Next-generation SCADA: GE Fanuc says iFIX 5.0 improves analytic capabilities
By Manufacturing Business Technology Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 8/4/2008 11:11:00 AM
GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms calls the latest release of its iFIX SCADA system a “next generation visualization, control, and real-time information management solution” that gives users a more flexible and reliable tool for analyzing the performance of production processes across the enterprise.
“This is a major release of iFIX, and it has received a tremendous amount of positive feedback throughout its development and beta program,” says Prasad Pai, GE Fanuc’s iFIX product manager.
Pai adds that the new release, unveiled on July 16, contains many features that users have been asking for, such as for evaluating and managing alarms, and improved data charting capabilities. But the most noticeable improvement, according to Pai, is the look and feel of the user interface.
“We adopted the Microsoft Fluid User Interface [UI] technology, which allows users to arrange all of the items they use into a ribbon format, and gives them quicker access to toolbars.”
This UI technology—which has been applied to both the iFIX Workspace and Database Manager environments—streamlines the process of configuring the system to monitor specific processes.
Beyond the interface, new iFIX features include:
• Enhanced failover capabilities, allowing users to synchronize real-time data, every aspect of a tag database, and alarms across an entire network;
• Improved features for acknowledging and managing alarms; and
• Superior graphic capabilities that offer more options for creating charts.
The system also offers an automatic link between iFIX and the Proficy Data Historian. With this feature, users can pull time-stamped data from the data historian and compare it with real-time process data. “Pharmaceutical manufacturers can use this feature to prove to auditors that they have ready access to stored data,” says Pai.
