Manufacturers, particularly those in process industries, can gain increased functionality and an enhanced operator experience with the latest version of the FactoryTalk View human-machine interface (HMI) software from Rockwell Automation. FactoryTalk View Site Edition (SE) and Machine Edition (ME) 7.0 applications, releasing in early 2013, offer more efficient alarm management, simplified installation, improved user experience, and integrated data sharing in a wide range of production environments.

“To stay competitive, our customers need scalable HMI solutions that are easier to install, enable operator productivity, and are more tightly integrated to company control and information systems,” said Tony Carrara, product manager for FactoryTalk View SE software, Rockwell Automation. “To meet all these needs, we are leveraging our deep experience to evolve our visualization software.”

FactoryTalk View SE 7.0 software will support larger numbers of HMI clients and servers in a single system, increasing the size of systems that can support the FactoryTalk View SE alarming subsystem, FactoryTalk Alarms and Events. The FactoryTalk Alarms and Events alarming subsystem has been enhanced to align with ISA’s Alarming Standard 18.2., and will now support the shelving state.

The newest version includes an improved installation process and design environment. The new installation process in FactoryTalk View SE and ME software saves time with a streamlined work flow that automates installation of FactoryTalk View components. From a design-time standpoint, a new find-and-replace for HMI and global-object displays will be available in the FactoryTalk View Studio design environment so the user can locate and replace tags or strings across multiple servers and screens. For run-time improvements, operators can more quickly and intuitively navigate screens and resolve production issues with a new navigation button that provides functionality similar to the navigation buttons in commercially available web browsers.

FactoryTalk View 7.0 software website: http://discover.rockwellautomation.com/HMI

Kepware Technologies, a software development company focused on communications for automation, today announced new enhancements to its KEPServerEX platform, offering new solutions to simplify communications management. Today's announcement underscores the company's commitment in listening to customers' needs and developing relevant solutions for a variety of the vertical markets it serves.

The new KEPServerEX 5.11 enhancements include support for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012, in addition to the following new products and features:

• IEC 61850 MMS Client Driver: This new driver utilizes the Manufacturing Messaging Specification (MMS) of the IEC 61850 specification for sending data from substation automation devices (like switches and circuit breakers) to SCADA and HMI applications for analysis and reporting.
• OPC XML-DA Client Driver: This new driver strengthens Kepware's OPC Connectivity Suite offering, and enables users to connect to any OPC XML-DA Server. The driver simplifies connectivity to other Third-Party servers and can circumvent proprietary protocols, thus enabling KEPServerEX to easily aggregate OPC data.
• EFM Simulator: This new feature is an easy-to-use, Flow Computer simulator within the EFM Suite. The driver simulates EFM historical data in order to confirm that the EFM Exporter Plug-In configuration works properly. The EFM Simulator saves users time and money by eliminating the need to physically connect to flow computers when evaluating the server and exporter configurations.

"I'm excited to begin using Kepware's new IEC 61850 driver for the solar projects we will be working on in 2013 due to the ease of use and robustness I've come to expect with Kepware products," said Xavier Vallespi, the Technical Information Officer of Green Power Monitor.

Advantech’s Industrial Automation Group (IAG) are pleased to announce the launch of two new panel pc’s – PPC-6150/6170. These 15” and 17” models now come with faster processors, RAID control and multiple expansion slots for increased functionality.

The PPC-6170 (17”) and the PPC-6150 (15”) color TFT LCD displays come with the new 35W Intel 3rd Generation Core I processor. The speed ofthis chip is increased by 20% over the previous generation and supports 3D visual computing to improve the capabilities of the panel computer for software operation and multi-tasking.

With the addition of an additional hard drive both models now support RAID 0 and 1 providing realtime backup of critical data. In the event of voltage spikes between the PPC and industrial devices the RS-232, 422 and 485 ports are isolated against such energy surges.

ICONICS Hyper Historian is a high speed, reliable and robust industrial data historian solution designed for mission critical applications. It takes full advantage of the latest 64-bit, .NET-based computing technologies and numerous performance features. Hyper Historian is the first plant historian to be compatible with Microsoft Windows 8, Certified for Microsoft Windows Server 2012, and include tight integration with SQL Server 2012. The software also fully leverages OPC-UA communication standards, as well as a wide variety of other protocols for connecting to existing infrastructures.

"The path to increasing profitability in manufacturing is changing, as costs for energy, water, waste generation, compliance, and risk management are trending up, while the available technology for cutting costs and achieving operating excellence is becoming more powerful and cost effective," said Craig Resnick, Vice President, ARC Advisory Group. "Tools such as ICONICS Hyper Historian are an example of technologies that help manufacturers leverage data from the past to better manage the future, which results in significant savings of resources and labor while increasing productivity and adherence to sustainability goals."

Hyper Historian version 10.8 offers the following enhancements:

• New Powerful Performance Calculation Engine – Allows users to configure complex calculations that can be triggered periodically or on any data change event, using flexible new date/time, mathematical, string and historical data retrieval functions within the
• Expression Editor. Calculations can use scalar values, historical values, or string operations, along with a wide variety of functions within an enhanced version of the Expression Engine and results are calculated automatically on each trigger or can be recalculated manually on demand.
• New MergeWorX™Module – Tool for automatic or manual insertion of data into Hyper Historian, typically used for importing historical or log data from databases, other historians, intermittently connected field devices and other equipment such as PLC Datasets. Provides for high resolution data merging from devices without taxing their communications capability and provides greatly increased reliability of capturing all data, even when network outages occur.
• CSV/Excel Formats in Import/Export Utility and Incremental Changes (Add/Modify)
• Multiple Updates to the TrendWorX™64 Viewer Component