In the previous article (SAI&C May) we presented a concept and features of the MultiCon series devices and the outline of their possibilities obtained as a result of well developed software and a modular design. This part will describe other advantages, including simple operation and configuration using a TFT with a touch screen, something well known from devices such as smartphones or tablets.
Possibilities
Easy change of data presentation and displayed channels is a feature which might be useful in many cases. MultiCon offers numerous possibilities in this area – the basic function is bringing up the contextual menu by touching the display briefly. Then, a set of buttons appears on the bottom of the screen to switch between the display modes, channel groups or to enter the menu.
The Mode buttons allow a quick selection of data presentation method on the screen. Depending on whether detailed information on the signal value, quick insight into the signal level, or parameter trend over time is required, the data can be presented as:
* Numerical values.
* Needle dials.
* Horizontal/vertical charts.
* Horizontal/vertical bars.
* Simultaneous presentation of many groups.
In the first four modes, the panels present in a clear manner the name and the unit of measure which are specified and entered by the user, its graphical or numerical representation, and in addition a percent value in relation to a set level. The last mode allows presentation as numbers of up to 30 channels on one screen. This mode is particularly useful in MultiCon-141 equipped with a large display.
The time graph data presentation mode is useful for recording operation. Depending on the configuration, the graph background can be black or white and the graph itself can be set as horizontal or vertical to maintain conformity with traditional paper recorders. The user can also set the line thickness.
For the sake of clarity of results, the measurement channels are assigned to groups. The Group buttons are used to select the group which will be displayed. Using the Group buttons will change the range of displayed channels; this also applies to all other data display modes.
MultiCon CMC-99 has 10 groups, and MultiCon CMC-141 has 15. A single group can contain maximum six channels, but the channel assignment to groups is not restricted, and the same channel can be displayed in many groups, providing the user with full flexibility to group various indications (e.g. one room, the same equipment, groups of measurements of the same type, etc.). Selecting the number of channels assigned to a group gives different sizes of the various indicators.
Data display
The MultiCon series devices equipped with the ACM (advanced communication module) allow easy remote monitoring of measurement results using a web browser, as well as a very attractive graphical presentation in the form of built-in or user-created websites. Along with the device, the manufacturer supplies a set of built-in Java applets which, using the Modbus TCP protocol, provide the programmers with easy mechanisms to retrieve data from the device, as well as ready-to-use formats of data presentation on the computer screen.
In order to facilitate the use of their own websites by users who do not know HTML, Simex has prepared a few examples which are distributed with the free DAQ Manager software used to manage the data recorded by MultiCon.
MultiCon allows a very precise configuration of the data display method, in particular it allows users to specify the names and units shown in individual channels, rescale the measurement data and set ranges in the indicator and graph modes. A particular case – binary data can be presented not only as 0/1, but any text can be assigned to the logical states. For example, the ‘ON’ string could be assigned to the 0 state and OFF to the 1 state.
It is absolutely necessary to mention one more data display mode – Setpoint – although it is more related to the channel operation mode than presentation of results. Touching the screen in the field of such configured channel, the user can change a fixed value assigned to the channel (e.g. a threshold in the controller). In addition, this mode can be mixed with binary data presentation as described above, which allows an easy definition of function keys on the screen. The other interesting feature of the Setpoint mode is access to the settings. Depending on the needs, the user can configure a channel so that the changes are made only by authorised operators who know the password.
Future articles
The third article, to be published in the next (July) issue of SA Instrumentation and Control, will be dedicated to the firmware potential in terms of controller applications (including multiple PID controllers), mathematical capacity and operation in various communication networks.
For more information contact Rodney Topham, RET Automation, +27 (0)11 453 2468, [email protected], www.retautomation.com
| Tel: | +27 11 453 2468 |
| Email: | [email protected] |
| www: | www.turckbanner.co.za |
| Articles: | More information and articles about Turck Banner Southern Africa |
© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd | All Rights Reserved
printer friendly version