FAQ Category: Common Questions
Common Questions — Frequently Asked Questions
At machine level, we use cMT HMIs to connect and collect data. At system level, we use our Windows HMIs to run your SCADA and analytics. This gives you a complete Industry 4.0 solution without unnecessary complexity.
The Headless HMI serves as the HMI interface over the network and you view/control it using our Android or Windows based Tablets reducing your overall hardware cost by eliminating the need to have a dedicated HMI at every station and enabling multi-user access.
Open the System Settings On the HMI screen, tap the system toolbar (Arrow in the bottom right corner or the System Icon in the top left corner depending on the…
Yes, we have several products that support PROFINET. HMI products, Network Switches, CODESYS enabled HMIs
Yes, the the AFX00001, AFX00002, AFX00003 modules support Modbus TCP (Ethernet) and Modbus RTU (RS485 serial) protocols. All of our HMI/CMT and HMI+PLC combo units support communications to these modules.
All of our Windows based IPCs and Touch Panel PCs can run WinCC Runtime Advanced as well as WinCC Unified. Using our IPCs running WinCC, you’ll generally get a higher performance device per dollar with a more ruggedized enclosure with higher screen resolution, more RAM and SSD options, and the ability to run other industrial software on the same machine with more advanced remote access tools.
You can use our Windows or Linux based IPCs and Touch Panel PCs to run Ignition Edge locally. You can also use our HMIs to communicate with Ignition via Modbus TCP, OPC UA, and MQTT, which makes a programmers life easier when building distributed edge gateways, dashboards, or data collection nodes within an Ignition-powered architecture.
Our Support Center contains numerous resources that can help you quickly learn what you need to know about setting up and programming Maple Systems HMIs.
Yes. We know that maintaining consistent branding can be critical for OEM suppliers, so Maple Systems offers custom branding services that allow you to choose the logos or text that will be visible on your devices when they are shipped
Maple Systems HMIs are certified to operate in some of the most challenging environmental conditions in the world. With models certified by UL, IP, NEMA, RoHS, CE, ATEx, C1D2, and more, there is a Maple Systems HMI for nearly any situation or environment
Our HMIs with built-in touchscreens are available with display sizes of 4.3”, 7”, 9.7”, 10”, 12”, 15”, or 15.6”, & 21.5″, as well has headless HMIs that can connect to an external monitor of your choice, including big screen TVs
No. Buying a Maple Systems HMI gives you access to everything you need to program, connect, and run your device without any subscriptions or ongoing license fees
The vast majority of features in EBPro do not need additional licensing, but a few situations may require a license fee to activate specific functions. For features like our built-in CODESYS runtime, OPC/UA messaging, or the EasyAccess 2.0 VPN service, users must pay a one-time activation fee to enable these functions on the HMI.
Maple Systems offers HMI models at a range of price points that will fit into almost any budget. Our Basic HMI Series starts at $345, and includes the EBPro configuration…
Yes. Maple HMIs support storage expansion through external HDD, USB flash drive, or SD card, depending on the HMI model.
Maple Systems HMIs are compatible with a wide range of peripheral devices such as printers, barcode scanners, cameras, keyboards, mice, flash storage drives, and more. For projects using multiple USB devices at once, a USB hub can expand a single USB port into many, allowing several devices to connect simultaneously.
Related Links Product • cMT/HMI Software Downloads & Upgrades • EBPro Manuals & Guides • cMT Quick Start Guide • EBPro Programming Manual • EBPro Quick Start Guide Tech Notes See our list of Tech Notes Solutions See our Case Studies & Solutions See our SCADA Systems Design Guide Controller Information Sheets See our list of Controller Information Sheets Communication Cables See our list of Communication Cables Videos See our list of Training Videos
Maple Systems cMT HMIs support over +400 PLC and controller communication protocols, allowing our HMIs to communicate with most common devices. Our cMT HMIs also support protocols such as Modbus TCP/IP or Modbus RTU, opening them up for use with a wide range of devices.
EBPro is the free, full-featured HMI configuration software used for most standard HMI products (panel-mount, headless, and web HMIs). It includes powerful simulation tools that allow users to test projects offline before purchasing hardware.
