Creating SCADA diagrams in .NET [closed]

Question

I need to create a industrial monitoring application that shows the operator a SCADA diagram, similar to this

alt text http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/631/processcontrol.png

What toolkits are available to do this and what experience have people have with them? I already know of the ilog tookit but have no experience of it.

Edit: I don't need software to control the hardware itself, I just need to create the GUI or diagrams that show the current status of the process.

Answer 1

Is that a FactoryLink screen shot?

To be honest, I've yet to find good reason to move SCADA development to .NET. Admittedly the tools out there for SCADA development aren't the most fantastic providing you with an almost laughable toolset full of frustrating limitations.

Given the amount of plumbing it will take to extract the data from the SCADA system you are using into .NET, I would say it's almost not worth the considerable effort unless the vendor of the HMI software you are using has a .NET API.

Most of the graphics they use are vector graphics which could feasibly be reproduced using something like Microsoft Expression or another vector graphics package. A lot of the controls though have data intelligence though to display the data graphically which would take a lot of work also - it's the same process as producing full blown controls.

I'd be interested to see the avenue you take to achieve this, but after many frustrating hours of wanting to do this myself I decided that the net gains wouldn't be worth the effort I had to put in so I shelved it.

I've dealt with a couple of SCADA HMI developers and for the entire time I've dealt with them I've been pushing and complaining that they provide .NET capable tools. They're mostly resistant to it saying "it's coming, we're working on it", but I've yet to see any evidence that they're doing anything but trying to placate me.

At one point I even hooked directly into Modbus devices using a custom .NET API to control the devices and coded a .NET application directly against them, completely mitigating the need for the HMI application but it so wasn't worth the effort. The existing tools out there might be frustrating to develop with, but once the application is developed, the tools do work consistently.

Good luck though, it's a worthy endeavour - rather you than me ;)

Answer 2

I have done this before in the past, but my implementation was entirely from scratch using vector graphics libraries. I would not recommend this path unless you wish to unnecessarily punish yourself. If your going to though, I used this library:

http://www.vgdotnet.com/

Here is what I would recommend (note: I have not tried any of these):

http://www.opcsystems.com/

http://www.kineticart.co.uk/Downloads.html

http://www.blocks4.net/Products/_net_scada_framework/ProductDetails.aspx

I believe that your best bet would be the opc systems. From what I can find they seem to be the most well rounded library.

Hope this helps.