A key deliverable of EZAutomation has long been to offer made-in-America industrial automation products that are feature-rich and cost-competitive with anything else available in the U.S. market—even those that are sourced from China. But with its latest touchscreen human-machine interface (HMI), the EZTouch Series 5, they’ve doubled down on this value proposition, undercutting the price of even the lowest cost, market-leading China-sourced HMIs by 10-20% while still delivering the segment-leading functionality and free 24/7 tech support its customers have come to expect.
“We went through a thorough internal redesign, taking out costs and some non-essential functionality that didn’t affect performance,” explains Shalabh “Shalli” Kumar, founder and chairman of the manufacturer with production operations in Carol Stream, Illinois, and Bettendorf, Iowa. “We call it our ‘China killer,’” Kumar added. “There’s no longer any reason for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and system integrators to buy HMIs from China. The price, availability, and after-market support of China-made HMIs is most definitely going to be adversely affected with passage of time as the current trade and tariff war is only going to intensify in future. OEM management should take this into serious consideration before they allow their machines to have such components made in China. The HMI is not just a cable that can be easily replaced.”
Looking at the features offered and the price point, we agree.
Six models of the Series 5 are available, with touchscreen display sizes ranging from 4-in. to 15-in. with a brightness of 300 nits. The displays are rated for 50,000 hours of continuous operation at 40°C. The HMI also includes free programming software that is extremely easy to learn and use, featuring “C level” scripting and logic expressions. “Visibility tags” allow display objects to be effectively toggled off and on, optimizing screen space in a dramatic fashion and simplifying screen maintenance. “The Series 5 includes lots of key features such as 65,000 colors, data logging and even the ability to send email or text alerts,” Kumar adds.
The Series 5 shares the EZAutomation patented ability to edit displays while online and connected with any programmable logic controller (PLC). Impressively, display graphics can be edited and updated without interrupting machine operation—even from a Wi-Fi enabled PC up to 50 ft. away. This is a unique, innovative feature that enhances the value of the machine and its control system.
“We have dual memory system in all our HMIs,” Kumar explains. “One is active, and the other, back-up system can be edited without shutdown, compared with the half-hour shutdown required by other displays.” This is especially important for owners of new machines, as studies have shown that the typical HMI user wants 10 display changes in the first three month of operation. And that means lots of money and interruptions with competitive systems.
Our own research confirms that HMI-online Edit and the Mini-Wi-Fi features are unique to EZAutomation’s EZ5.
A final compelling feature for machine builders is the OEM Utility, which allows machine builders to send their customers code updates via an email attachment without allowing them access to proprietary code. “Our designs and feature sets are always driven by decreasing downtime and increasing productivity of our customers,” Kumar adds. “Our lives revolve around that.”
For more information on the EZTouch Series 5 HMI and other EZAutomation innovations, visit osi.EZAutomation.com.
