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New capabilities for drag and drop panel meter design

We have previously blogged about the demand for panel meters that can offer the best of both off-the-shelf solutions and full-custom developments. It’s why we launched PanelPilotACE, hoping to bridge the gap between the two and enable the rapid development of fully customised industrial and commercial user interfaces and panel meters.

PanelPilotACE’s combination of a multifunctional touch-screen colour display with simple, drag-and-drop design software removes the need for any coding, cutting development time for even the most advanced displays by months. Using PPA, a custom multi-channel panel meter can be designed and built in as little as 15 minutes.

We continue to introduce new features to the PanelPilotACE platform to increase the flexibility of the system and to extend its potential applications. We have recently added powerful new interfacing and maths tools to the PanelPilotACE software package, Design Studio, all of which can all be implemented without users needing to write a single line of code.

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The addition of RS232 support in Design Studio 2.0 allows communication between PanelPilotACE and other external devices, supporting the sending and receiving of serial messages and configuration of protocol, message format and error checking. This allows, for instance, users to mirror the display to a slave device or to enable logging of readings.

Maths functions - accessed via the 'Mathematics Builder' feature - provide a powerful tool for performing calculations on values held within any project. A full range of mathematical operators are available to users: from simple addition and multiplication, through to exponential and trigonometric functions. These functions can be applied to most properties and variables within an application. Simple examples of its use would be for calculating power from two analogue inputs, or adjusting the value of a variable based on a touch screen input.

The enhanced Design Studio software also includes a number of new library elements such as meters, dials, buttons, widgets, and backgrounds. A suite of graphic files has also been made available for users to repurpose. These two resources make it much easier for those without access to graphic design software to quickly create attractive projects.

The design software remains free of charge, so any new user can download the software if they wish to become familiar with the format and interface before purchasing a display. Users are able to configure a virtual PanelPilotACE, emulating its functionality in software before the hardware is connected, enabling developers to establish what’s possible with PanelPilotACE before installation.

RS-485 and full data logging functionality are now being developed and should be made available in a product update in 2015. We’ll let you know as soon as they become available.

To find out more visit the RS product page.

Lascar Electronics have a huge range of PanelPilot displays. Check them out here... www.lascarelectronics.com/panelpilot
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