In the winter issue of “Packaging + Processing OEM,” All-Fill Inc is mentioned as president and CEO, Ryan Edginton, discusses HMIs from the manufacturer perspective. HMI’s are one of the largest OEMs that All-Fill Inc has today as they are integrated into every machine for operator use.

An HMI is the human machine interface and it acts as a go between from the machine to the operator. Don’t think an HMI applies to you? We use HMIs everyday without realizing from our computers to our phones, HMI’s are needed so that the machine can do what the user wants it to in an easy to manipulate screen or interface.

The application that the HMI is being used for might have more demands for lift, vibrations, and filling process. However this does not mean that more features are required of the HMI. The latest and greatest might be available but two things to consider is how the machine needs to interact with it and how the operator will handle it. This is similar to getting a new video game and making sure your computer meets all of the requirements before you purchase that game. More often than not, it will be able to handle the demands of that game and, in our case, the filling machines.

On page 16, Edginton mentions that there are great features for HMIs but these features might be noise in the big picture of operating a machine and making it run to the best of its ability. Doing research on HMIs allows us to know what the customer is really paying for and helping them make the right decision for their operators.

Clients may want standardization across the board and are willing to pay for it. Standardization allows for all operators to understand the interface and training would be across the board instead of only a select group of people.

Because of this, All-Fill utilizes standardization for its HMIs. On the bottom of page 15, Edginton says, “an operator who worked on a machine with an alphanumeric keypad for years may not want to switch because it is not something they are comfortable with.”

Although the younger generation might feel comfortable with something that looks like their cell phone screens, previous generations of operators might not. Because of this All-Fill tries to maintain a standard HMI for all of our machines, although customers can request alternative HMIs for their machines.

There is a bright future for HMI controls. As Edginton says, the future could include troubleshooting and help screens allowing for more ease of operation as controls become trickier.

All-Fill continues with its standardization of HMI controls so that customers that utilize all of our product lines will be able to understand each of them. ­­