PLCs are industrial digital computers designed to execute real-time control operations in manufacturing and process automation environments. HMIs are graphical user interfaces that control and interact with industrial automation systems. HMI+PLC combinations are devices that consolidate both control processing and operator interface functions within a single compact unit.
HMI Display systems serve as graphical Human Machine Interfaces that enable operators to monitor and control machinery through real-time process data visualization. Free configuration software like our EBPro, facilitates bidirectional…
The OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) Model is a conceptual framework that defines how data moves through a network in seven layers — from the physical hardware connection to the software…
ATEX is the abbreviation for Atmosphere Explosible, ATEX refers to the risk of explosion that can occur in environments when flammable gasses or dust are present. Used by the EU…
For Maple Systems, OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) represents a key performance metric used to help customers monitor, analyze, and improve manufacturing productivity through their industrial automation products — especially their…
Yes, all our HMIs and cMT HMIs support RFID card authentication via the use of a USB RFID card reader. We also have one 10.1″ HMI with a radio frequency identification scanner built into the front bezel.
In computer networking, a node is any physical or virtual device that is part of a network. This includes hosts like HMIs and PLCs, as well as devices that help manage network traffic, such as routers, switches, and access points.
A host is any device that connects to a network and can send or receive data. This includes computers, servers, PLCs, HMIs, smartphones, tablets, printers, and much more
Firmware is a type of software that is embedded into hardware devices to control and manage their operations. Unlike regular software that can be easily updated or removed, firmware is…
EtherNet/IP (Ethernet Industrial Protocol) is an industrial networking protocol that operates over standard Ethernet infrastructure. EtherNet/IP is an open and standardized protocol governed by the ODVA (Open DeviceNet Vendors Association). It uses the standard TCP/IP suite for communication but is specifically designed to handle real-time control and monitoring in industrial environments.
Minutes… even seconds! Simply plug it in, power it up, type in IP address of the HMI you’d like to remote into and you’re done.
Backed by strong environmental certifications like NEMA4 and an IP66 rating, you can control your operations in harsh environments, even bad weather by using the cMT iV Series Display with…
Even the toughest equipment can break. That’s no truer than with the monitors and panels that controllers rely on for critical information, like HMIs. Screens, especially touchscreens, are the most…
Yes! Adding a cMT Display unit to your existing Headless HMI system gives you an easier view into your HMIs operations.
Using cMT Viewer, a single cMT iV Series Display device can simultaneously connect to up to six cMT and cMT-X HMIs for full access to their projects. Additionally, up to 10…
Our CMT display units come with the cMT Viewer app preinstalled. This app allows you to remotely access any HMI on the manufacturing floor, allowing you to view and modify…
Yes, adding EasyAccess2.0 will give you access to your system from anywhere in the world, not just the manufacturing floor
To disable internet access over the HMI’s ethernet port, set the gateway and DNS addresses of the WAN port you want to disable to 0.0.0.0 in the system settings for your device under the Ethernet port Network settings:
The program will be retained for the lifespan of the HMI. The program is stored in the non-volatile flash memory (solid state memory), which can last anywhere from 10 years…
PROFINET (Process Field Network) is an industrial Ethernet-based communication protocol used for automation and control systems. PROFINET is designed to enable real-time communication between industrial equipment in manufacturing environments and…
Yes! You can have each LAN port on a cMT or HMI configured for a different network or subnet, in fact, we recommend doing so to keep the ports from conflicting.
The specifics will likely differ based on which device you’re specifically working with, but in general, LAN 1 is the port you’d use for a network connection that goes out…
When downloading a project using a newer EBPro version or using a particular font you may likely hit the “building font file failed” error message when compiling your project: Certain…
The string table in EasyBuilder Pro is a centralized database for managing multilingual text used in HMI projects. By pre-configuring texts and their corresponding numbers in the string table, text can be changed dynamically on the HMI.
In EasyBuilder Pro, a WORD refers to the size of the data type configured for the system. This is the standard size used to store data in registers and memory locations within the system. Our LW, PLW, RW, RW_A, EM0-15, RECIPE, RWI, PRW registers store WORDs into addresses.
