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This is a legitimate question, especially in light of all of the recent noise being made about Web Portals and Browser based applications. However, it is also one that is extremely easy to answer. First, a little about ACP's Thin Client technology...
ACP's method of creating Thin Clients results in the 'thinnest' Thin Clients available. To make a Thin Client system work, applications that were running on distributed PCs scattered throughout a plant are instead brought to a central Windows Server. Only the user interface is then distributed wherever the full application was running previously. This centralized approach allows the end user to achieve the same results as with a PC, but on very limited hardware placed at the operator stations - the application code and data are safely running in a secure location.
The idea is to deploy very simple, rugged, 'commodity' type devices to display the user interface, giving the user the ability to rapidly switch a device if it becomes damaged. Almost all Thin Clients can do this without having local disk drives, but with the exception of ACP Enabled Thin Clients they have to maintain a local copy of the Thin Client operating system and all of the configuration parameters. Not only do these devices have to be configured before they can be installed, but if they sit around for a few months there is a real chance that the code inside the device will not match the code inside newer devices. ACP's ThinManager allows for configuration of the Thin Clients to be maintained on the server, so any unit that is swapped automatically receives the exact same configuration of the previous Thin Client, even if it is made by a different manufacturer.
Open up any ACP Enabled Thin Client (about 40 different models made by 8 different companies) and you won't find a program stored locally. That is because the operating system inside the Thin Client is loaded each time the client boots, assuring that each Thin Client is running the exact same version of the control code. And since this process is quicker than reading the client's operating system from local static memory, ACP Thin Clients even boot faster!
Now, back to our central question. Why would you want to place dedicated Thin Client hardware around a factory? Here are some of the top reasons why more and more people are choosing ACP's solution:
Right now you are using a browser to read this newsletter. This is exactly the type of work for which the browser was designed. If done carefully, it is also possible to use a browser to display control and monitoring data, and while there are still some problems and pretty significant limitations, this process is improving all the time. Companies like Wonderware, Intellution and CiTect have done some significant work to produce control screens that look very nice. But no one would argue that these displays look and run as well as similar screens produced using their standard HMI tools.
Deployment of their full HMI is exactly what you get with dedicated Thin Client hardware. Control screens developed using any of their standard products work as well on a Thin Client as they do on a dedicated PC, which means that you can use all of the screens that you have already invested thousands of dollars developing. And get the same (or better) performance as well.
Not only can you use the standard versions of these products, but also almost any other application that will run on a Windows 2000 PC will run on any ACP Enabled Thin Client. Deploy the exact same version of these programs that you are running now and the operators will not be able to tell that they aren't using a PC, and you will save by not having to buy new software.
A Thin Client session running on a PC is a wonderful idea. In fact, ACP has just such a product. But this type of Thin Client brings along some significant baggage in the form of the PC itself. A dedicated Thin Client can be turned off and on at any time without affecting the application. There is also no version of Microsoft Windows to be updated, and no disk to rebuild in case of catastrophic failure.
Replacing a crashed PC is a time consuming task that involves location and installation of multiple programs and drivers. While good backups certainly help, there is still no way christening a new PC will take less time then powering up a Thin Client - especially if the IT department has already gone home.
It is very difficult to make a system composed of distributed PCs secure. Not only can users frequently break into the systems, they can also take data or add viruses via a floppy disk drive. Thin Clients, on the other hand, have no disk drives, and are very difficult to use to gain access to the network. Physical theft of the machines is also not an issue. Because a Thin Client is useless without a properly configured server, operators will not be taking them for personal use.
The number one factor in most cases. There just isn't that much that can go wrong with an ACP Enabled Thin Client. What you have in terms of hardware is not really that different from what is found on most PLCs. Additionally the lower power requirements (some units run on 5V DC) mean less heat is generated, helping to lengthen component life and allowing for much smaller units that have no cooling fans. The lack of moving air through the unit makes them more suitable for dirty environments, and the low voltage and no moving parts makes them much easer to use in hazardous areas.
Fewer components also mean a piece of hardware that can have a much lower cost. Some ACP Enabled Thin Clients with integrated touch screens are now selling for just a few hundred dollars more than the touch screen would sell for by itself! And for that cost you get a full industrial device, capable of displaying all of the programs that you are now running on industrial PCs that cost literally thousands of dollars more.
Take a look at the benefits of using true Thin Client hardware, and we believe that you will agree that ACP Enabled products are the best solution for the deployment of operator interfaces in almost any environment.
For more information on ACP Industrial Thin Client computers, please visit our web site at http://www.thinmanager.com
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