The customer sought out DMC for this project to improve the user experience of the HMI program, while maintaining the system's existing functionality and hardware. While DMC worked on an industrial automated parking system, the system was unique in that the HMI program was used by not only operators, but also everyday consumers.

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Because the system was already operating at the onset of the project, DMC began by reverse-engineering the existing PLC and HMI programs to gain an understanding of the controls system.

DMC focused on the client's design constraints while developing HMI documentation for the updated system. This documentation included HMI mockups with detailed usage information, along with a flowchart demonstrating how a user can proceed through the application from screen-to-screen. After a few rounds of discussions between DMC and the client, we finalized this documentation and the plan for the updated HMI program.

Next, DMC used XDesigner Plus 4 (which is available for installation here), the programming software for XTOP HMIs, to make updates to the HMI program. We focused on streamlining the screen navigation flow, improving readability and terminology, and adding more specific help screens.

Once the offline portion was complete, DMC traveled to the site of the physical system to download the updated HMI program and complete testing. Overall, after testing was complete, DMC's engineers conducted some operator training on the updated system and finished the documentation with any new edits made to the system during testing.

Learn more about DMC’s PLC Programming services and contact us for more information.