In a Server-Client topology, a client is a device or application that requests and utilizes services or resources provided by a server. The client initiates communication with the server, sending requests for data, processing, or specific functionalities.
An APIPA (Automatic Private IP Addressing) or Link-Local Address is a self-assigned IP address automatically generated by a device when it cannot obtain an IP address from a DHCP server
Ensure you have an available *.conf file to download onto the HMI. Inside EasyBuilder Pro navigate to the Project tab > Download (PC -> HMI). On the Download window enable…
The WATCH feature allows the end-user to view the contents of a register-address in a message of an event. Users may set register-addresses from the PLC, Remote HMI, or Local…
All OITs are HMIs, but not all HMIs are OITs. OIT (Operator Interface Terminal) usually means a dedicated terminal with graphics and/or text that provides data/control of a local (rather…
What is an HMI or Human Machine Interface? A Human-Machine Interface (HMI) is a user interface that facilitates communication between a person and a machine, or system. While this can…
Using a blanket purchase order is a common strategy for customers with ongoing projects. Often, an OEM solution has continuing needs for regular fulfillment of hardware, and the management of…
When looking for an outdoor rated HMI, many factors should be considered as outdoor rated can encompass a wide-range of certifications and hardware specifications. Many of our Human Machine Interfaces…
FDA 21 CFR Part 11, by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the US government, definesthe criteria under which electronic records and electronic signatures can be treated withsame degree of…
To help keep your account secure, starting May 30, 2022, Google will no longer support the use of third party apps or devices which ask you to sign into your…
When you create a recipe database in EBPro, the recipe data is actually stored in the EBPro project. You can view and edit the recipe data by opening the Recipe…
Generally, “floating point error” refers to when a number cannot be stored in the IEEE floating point representation. Integers are stored with the right-most bit being 1, and each bit…
The device polling time, or the time between reads of a single address/tag, is influenced by a variety of factors and is dependent upon the application. From the HMI side, turnaround…
No, because the video input is constantly being updated it is not possible to overlay HMI objects on to of a video stream from an IP or USB camera.
When making any changes to the RW memory area, the changes are stored in RAM memory initially and after 60 seconds, written to permanent flash memory. Therefore, when testing the…
An EBPro project file is saved with a *.emtp extension (*.cmtp for CMT Series). This is the development project that can be opened and edited in EBPro. Before you can…
Our Macro Reference Manual provides a great deal of information and examples for programming Macros. We highly recommend reviewing the Manual, which can be downloaded from our Support Center here: https://maplesystems.com/support-center/manuals-guides There is…
The System Shape Libraries in EBPro allow you to customize the colors but only allow for two states. In order to have three or more states with custom colors, you…
The Standard Series HMIs now support VNC (EBPro v6.03.02.257 or later). Since the B-Series do not have the VNC tab in the System Settings window to enable VNC, it needs…
Maple Systems HMIs use the Modbus protocol to communicate with the Scadapack PLC. 32-bit floating point numbers use two consecutive 16-bit registers to contain all 32 bits. The Scadapack stores…
In order to enable a VNC connection to an HMI press the System Settings Icon in the lower right corner of the HMI screen and select the gear icon. After…
When connecting to your cMT-X Series through EasyWeb, you are able to export data logs, event logs, and operation logs as well as make backups of the database directly to your PC.
Yes, you can replace the stock antenna with an aftermarket one. The antenna connector on the cMT-SVR is RPSMA Female.
