Industries

Automation technology — Intelligent HMI components for efficient processes

Project request
Technical ques­tion
Automation technology

In automa­tion tech­nol­ogy, pre­cise and reli­able HMI com­po­nents are essen­tial for con­trol­ling com­plex processes and design­ing them effi­ciently. At EP Electronic Print, we develop cus­tomized solu­tions that are spe­cially tai­lored to the require­ments of mod­ern automa­tion sys­tems. Our HMI sys­tems offer max­i­mum pre­ci­sion, robust­ness and user-​friendliness to opti­mally sup­port processes in indus­try, man­u­fac­tur­ing and logistics. 

Areas of application in automation technology

Our HMI com­po­nents are used in numer­ous areas of automa­tion tech­nol­ogy, including:

Industrial con­trol sys­tems:
Touchscreens and con­trol pan­els for con­trol­ling and mon­i­tor­ing pro­duc­tion lines and machines.
Process automa­tion:
Precise dis­plays and input options for con­trol­ling and opti­miz­ing com­plex process sequences.
Robotics:
Robust and intu­itive user inter­faces for inter­act­ing with indus­trial robots.
Logistics and mate­r­ial han­dling:
HMI sys­tems for con­trol­ling auto­mated stor­age and con­veyor systems.
Project request
Technical ques­tion

Special requirements and features

Automation tech­nol­ogy is mainly con­cerned with cap­i­tal goods that have to be durable, pro­duc­tive and cost-​efficient. The most impor­tant per­for­mance fea­tures and require­ments for our HMI sys­tems can there­fore be listed as follows: 

Protection class IP65 or higher

Input sys­tems in automa­tion tech­nol­ogy have spe­cial require­ments in terms of reli­a­bil­ity and dura­bil­ity. To pre­vent mal­func­tions due to the ingress of solids or liq­uids, our input sys­tems are nor­mally designed with closed sur­faces. Ideally, the IP-​Schutzklasse 65 gem. ISO EN 60529 recommended.

Automation technology - protection class IP65

Resistant to oil and cleaning agents

Our HMIs or multi-​touch dis­plays are suit­able for use in clean­room envi­ron­ments as well as par­tic­u­larly harsh indus­trial envi­ron­ments. Whether highly alka­line clean­ing agents, dis­in­fec­tants or even oil, the resis­tance of our HMIs and the indi­vid­ual mate­ri­als remains at the high­est level(DIN 42115).

Automation technology - Resistance to oil

Design 24/​7 operation

Productivity and reli­a­bil­ity are two of the most impor­tant fea­tures and require­ments in automa­tion tech­nol­ogy. Due to the increas­ing degree of automa­tion, devices and sys­tems are also in oper­a­tion around the clock, which is pre­cisely why the com­po­nents used are so impor­tant. Careful selec­tion of man­u­fac­tur­ers and the right design are the deci­sive cri­te­ria here. 

Automation technology - 24/7 operation

Long-​term availability of the functional components

The demands on qual­ity man­age­ment are con­stantly increas­ing and have led to increased appli­ca­tion safety. If prob­lems do occur despite risk man­age­ment mea­sures, com­plete trace­abil­ity of the func­tional com­po­nents is required in order to ana­lyze prob­lems accu­rately. We can pro­vide you with the nec­es­sary data at ser­ial num­ber level. 

Complete HMI solution

Protection against liquids

Thorough clean­ing and dis­in­fec­tion of most devices and sys­tems is always nec­es­sary in automa­tion tech­nol­ogy as well as in most indus­tries. The sys­tems should there­fore be as robust as pos­si­ble and com­pletely resis­tant to the pen­e­tra­tion of clean­ing agents and dis­in­fec­tants, oil, steam or water. For this rea­son, we would gen­er­ally rec­om­mend at least the IP-​Schutzklasse 65 gem. ISO EN 60529 recommend.

Automation technology - Protection against liquids

Electromagnetic compatibility — EMC according to industry standards 

In order to avoid var­i­ous exter­nal dis­tur­bances, sys­tems or devices must be designed in accor­dance with EMC require­ments, as described in detail in DIN EN 61004–4, for exam­ple. The selec­tion of suit­able mechan­i­cal and elec­tronic hard­ware plays a very impor­tant role here. The main objec­tive is, of course, to avoid both con­ducted and field-​bound inter­fer­ence as well as dynamic or sta­tic interference. 

Automation technology - EMC

Usability with gloves

In many areas of automa­tion, espe­cially in indus­try, it is nec­es­sary to work with gloves. However, this is not nec­es­sar­ily help­ful when oper­at­ing a touch sys­tem. To ensure smooth oper­a­tion of the touch panel, it is there­fore impor­tant to adjust not only the sen­si­tiv­ity but also the entire touch sys­tem to the var­i­ous envi­ron­men­tal con­di­tions, such as elec­tro­mag­netic interference.

Automation technology - operability with gloves

Impact resistance

In addi­tion to mechan­i­cal resis­tance, the shock resis­tance of the HMI/​touch dis­play is a very impor­tant fea­ture. In EN 60068–2‑27, the resis­tance of a pro­to­type to non-​repetitive or repet­i­tive shocks with a spec­i­fied degree of sever­ity is deter­mined. The most com­mon meth­ods of achiev­ing greater shock resis­tance in HMIs include glass tem­per­ing, opti­cal bond­ing and mechan­i­cal bonding. 

Automation technology - Impact resistance

Manufacturing

With over 25 years of expe­ri­ence with HMIs in the automa­tion and mechan­i­cal engi­neer­ing sec­tor, we can offer you short devel­op­ment and fast deliv­ery times. From multi-​touch dis­plays with foil or glass sur­faces, clas­sic mem­brane key­boards, hous­ings or front pan­els made of metal or plas­tic to web pan­els for decen­tral­ized mon­i­tor­ing, we can pro­vide you with every­thing from a sin­gle source. 

Everything from a single source

Why EP Electronic Print?

At EP Electronic Print, we rely on state-​of-​the-​art com­po­nents and tech­nolo­gies to develop inno­v­a­tive and cus­tomized HMI solu­tions.

Do you have any ques­tions or would you like to find out more about our HMI solu­tions?

Our team will be happy to advise you and work with you to find the best solu­tion for your project. Use our con­tact form or call us directly — we look for­ward to hear­ing from you!

Project request
Technical ques­tion

Non-​binding contact request


    EP Electronic Print GmbH
    Am Weidegrund 8 & 10
    82194 Gröbenzell     Technische Anfragen:
    Telefon: +49 (0)8142 /420896–20
    E‑Mail: projekte@ep-electronicprint.de     Allgemeine Anfragen:
    Telefon: +49 (0)8142 /420896–0
    E‑Mail: info@ep-electronicprint.de