From Human Machine Interface to Enterprise Interface
Today, the focus in manufacturing has shifted from hardware to software and from HMI software that controls discrete and process manufacturing to middleware software that provides enterprise-wide business solutions. As your needs have grown and expanded, HMI software has evolved from a factory floor visualization tool to an "enterprise interface" for capturing, controlling, and conveying data from the factory floor throughout the customer's enterprise.
The role of new technologies
Among competitive HMI software products, RSView32 has always been a technology leader. Based on our customers needs, RSView32 was the first HMI to take full advantage of Microsoft's emerging technologies because its architecture is built on Component Object Model (COM) and Microsoft Foundation Classes and Templates (MFC&T) standards. RSView32 was the first HMI software to develop an object model to expose portions of its functionality, the first to support ActiveX controls, the first to fully integrate Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) into its core product, the first to implement Microsoft's Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM), and the first to support OPC (OLE for Process Control) as both a server and a client.
Still leading the way with technology innovations, RSView32 recently introduced its Add-On-Architecture (AOA). AOA technology expands RSView32's functionality and integrates new add-on features directly into RSView's core.
Being first with technology is only as important as the benefits it brings to you. Although technology enablers are important, they are only a means to an end. The value is in solving real-world applications with software solutions that are easy to design, deploy, and support.
RSView32 - putting technology to work for our customers
The latest release of RSView32 (V 6.2) boasts a number of new features:
A view into the future
The future is bright for RSView32, and for you, who are looking to add value to your factory automation strategies. RSView32 - Expand your View from the present to the future… your success is our benchmark.
By Joe Bartolomeo, Marketing Manager HMI Business Unit, Rockwell Software
In the recent past, Human Machine Interface (HMI) software held a clearly defined role on the factory floor. It served simply as a link between the people running machines and the machines themselves, providing plant-level controls for monitoring process data, annunciating alarms, logging data, animating graphics, and visually representing the status of machines and processes. However, just as personal computers and new software technologies have shaken the world during the last decade, the industrial manufacturing community has also rocked on its foundations and evolved rapidly since the late 1980s.
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New and still emerging commercial technologies have made the evolution to an "enterprise interface" possible. Industrial automation software companies who are really in touch with their customers and alert to their changing needs were quick to recognize the benefits that these enabling technologies - such as COM and DCOM, OLE, ODBC, OPC, VBA, and ActiveX - could bring to their customers. These technologies not only extend the capabilities of traditional HMI software, they also bring unprecedented customization and scalability, interoperability with other open systems, and portability across multiple platforms.
RSView32's open, component-based architecture has allowed it to evolve rapidly from a traditional HMI software product to an "enterprise interface" software solution. With RSView32, you can:
Take advantage of interoperability when using your Rockwell Software programming, communications, and ActiveX control products.
RSView32 and RSLinx offer the most powerful combination to capture, control, and convey plant floor data.
RSView32 uses an open design that makes it easy to share information with Microsoft products.
RSView32 includes Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), which allows you almost unlimited flexibility for extending and customizing RSView32.
Use RSView32 to tailor projects to your specific needs with the power of Microsoft ActiveX technology.
AOA dramatically expands the possibilities with RSView32 applications. With AOA technology, you can quickly deploy powerful features, enhancements, and extensions to RSView32. Initial add-ons include enhanced trending, recipe management, messaging, semiconductor communications, and statistical process control (SPC) features.
So what's next? View Anyware!!!! With our ability to provide a unified family of HMI products using a scalable architecture and a common development framework, the upcoming RSView Enterprise Series will provide you with a tremendous advantage by reducing your total costs of ownership. This strategy addresses your needs across the entire operator interface continuum - from hand-held devices powered by Windows CE to Electronic Operator Interface terminals to distributed HMI systems. The View Anyware strategy ensures extensibility, interoperability, portability, and scalability of HMI projects.
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