Connection: Define the starting page for remote HMI mode

Application settings: Save all changes

5.2 Mini SCADA Mode Configuration

In mini SCADA mode, the following additional parameters need to be configured:

Set the Modbus protocol of all connected easyYgen-3000XT devices to 5016

Check the Modbus slave IDs of all connected easyYgen-3000XT devices

Configure the name, IP address, and slave ID of each device through the connection settings page

5.3 Password Protection and Security

Partial areas of the file system in easyYview can be accessed through SFTP clients, which contain project related files that may need to be modified or exchanged. To protect the device from accidental changes, SFTP access is password protected by default:

Default username: 'user'

Default password: 'user'

Woodward strongly recommends that all customers change their default passwords to enhance security. The password can be changed through the SSH client, but it should be noted that the password cannot be reset. If the password is forgotten, the device must be sent back for repair.

Operation guide and troubleshooting

6.1 Remote HMI screen operation

The operation of the remote HMI screen is similar to the HMI of the easyYgen-3000XT series generator set controller, but has the following characteristics:

The buttons on the front panel of easyYgen-3000XT have been rearranged on the left side of the easyYview remote HMI screen

The soft keys are directly integrated into the blue background soft key area of the remote HMI screen

The control level does not depend on the easyYview device, but on the password level

6.2 Common faults and solutions

Possible causes and solutions for the fault phenomenon

Display screen 'dark' but blue LED 'on' fatal display error sent to Woodward service partner

Blue LED "off" No power or fatal device error check power connection or send for repair

Unable to find device IP address or subnet mask error in the network. Check network configuration

The element flashes yellow on the mini SCADA page, unable to establish device connection. Check IP address and Modbus slave ID

The pop-up window 'CCD exceeds limit' displays too many data points simultaneously. Switch to the 'PC mode' page and refresh the browser

License restrictions and third-party software

7.1 License Restrictions

Easyview has been licensed and is ready to use, but there are the following limitations depending on the hardware:

License type 7 inches 10 inches 15 inches

CCD (Concurrent Connection Data Variable) 30 150 150

MirrorNodes 1500 9000 9000

Data source 3 6 6

7.2 Third party software integration

The easyYview device uses the following third-party software:

Atvise Builder 3.9.1 and Atvise Connect 2.6.7

Debian 11.6

Python3 pip packet

LibVNC v0.9.13（GPL）

Device scanner (Woodward source code)

Technical certification and environmental specifications

8.1 Environmental Variables

Power supply: 24 Vdc ± 20%

Working temperature: -20 to 60 ° C (-4 to 140 ° F)

Storage temperature: -30 to 70 ° C (-22 to 158 ° F)

Humidity: 95% RH@40 ° C, non condensing

8.2 Certification and Standards

UL certification for industrial control equipment

EMC testing: CE, FCC Class B BSMI

List: CE; BSML, CCC, UL, FCC Class A

Application scenarios and industry value

The Woodward easyYview series provides a comprehensive solution for power generation control systems through its flexible dual-mode design, powerful connectivity, and user-friendly interface. Its main value lies in:

Improve operational safety: reduce direct contact with high-voltage areas through remote control

Reduce installation costs: significantly reduce wiring workload and material costs

Enhance system visualization: provide comprehensive monitoring from device level to system level

Improve maintenance efficiency: reduce downtime through remote diagnosis and troubleshooting

Flexible Scalability: Supports smooth scaling from a single device to a multi device system

With the development of Industry 4.0 and IoT technology, the Woodward easyYview series will continue to play an important role in the fields of power generation automation, energy management, and smart grids, providing reliable and efficient control solutions for global customers.