Product integration & HMI programming (+ I/O programming)
The Clairitec all-in-one HMI solution (+ I/O control) contains all necessary hardware & software for you to easily equip your devices with display modules or display & I/O controller panels and to create a custom graphic & touchscreen HMI for them. With provided command sets you conduct the HMI programming and I/O programming in order to “bring to live” your graphic user interface and your application functions.
Hardware
All Clairitec HMI panels, modules, and boards are equipped with an integrated graphics processor and dedicated storage memory for your graphic user interface.
This allows you to use all Clairitec HMI products even with simple mainboards. No high processing power or large memory space is needed on the mainboard of your device; all you need is serial connection to send control commands and receive feedback.
The display (+ touchscreen) is directly connected to – and controlled by – the Clairitec boards as well.
Software
The software program GraphConverter with its “WYSIWYG” HMI editor allows you to create – very quickly & easily – a custom graphic & touchscreen user interface and to upload it into the Clairitec panels, modules, or boards.
Command Set
You steer the HMI panels, modules, or boards – this means your graphic user interface and the integrated inputs/outputs – with a set of provided control commands. These commands are integrated into the main code of your application on your mainboard and are sent to the Clairitec products via serial connection.
3 steps to create your HMI project
Step 1: Hardware integration via serial connection
The Intelligent Displays, HMI Boards, as well as the Programmable Intelligent Displays in add-on version (without an integrated programmable board) are designed as add-on modules: they complement your own mainboard & application.
You simply connect the Clairitec panels, modules, or boards to the mainboard of your device via serial connection:
RS232
(RS485)
CAN 2.0B
USB
The serial communication channel is later used for the transmission of the control commands to steer your graphic & touchscreen user interface as well as the integrated inputs/outputs in the case of the Programmable Intelligent Displays.
The Programmable Intelligent Displays in standalone version have an integrated programmable board with microprocessor. This allows you to program your main application, including all control commands, directly into the panel.
Step2: Graphic & touchscreen user interface creation
To create your custom graphic & touchscreen HMI, you use the software program GraphConverter:
Compile and manage your graphic library
Create the various pages of your user interface and place objects on them
Upload the entire project into the Clairitec panels, modules, or boards
Based on your project, GraphConverter will create a reference file.
This reference file contains a description of your HMI project, listing all HMI pages you have created and all objects placed upon them (graphic objects, text zones, touch zones, etc.). For each object, the specific coordinates on the screen and its characteristics are described.
When conducting the HMI programming, you will use this information to fill out the parameters of the provided control commands.
You will find more information on this software program here: HMI Editor Software GraphConverter.
Step 3: Function programming with the provided command set
HMI Programming
You conduct the HMI programming with a provided set of control commands, integrated into the main code of your application.
These commands, in combination with the reference file of your project created by GraphConveter, allow you “to bring to life” your user interface:
Display images and change the pages of your HMI
Draw forms (lines, rectangles, curves, etc.) with pixels
Write texts on the screen
I/O Programming
For the Programmable Intelligent Displays, a second set of control commands is available.
These I/O control commands allow you to directly steer the integrated inputs/outputs of the panel:
Activating/deactivating of inputs/outputs
Reading of inputs values
Demanding feedback from outputs
Etc.
HMI programming in any high-level language
All provided control commands for the HMI programming, as well as for the I/O programming, are already pre-programmed in C language. This allows you to directly integrate them into your application code, if you work in this programming language.
Otherwise, we also provide the “raw code” of the commands in form of byte sequences. This enables you to adapt the commands to any high-level programming language of your choice!
You need more detailed information?
For more detailed information about the command set and the programming, feel free to contact us!