streamlining HMI development process

About

Company
Pattyn
Location
Bruges, Belgium
Competences

interact

HMI

user interface

turnkey solution

packaging machines

user interface development

streamlining the HMI development process for packaging specialist Pattyn

Packaging specialist Pattyn teamed up with VINTECC to streamline their HMI development process. By adopting VINTECC's INTERACT solution, Pattyn achieved faster, more flexible, and highly customizable user interface development for their machines. 

Industrial systems are becoming more and more complex. As automation advances, operators need intuitive, user-friendly dashboards to access real-time data, monitor system performance, and respond to alarms efficiently.  

As a leading manufacturer of high-performance packaging lines for food and non-food companies, Pattyn realizes this as no other. Pattyn provides a wide range of turnkey solutions, from case erecting to palletizing, ensuring a seamless and worry-free packaging process.

“VINTECC’s INTERACT HMI development solution offers us much more freedom and flexibility.”

Alexander Libbrecht

Alexander Libbrecht

Team Lead Automation

1. Challenge: lack of flexibility

The company relies on HMI software to develop customizable interfaces for its wide range of machines and for specific operational requirements, always with the goal of improving usability and operator productivity as much as possible. 

  • Ready for change 
    • Until recently, Pattyn was using an established HMI development kit with limited support for web-based HMI development. But when the solution provider decided to transition to a web-based environment, this came with many challenges and headaches, and Pattyn’s development team was questioning whether they should continue using the solution. 
  • Intuitive and attractive HMIs 
    • “We had been growing more frustrated with the lack of flexibility of the HMI solution we were using,” says Alexander Libbrecht, Team Lead Automation at Pattyn. “Our software provider was reluctant to answer our needs for adaptations, and we felt it had become more difficult to build attractive and intuitive interfaces with our current solution.”

2. Solution: smooth HMI development

Pattyn decided to look for help and contacted VINTECC with a request for a new HMI development solution. In close collaboration with the Pattyn team, VINTECC used its new and in-house developed HMI development solution, called INTERACT, which allows Pattyn to create custom HMIs for their machines. 

“Rather than having to create everything from scratch, INTERACT allows developers to start from predefined components and templates which can be added by code and in the near future by a drag-and-drop functionality.”

  • PLC communication and frontend 
    • On the one hand, INTERACT serves as the connection to the PLC program, allowing operators to seamlessly engage with the machine. On the other hand, INTERACT has a frontend that allows the Pattyn team to configure HMIs using several key elements, including a module overview, alarms management, recipe handling, order processing, customizable settings, a dedicated service page, and more.   
  • Configuration philosophy
    • INTERACT has adopted a configuration philosophy. Instead of having to create everything from scratch or write large amounts of code, HMI developers can start with predefined components and templates, customized by Pattyn. These can be added via code and/or via drag-and-drop functionality. This makes the HMI development process much faster and easier.

3. Result: speed and flexibility

“Compared to our previous HMI solution, INTERACT offers us much more freedom and flexibility,” says Alexander Libbrecht. “In addition, we have been working very closely together with the VINTECC team, who has always been willing to meet our specific demands. 

  • Integrated software and HMI development 
    • Furthermore, the INTERACT HMI development kit seamlessly integrates with the Central Pattyn Repository of Modules (CPRM), a central web portal where machine configurations can be downloaded by the team for use in their development projects. With the integration of software development and HMI development, the development and design process has become even more streamlined. 
  • Manufacturing experts 
    • “The VINTECC teams speaks our language,” says Alexander Libbrecht. “They know the world of manufacturing inside out, and they have extensive backend and frontend knowledge. This makes them an essential technology partner for us.” 
    •   “I’m very proud to have contributed to VINTECC’s HMI management solution,” says Pieter-Jan Devolder, technology lead at VINTECC. “I'm convinced that it will further streamline Pattyn’s HMI design processes and enable them to serve their customers faster with tailored HMI solutions.” 
    • “Having all back-end and front-end expertise under one roof, combined with the seamless collaboration with the Pattyn team, has been the cornerstone of this project’s success,” says Brian Vanlerberghe, senior front-end developer at VINTECC.