I recently developed an HMI using WinCC 7.4 for an automation project. Building it from the ground up afforded me the opportunity to deviate from WinCC’s default skeuomorphic controls and instead experiment with more modern, flatter UI elements found on consumer-facing products like smartphones and web interfaces (think Facebook, Google, and Apple). I relied on WinCC’s faceplate types to create generic controls that could be dragged and dropped as needed without add...

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For a recent project, I created a combo box object that is set using a VBScript. The following blog details some advantages of using a VBScript and four steps to loading a combo box using a VBScript in WinCC Pro. Advantages of VBScript The main advantage of using a VBScript is that you can display a variety of data in the combo box. It allows you to access the combo box's properties and links those directly to PLC tags instead of having a static combo box that di...

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Shakespeare said it, "All the world is a stage," but I never thought that I would find such talent and love for performing at an engineering company. Every month one of our DMC offices creates a video as a way to update the company on what's new. If you browse through our youtube channel, you will find an array of videos ranging from a satirical DMC Commercial created by our Boston office to a SCADA Boi music video from our Houston office. These videos are presented at our ...

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DMC is proud to be named by Crain’s Chicago Business as #2 in a list of the Top 100 "Best Places to Work" in Chicago. Crain’s highlighted DMC’s commitment to empowering staff to continuously improve the company. Partnering with Best Companies Group, Crain's surveyed 8,800 employees at Chicago-based companies to find the top places to work. Then, companies were segmented into a half-dozen key categories. The list of 100 finalists was announced in ...

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DMC is proud to announce that we have joined the Salesforce Partner Program! Rick Rietz, DMC’s Director of Consulting Services, is thrilled about the new partnership.“Our team is very excited about joining the Salesforce partner program, and our clients are too. We’ve been helping clients with Salesforce development for quite some time, but we never marketed our ability to provide these services. With newly acquired access to training that is exclusive to Salesforce par...

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Our motto at DMC is "Smart People. Expert Solutions." so we demand a lot of our team. However, part of being one of the best places to work is employees having the ability to pursue other interests in their free time. DMC team members have a wide range of interests outside of work including playing in bands, climbing all the mountain peaks in the US, and conquering triathlons. DMC's Marketing Manager, Jessica Mlinaric, has helped the company grow since j...

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Siemens TIA Portal Libraries have helped me develop PLC and HMI code faster and manage it better. Recently, I have been working with the HMI Styling section of the Portal Library, and I have found it very helpful. This blog shows some practical examples of using HMI Styling in projects. Specifically, it focuses on how styling can work with the Siemens Open Library. Siemens has released all the documentation you need to get started. Part 1: The Basics When you create a Comfort Panel...

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Visitors to DMC may notice our ever-changing "Quote Board," documenting the best engineering jokes and employee one-liners of the moment.

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One of the best things about your first few weeks working at DMC is that you get to host a welcome party of your choice! As an avid fan of basketball, I chose to go to a Houston Rocket’s game and took the Houston office with me. After a catered dinner at the office, we carpooled over to the stadium. I will watch almost any basketball game alone and enjoy myself, but being at the game with the DMC Houston team made it even more fun. It allowed us to hang out and bond outside the office, ...

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There are a variety of desktop applications that allow users to seamlessly scrub back and forth through a video to determine the exact frame in which some action should take place or where the placement of a tag should go. Some popular applications include Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro. This sort of smooth functionality is difficult to attain on a website due to the limited resources of a browser client in comparison with a desktop environment.  In this post, I will walk through h...

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Working together for over a year, a group of DMC engineers built our very own DrinkBot. We developed it during a FedEx Day and improved the DrinkBot over a second FedEx Day. DMC's DrinkBot finally made its debut at the Siemens Automation Summit 2017. As happens in the development process, we slowly improved the DrinkBot over time. We started displaying it at career fairs in Colorado to help grow the team. We also took it to events in New York, Houston, Seattle, and Manufacturing...

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DMC regularly implements successful project solutions using Siemens PLCs. Along the way, we've learned a few quick tips that can save hours or even days of time in post-project support. If you're working on a project using a Siemens 1200 or 1500 PLC or a WinCC HMI Panel, make sure to consider these three steps below. Each one takes less than five minutes, but can help you avoid undesired post-project consequences and can make testing much easier.  Switch Your S7 PLC to Run o...

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DMC has been named a finalist for Crain's Chicago Business' annual list of Best Places to Work in Chicago. This program is designed to identify, recognize and honor the 100 best companies to work for in Chicago. The list of 100 Chicago companies was announced in an article by Crain's on March 26, 2018. The Best Places to Work list seeks to highlight local businesses that have excelled in creating quality workplaces for employees. This year, Crain...

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My first week at DMC was a whirlwind of training and new faces. That Monday morning, I arrived with seven other DMCers from around the country to begin ramping up. Being the only member of the Microsoft Consulting Services team to start that week, my training differed slightly from the rest of the group. Nonetheless, everyone’s opinion has been the same. DMC runs like a well-oiled machine. What to Expect on Arrival From the very beginning of our onboarding process, no de...

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DMC, a member of the Beckhoff Integrator Network, led two presentations at Beckhoff's recent IoT Seminar. The event was held at Beckhoff's Chicago Field Office on March 16, 2018. The educational seminar focused on the world of IoT and its opportunities for industrial automation.  Program The program began presentations from Beckhoff breaking down IoT into its basic components and services. Attendees learned how to connect real-world applications, machines a...

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Before the weather in Chicago becomes nice enough to do things outdoors again, DMC decided to use part of our March activity fund budget to attend a SoulCycle class. The activity fund is a monthly budget in each DMC office to plan social events. For those who may not know, SoulCycle is an intense 45-minute indoor cycling class where you ride your bike to the beat of the music. For some (read: one) of our engineers, SoulCycle is more than just an exercise class, it’s a way of life. This ...

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DMC is excited to lead three presentations at NIWeek 2018 which is coming up on May 21-24 at the Austin Convention Center. Over 3,200 engineers, educators, and NI developers from more than 60 countries will gather to learn from over 200 technical training sessions and 125 expo exhibits.  If you're heading to Austin this spring, don't miss these three presentations by DMC! IoT in the Real World: Practical Advice for Acquiring and Using Your Data - ...

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SINAMIC’s G and S Series Drives are a powerful and versatile platform capable of doing all sorts of motion applications. Also included are onboard IO, PID functionality, and even logic gates! Taking advantage of all the added features of the SINAMIC’s drive system can also make it difficult to keep all the parameters straight and commission your drive system efficiently. This post will walk you through how to create a Custom Data List and Executable scripts within Starter. Thes...

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DMC Chicago will host area Microsoft Partners at the Chicagoland International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners (IAMCP) April meeting. IAMCP members will gather at DMC on Thursday, April 19 from 3 - 5 p.m. to learn about Microsoft PowerApps and Flow.  Event Information Using Microsoft PowerApps and Flow to Quickly Address Business Process Needs Did you know non-programmers can quickly build line of business solutions to collect data, eliminate manual...

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DMC is excited to lead two presentations at the annual Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) Executive Conference. This year's event takes place April 24 - 27 at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco.   About the CSIA Executive Conference Over 500 system integrators and industry partners will meet to share best practices at the CSIA Executive Conference. This year's theme is “Growth Through Innovation and Sound Business Practices." DMC ha...

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