Custom applications often fill a gap where no off-the-shelf commercial software meets a specific set of requirements for a business case. In this example, a batching system was developed with FactoryTalk Batch from Rockwell Automation, however the customer struggled to get the specific information they needed from the base system. They were having a difficult time managing their batch recipes using the built-in toolset which makes visualization of large recipes difficult. The customer wanted to streamline their recipe management workflow with a visualization tool that would show a recipe’s structure, allow them to print the results, and also allow them to compare two versions of the same recipe to identify differences.
Batch Recipe Viewer
John Lee,
Senior Manager
Matrix developed a robust Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) solution using Microsoft’s .NET framework that is compatible with Rockwell’s FactoryTalk Batch Recipe files. The application displays the FactoryTalk SFC for the recipe, but lays it out in an intelligent manner using page boundaries to allow for readable printouts. The printouts also contain a summary of information about the recipe along with identifying information on each page. This helps the end-user easily match up a printout of one version of a recipe against another version. The software can compare two different recipes against one another. The comparison then generates a detailed report that lists the similarities and differences between the recipe versions. The detailed list then feeds into the customer’s checking and validation process. The software is flexible and extensible and can be updated to work as a platform-agnostic Recipe translator tool for other batch platforms, such as Delta V, in the future.
Conclusion
In the end, the solution provided an easy to use application with intelligent SFC layout. It allows the user to view the entire recipe at one time, in a well-formatted easy to read printouts of the entire recipe. It provided users with both detailed recipe comparison reports and improved recipe version comparisons. All of these features work together to provide an advanced solution for overall recipe management.
Matrix Technologies’ ability to build custom, enterprise-ready applications helps our clients solve even the most difficult business problems. Our application development capabilities extend well beyond software integration, with a dedicated staff of experienced developers with proven capabilities.
If you have are interest in the Batch Recipe Viewer Tool, have a need to develop a custom software solution, or need to explore integration between systems, feel free to contact us to see how Matrix Technologies can help.
© Matrix Technologies, Inc.
John Lee
Senior Manager
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