I am not sure where to start. I have been working in Industrial Automation for over a decade. My favorite SCADA/HMI software, Igintion from Inductive Automation, just released the Maker Edition. It is most of the full version, free for personal use. At my work, we just started a club of about 10 people that plan to use it for home automation (on the Rasberry Pi 4). If that goes well, I will try to offer a class on it at the DMS.
Here is a link to there maker edition page Ignition Maker Edition | Inductive Automation
One of the cool things about this is that if you learn to use the maker Edition, you know how to use most of the full version and have job skills in industrial automation.
I also talked with David Grussenmeyer, their university and maker space coordinator. He did say he would give us licenses for the class room computers and for DMS if we wanted to us it at DMS. Other makers spaces have used it to run things like a brewery and aquaponics farm.
Are there any other fans of Ignition out there? If so, what do you think of the Maker Edition?
Long term, I think Ignition could give members a better experience. It works well from any browser or smart device app, so it might help people be more in tune to what is happening at the space (like see who is at a machine and how long they have been there). It can also use the smart device info, like location (so you could get in line on the app only if you are on site). Maybe its not worth it. I wont push it until I see what I can do with it at home. But if there is any automation that needs to be done around DMS, this is something to consider.
