Following the launch of its Unidrive SP, Control Techniques continues to
add to this versatile platform. We take a closer look at one of its
latest features - the LCD Keypad
The Unidrive SP ac drive system, launched in September last year, now
features an onboard or remote mountable amber backlit LCD Keypad that
talks the engineer's own language and provides an easy-to-use HMI that
can be drive or panel mounted. As well as allowing browsing of the drive
parameters in the user's own language, the new LCD keypad provides
comprehensive on-board help at the touch of a button.
The new 'help' button provides a technical description of the parameter
to scroll in the text area, potentially eliminating the need for a
technical manual and making the drive exceptionally user-friendly. This
capability can be particularly useful for engineers who can program their
own text with each parameter, to offer reminders or to highlight a chosen
value.
The 'help' feature is a multi-lingual user-guide, says product manager,
Richard Smith. It is very comprehensive, giving detailed and fully
customisable information on parameter functions, default settings and
both minimum and maximum operations levels - it essentially provides a
quick start-up for engineers who are looking for ease of use without
having to browse through a heavy instruction manual. French, Italian,
German, Spanish and English languages are available as standard and other
European languages can be added to suit the user.
The menu and parameter number, plus the parameter's value, are positioned
at the top of the display area in large, easy-to-read, numeric
characters. During normal character browsing, the lower two lines display
a native language description of the selected parameter, with additional
help information available at the press of the 'help' button. Moreover,
the Keypad offers real engineering units (SI), with special icons on the
right of the display denoting parameters such as 'Hz', 'rpm', 'A' or '%'.
Users can also customise parameter descriptions to form their own HMI
display, specific to their applications. Application parameters can have
custom text associated to build up a winder or a hoist parameter set, and
telephone numbers and names can be integrated into the 'help' features.
With the aid of CTSoft programming assistance, users can create and
manage parameters, save set-up sequences and custom-design features to
suit their own needs.
Unidrive SP now offers the choice of three different HMI display options,
from no keypad for simple applications to hot-pluggable LED and LCD
display keypads that provide all the features described, whether they are
mounted locally or remotely.