The Design of a HMI for Additive Manufacturing

The recent technological evolution associated with a new computing paradigm regarding the existence of multiple devices with a digital identity but capable of sensing, actuating and communicating with the physical environment are at the basis of a new industrial revolution under way, commonly designated as Industry 4.0. The Human Machine Interface (HMI) for manufacturing process control is a key component within this concept. This work presents the process of developing an HMI, supported by web technology, and adapted for an additive manufacturing equipment. The HMI should allow monitoring and manipulation of its parameters by providing the operator with a tool capable of providing timely information on the manufacturing process as well as the equipment itself and should allow direct control of the instrument. The paper presents and describes, the adopted methodology, the proposed architecture, the prototypes and the studies with the users and the respective results of the usability tests. Users were involved in the design process. The final interface was assessed very positively by the users (operators).