Yokogawa Announces GX And GP Series Paperless Recorders

D

evelopment background



Recorders are used on production lines and in R&D units in a variety of industries to acquire, display and record data such as temperature, voltage, current, flow rate and pressure. Yokogawa has long been one of the world’s leading recorder vendors. Two major trends in the recorder market are a shift from paper to digital recording systems and the proliferation of computer networks, allowing all the data stored in recording devices to be centrally managed and monitored, no matter where they may be located.



With the recent significant improvements in the user interfaces of tablets, smartphones, and other mobile terminals, users have been calling for similar enhancements to be made with recorders and other industrial instruments to improve ease of use. There is also a need for I/O modules that will enable the flexible configuration of recorders for different applications, and a need to improve network connectivity.



The GX series panel-mounted paperless recorders and GP series portable paperless recorders for Yokogawa’s SMARTDAC+ data acquisition and control system meet all these needs, with features such as an easy-to-use operator interface like those found in the latest handheld terminals, flexible configuration, and excellent system expandability. The GX and GP series devices are the first products to be released for the SMARTDAC+ system.



Key features of the new recorders include a smart user interface, smart architecture and smart functionality



The intuitive smart user interface is engineered for ease of use via two-point touch screen technology similar to that found in the latest tablets and smartphones. This provides easy navigation, allowing users to scroll through a waveform image to view past data, just as if they were scrolling through a roll of recording paper. To read the digital values for a specific location on a waveform image, users only need to drag a scale to that position. And, with a “spreading” or “pinching” multi-touch gesture, users can zoom in or out on a waveform image. The resistive touch screen can even be operated while wearing gloves. Users can also write freehand messages and monitor multiple screens simultaneously on the multi-panel display.



The new units feature a highly flexible and scalable smart architecture with expandable modular construction. By selecting the appropriate input/output modules, users can easily configure I/O segments for a specific measurement task. The GX20 and GP20, each of which comes with a large touch panel, can accommodate up to ten modules or 100 I/O channels; the GX10 and GP10, which have a smaller touch panel, can accommodate up to three modules or 30 channels. An easy-to-read large display (12.1-inch TFT colour LCD) provides a resolution of 800 x 600 dots.



Smart functionality includes advanced data-logging and communication functions. The high-capacity internal memory supports continuous recording of many input channels. The external memory slot accepts the use of SD memory cards of up to 32 Gbyte capacity, offering local backup facility of data files for months or years.



The GX and GP recorders support the Ethernet international LAN standard, enabling both monitoring and configuration to be carried out from Internet Explorer. In addition, FTP support enables all recorder data to be managed through a file server. A printer output function enables direct printing of reports and “snapshots” from the GX and GP recorders. These recorders also support Modbus communications, so data can be shared with Modbus-compliant devices.



Major target markets



GX series: Production plants in industries such as iron and steel, petrochemicals, chemicals, pulp and paper, food, pharmaceuticals, water supply and wastewater treatment, and electrical equipment and electronics.



GP series: R&D units in industries such as consumer electronics, automobiles, semiconductors, and new energy; universities; and research institutes.



Applications for the new products include