BECKHOFF Automation offers a proven and successful range of multi touch
control panels that maximise operator convenience and add value though
customisation.
Representing one of the broadest selections of multi-touch HMI
products in the industry, the successful CP2xxx and CP3xxx series of standard panels
and panel PCs from Beckhoff provide an ideal platform for varied machine
operation requirements. Advanced customised versions that build on the standard
multi-touch portfolio, offer operating reliability, ergonomics, and design
optimised to suit specific application requirements.
Machine manufacturers benefit from the company’s experience of more than 20 years
in the development of operator interfaces. Made in Germany, Beckhoff control panels
offer the assurance of exceptional quality standards through optimised in-house
production processes, along with low development costs and short development times.
Beckhoff’s standard panels offer multi-touch functionality as well as
the ability to map features in the software, streamlining the implementation of
numerous required functions and electromechanical operator control elements.
Customised panel solutions have a strong demand in the machine building
industry. The concept of milling panel housings from solid aluminium,
introduced by Beckhoff with their first control panel generation as early as
1998, is an ideal basis for individualised housing design as it enables
flexible response to customer enquiries, even for small production runs from
simple add-on options right up to fully-customised housing designs.
Beckhoff’s standard devices available off the shelf are more
economically priced; however, the additional costs for customised Beckhoff
products are modest and customers also benefit from the short development
times. Custom models can also include new components based on customer
specifications, which are delivered only after stringent fit-for-purpose tests.
Beckhoff’s customisation options also allow the integration of sophisticated
additional functions in the factory, providing obvious benefits for the
customer during installation on-site.
All this is made possible thanks to the comprehensive hardware expertise
that covers all facets of production at Beckhoff, including in-house
development, design, and assembly of the mainboards.
The customisation of products begins with a modified appearance
featuring the customer’s logo that can be easily integrated as a part of the
manufacturing process. Depending on the device type, it may also include a
modified finish for the whole panel. Beckhoff experts work closely with the
customer to obtain an application-specific operator interface in the fastest
way possible.
Additional customisations are based on the extensive and modular range
of Beckhoff panel components allowing needs-based integration of various
buttons, switches, and circuit boards into an existing standard housing with
unchanged dimensions. For example, push-button circuit boards in different
shapes can be designed individually, but integrated into several
customer-specific devices, enabling a highly modular design for a robust device
without error-prone electrical and mechanical interfaces.
The ultimate level of customised panel
development involves a new housing design, often as a means of implementing a
customer’s own design or special ergonomic adaptations. The customer can choose
from a virtually unlimited range of options for housing design, colour, or
material.