Umatex Pilot Line ICS interface design
UX design, graphical production diagrams, development of an automated system interface for a carbon fibre manufacturer
“UMATEX” is the Russian leader in the production and R&D in the field of carbon fiber and composite materials on its base. It is a part of the state corporation “Rosatom”.
Bronze. Best Interactive Solution/Animation
UX design
The design required a complete immersion in the technological processes set up from each ACS screen: as input, we received work documents describing the technological process and the list of managed and displayed elements of each screen.
To design the UX, we had to learn what a spray bath was and how many modes the high-temperature carbonization furnaces could have, how the speed of the rollers was set, when an emergency stop was required, what the procedure was for setting various input parameters, and so on.The design required a complete immersion in the technological processes set up from each ACS screen: as input, we received work documents describing the technological process and the list of managed and displayed elements of each screen.
To design the UX, we had to learn what a spray bath was and how many modes the high-temperature carbonization furnaces could have, how the speed of the rollers was set, when an emergency stop was required, what the procedure was for setting various input parameters, and so on.
Modelling
All mnemonic diagrams were drawn based on photos of real equipment, so they reflect the production process as accurately as possible, including the fiber path and the position of the system objects relative to each other.
Due to the peculiarities of design integration into the system, the development of the UI kit was not enough. It was required to create layouts for each screen, taking into account all possible system states, navigation elements, service message statuses and prepare them into suitable blocks for integration.
Structure
The system consists of three control panels, for each of which an interface was designed and developed: the operator panel cabinet with a 21.5″ touch screen monitor, the surface treatment equipment control system with a 12″ monitor, and the fiber transport control system.
Result
The combination of in-depth expertise of three companies — scientific and production expertise on the part of Umatex engineers, production and experience on the part of the system developer, and ours in terms of UX-design of interfaces allowed us to create a high-quality high-tech product.
The project took over a year and included several iterations. We participated in the commissioning of the equipment and finalized the interface together with Umatex engineers and the developer of the automated production line control system.