If your HMI has access to the internet, you can configure the project to sync with an NTP server on a regular basis, which would allow the HMI to automate…
The Time-based Data Transfer Object (Global) is restricted when transferring bits. It can only transfer bits from a PLC to the HMI. It cannot transfer bits from the HMI to…
Don’t forget your terminating resistors! Both ends of the CAN bus should be terminated with 120O resistors. Forgetting the resistors can result in signal reflection which will corrupt the data…
The WiFi spec for the cMT-SVR-200 series is IEEE 802.11 b/g/n. 802.11b/g has a range up to 150 feet (can be affected by building materials). 802.11n has a range of…
If you are wondering how you can assign tags for dynamic limits in a Numeric Object, take note of the “Usage…” note in the Object Properties window. The Numeric Object…
With the Allen-Bradley Compact/Control Logix “Free Tags” drivers in EBPro, you can import tags using an .L5X project file exported from your RSLogix software. This method is preferred over using…
A VESA mount is a standard hole pattern that allows HMIs, displays, industrial monitors, and panel PCs to be securely attached to mounts or arms. Most Maple Systems devices use either a 75×75 mm or 100×100 mm VESA pattern (check your model’s datasheet for exact details). Compatible mounting options include fixed wall mounts, swivel/tilt brackets, desk arms, and heavy-duty industrial arms, as long as they match the device’s VESA pattern and weight requirements.
In EBPro v6.05.01.565, a variable check is performed when saving and compiling a Macro. This check will trigger a “warning W2: variable not initialized.” for each ‘declared’ variable in the…
If the “Storage Space Insufficient” message pops up on the HMI screen (Window number 8 in EBPro), it is likely caused by not having a USB flash drive or SD…
When using a Maple Systems HMI, the project, recipe (RW, RW_A, db), data log, event log, and operation logfiles are stored in permanent HMI (flash) memory. There are several ways to clear data in flash memory.
Yes. You can dynamically change the address referenced by an object using the index feature. This allows you to create and indirect pointer or offset into PLC or HMI memory.…
Since the Settings window for the cMT-FHDX does not have an option to enable the VNC server, you can do it with a System Bit in the HMI. LB-12092 is…
This can be done by using a PLC control object (found on the Objects tab in EBPro) select “Type” as “Change window” and select a register/tag on your PLC for…
There are several ways to accomplish this. To set a few registers or bits you can place Set Bit or Set Word objects on the common window (window #4). These…
If you open a project in EBPro that was created on another computer and the fonts appear too large, there is a setting in the display properties of the computer…
One issue that can cause the HMI to freeze or respond very slowly is large graphics in the HMI program. This requires extra processing by the CPU to resize the…
To display the entire string the number of words needs to be set in the ASCII display object. On the general tab of the ASCII object’s properties window click on…
No, the serial number for the HMI is not stored in a system register, and can only be found on the sticker on the back of the HMI. If you…
On the Home tab in EBPro in the “Editing” category there is an Find/Replace tool (icon of eye-glasses) that can be used to find and change the names of tags…
This depends on the driver. Some drivers will allow you to configure the word order globally for the driver. This would be done from a Data Conversion button on the…
When you want to read 32-bit register using a word addressed protocol like Modbus all you have to to is set the format to a 32-bit format (32-bit signed, 32-bit…
Method 1: The GetData and SetData functions can be used to transfer data from one tag to another in a macro. Use GetData to grab the value from one tag…
To get the HMI into portrait mode: First, make sure the HMI project was created in portrait mode.Second, go into the System Settings window on the HMI and make sure…
The issue could be related to the firmware version on the PLC. Currently, Get Tag Info seems to work with firmware v20 and v24 but not anything higher. If this…
Resistive touchscreen surface material is PET (polyethylene terephthalate, also called polyester). Capacitive touchscreen surface material is tempered glass. Both surfaces can be cleaned with the following method. Using a cleaning…
If you cant find your HMI Model number in EBPro, you may have an older version. Please download our latest build of EBPro here: Software Downloads If you still can…
PLW and PLB memory cannot be used in macros. This is because macros only run on the host and do not run in separate instances on each of the clients.
Once you convert your Standard HMI project to a cMT project, or create a new cMT project, it is not possible to convert back to a Standard HMI model. However,…
There are system bits that can be set to delete the event history in HMI memory. For example LB-9023.
To fix this issue, simply open the System Parameters > Extended Memory > click “OK”. Then the project should compile.
Our HMI displays do not support the Telnet protocol. However, since Telnet is an ASCII-based protocol, it may be possible to communicate to a Telnet client using the Free Protocol…
There is a system register that is used to control pass-through mode, LW-9903. When you write a 0 to the register, it is in normal pass-through mode and the HMI…