Rapid Development with AdvancedHMI: Templates, Scripts, and ToolsAdvancedHMI is an open-source framework for building industrial Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs) using Microsoft .NET and Visual Studio. It aims to reduce development time by providing pre-built controls, communication drivers, and an architecture that integrates easily with PLCs, OPC servers, and modern IIoT systems. This article covers practical strategies for accelerating HMI projects using templates, scripts, and complementary tools, plus best practices to keep implementations robust, maintainable, and secure.
Why rapid development matters for HMIs
Industrial automation projects often face tight timelines, changing requirements, and a need to minimize downtime during deployment. Faster HMI development translates to:
- Reduced engineering hours for GUI creation and device integration.
- Quicker iterations to accommodate stakeholder feedback.
- Lower project risk by reusing tested components and templates.
AdvancedHMI supports rapid development by giving engineers a library of ready-made controls (gauges, trend charts, alarms, logging), communication drivers for common PLC protocols, and a Visual Studio-based workflow familiar to many developers.
Templates: the backbone of repeatable, fast HMI projects
Templates are pre-configured project skeletons that encode common patterns, UI layouts, and configuration settings. Using templates for AdvancedHMI yields consistent interfaces and speeds up onboarding for new engineers.
Key template types:
- Project skeleton: prewired Visual Studio solution with common references, build settings, and folder organization.
- Screen/layout templates: standard screen sizes and navigation patterns (master/detail, tabbed, full-screen process view).
- Control templates: pre-configured instances of AdvancedHMI controls (indicators, sliders, setpoint editors) configured with data bindings, PLC addresses, and basic validation.
- Alarm and logging templates: predefined alarm management, storage format (CSV/SQL), and visualization panels.
- Security templates: roles, login workflows, and permission checks embedded into UI components.
Practical tips:
- Create a company-specific template that includes commonly used tags, naming conventions, and color palettes to ensure consistency across projects.
- Store templates in a version control system (Git) so changes are tracked and team members get updates automatically.
- Use parameterized templates (scripted or templating engines) for quickly customizing tag addresses, IPs, and screen titles per site.
Scripts: automation for repetitive tasks
Scripts can automate repetitive and error-prone steps: generating tag lists, binding controls, deploying builds, and migrating configuration between environments.
Common scripting tasks:
- Tag generation and mapping: parse PLC symbol files or CSV tag lists and auto-generate Visual Studio-friendly bindings or control properties.
- Bulk-binding controls: use scripts (PowerShell, C#, Python with dotnet tools) to open XAML/Designer files and inject binding properties for multiple controls.
- Build and deploy pipelines: automated compilation, packaging, and deployment to target operator stations or remote terminals.
- Backup and migration: scheduled export of HMI project settings, recipes, alarms, and logs to a central repository.
Example approaches:
- PowerShell: easy to integrate into Windows-based build agents to transform config files, update IP addresses, or run MSBuild.
- C# utilities: reuse .NET libraries to manipulate AdvancedHMI assemblies and designer files safely.
- Python: with libraries for XML and file handling, useful when working cross-platform or when integration with other tooling is needed.
Caveats:
- Always validate generated bindings in a test environment before deploying to production.
- Keep scripts source-controlled and include documentation and safety checks (e.g., confirm target IPs, require a “dry run” option).
Tools that complement AdvancedHMI development
Using the right set of tools around AdvancedHMI multiplies productivity.
Essential categories:
- IDE and source control:
- Visual Studio (Community/Pro): native environment for AdvancedHMI projects.
- Git (with GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket): version control for code, templates, and scripts.
- PLC and OPC tooling:
- Vendor PLC IDEs: for symbol export and offline testing.
- OPC UA/OPC DA servers and testing clients: to validate communication channels.
- Testing and simulation:
- PLC simulators: emulate PLC logic and provide predictable tag data.
- HMI test harnesses: simple producers of tag changes to exercise UI flows.
- CI/CD and build automation:
- Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, or TeamCity: automate builds, run unit tests for any non-UI logic, and package releases.
- Database and logging:
- Lightweight SQL (SQLite) for local logging; MS SQL or TimescaleDB for centralized historical data.
- UI/UX and graphics:
- Vector editors (Inkscape, Adobe Illustrator) for crisp scalable graphics.
- Icon libraries and style guides to ensure a consistent operator experience.
- Remote access and deployment:
- Secure remote management tools (VPN, SSH tunnels, or enterprise remote access solutions) for deploying updates to remote HMIs safely.
Design patterns and architecture for maintainable AdvancedHMI applications
Rapid development should not sacrifice maintainability. Adopt patterns that decouple UI from logic and simplify testing.
- Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM): separate state and logic from controls to make UI components reusable and easier to script/bind.
- Service layer for PLC/OPC communications: centralize communication code so drivers, reconnect logic, and tag mapping are in one place.
- Configuration-driven UI: keep screen layouts, tag maps, and alarm definitions in external config files (JSON/XML/DB) so changes don’t require code recompilation.
- Plug-in architecture: design for modular screens or feature modules that can be added/removed without rebuilding core app.
Performance and reliability considerations
- Connection management: implement exponential backoff and clear reconnect strategies to avoid flooding PLCs after network interruptions.
- Throttling and sampling: reduce UI update rates for high-frequency tags; aggregate fast signals before rendering.
- Resource monitoring: log CPU/memory usage of HMI stations and set alerts for anomalous behavior.
- Fail-safe defaults: ensure UI shows stale/invalid states clearly (e.g., greyed values or timestamp) rather than misleading last-known values.
Security practices
- Least privilege: run HMI applications under accounts with minimal OS and network permissions.
- Secure communications: prefer OPC UA with encryption and certificate-based authentication when available; otherwise secure the network with VPNs and firewalls.
- Authentication and authorization: integrate user login and role-based access for critical controls (setpoints, overrides).
- Patch management: keep Windows, .NET runtime, and third-party libraries up to date; validate patches in a staging environment before rolling out.
Example workflow: from template to live system
- Start with a company template (project skeleton + style guide).
- Import PLC symbol file into a tag-generator script; produce a tag-binding file.
- Run a bulk-binding script to attach tags to preconfigured controls across screens.
- Use Visual Studio to refine screens, add custom logic in MVVM viewmodels, and verify bindings.
- Run unit tests for logic components and use a PLC simulator for integration testing.
- Build via CI pipeline, produce an installer or package, and deploy to staging.
- Perform user acceptance testing (UAT) with actual operators.
- Deploy to production with rollback-capable deployment tooling.
Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
- Over-customization of templates: keep templates opinionated but flexible; avoid embedding site-specific values.
- Skipping version control for configs: always store tag maps and templates in Git to track changes and enable rollbacks.
- Ignoring operator feedback: involve end-users early; small UX changes often yield big improvements in operation speed and safety.
- Fragile scripts: add validation, logs, and dry-run modes to automation scripts to avoid accidental mass changes.
Conclusion
Rapid development with AdvancedHMI is achievable by combining well-crafted templates, automation scripts, and the right supporting tools. Emphasize modular architecture, solid communication handling, and secure deployment practices to ensure speed doesn’t undermine reliability. With a repeatable workflow—template, generate, bind, test, deploy—you can deliver consistent, maintainable HMIs much faster and with less risk.
Leave a Reply