Power Panel C650 and mapp View
One Device. Three Solutions.
How B&R’s new Power Panel 600 series and mapp View EMB reduce complexity in machine building
When Serdar Aysu and Sebastian Pammesberger talk about the new Power Panel C650, one thing becomes clear: this is more than an addition to B&R’s Power Panel portfolio. It represents the next step in its evolution, bringing a broad range of communication capabilities together in one powerful, high-performance platform. Built on decades of engineering expertise, the C650 combines proven strengths with a new generation of technology. On the software side, mapp View EMB continues this evolution, giving machine builders greater flexibility and opening up new possibilities for visualization.
At first glance, the Power Panel C650 looks like a modern operator panel. The real innovation, however, lies beneath the surface. With the new Power Panel 600 series, B&R brings together the strengths of several previous panel generations in a single platform. Applications that previously required different devices or product families can now be covered with significantly fewer variants.
The invisible simplification
For machine builders, this primarily means less engineering effort, a simpler product selection process and greater flexibility at the same time. By combining HMI and PLC functionality in a single device, the Power Panel C650 reduces system complexity while providing a powerful platform for both machine control and visualization. The new Power Panel C650 delivers four times the computing power and double the RAM capacity of its predecessor. This provides ample performance reserves for more demanding visualizations, future software generations, and the growing requirements of modern machine building.
Behind the new hardware is B&R’s long-standing expertise in industrial automation, with its proven real-time operating system and runtime technology providing the foundation for reliable machine control.
Our goal was not simply to deliver more performance. By combining HMI and control in one platform and integrating it seamlessly with Automation Studio and mapp technology, we can make engineering simpler for machine builders.
Everything on board
Simplification goes beyond the hardware itself. B&R follows a consistent platform approach when it comes to connectivity as well. Communication interfaces such as POWERLINK, X2X Link, CAN and serial fieldbuses are available across all device classes and are complemented by OPC UA FX as an open communication standard.
The Power Panel C650 features a fanless, battery-free design, eliminating traditional wear components. With an IP65-rated front panel and an extended operating temperature range, the device is designed for demanding industrial environments. Three configurable LEDs in the upper left corner provide machine status information without activating the screen, helping to reduce energy consumption and extend the front panel’s service life. In addition, the front panel can be customized with the customer's own logo or branding.
The face of the machine
Paired with visualization software, the powerful panel reaches its full potential. This is exactly where mapp View EMB comes in. It forms the interface between machine and operator and ultimately determines how intuitively even highly complex systems can be operated. Engineering is carried out entirely within Automation Studio, where OEMs develop both the machine logic and the user interface in one integrated environment, largely using drag-and-drop. Typical customer requirements can already be covered using preconfigured widgets for alarm handling, user management and audit handling.
For the Power Panel 600 series, B&R introduces mapp View EMB. Instead of running in a browser, the visualization runs directly on the device. This results in a leaner system architecture and makes more processor resources available. For customers looking to migrate their visualization from VC4, it represents the next step toward the Power Panel 600 series.
Visualization is the face of the machine. With mapp View, we simplify both sides of the equation: engineering the visualization and operating the machine.
Less complexity. More possibilities.
The new series is built on a design philosophy that unites hardware and software in a single platform. Instead of adding complexity through additional components, it combines the strengths of multiple product generations in one solution. Together with mapp View, it provides an HMI platform that simplifies engineering, offers modern connectivity out of the box, and gives machine builders the flexibility to create differentiated machine concepts.
Fact box: Power Panel C650
| Category | HMI with integrated controller |
|---|---|
| Portfolio | Consolidates multiple previous Power Panel generations into a single 600-series platform |
| Performance | Excellent real-time capabilities and multicore support ensure smooth Automation Runtime operation, even for demanding multi-axis motion applications |
| Connectivity | POWERLINK, X2X Link, CAN, serial fieldbuses, OPC UA FX |
| Visualization | Optimized for mapp View EMB |
| Design | Freely programmable status LEDs, customizable front panel |
| Construction | Fanless, battery-free, extended operating temperature range, IP65-rated multitouch panel |
Fact box: mapp View
| Category | Visualization software for industrial HMIs |
|---|---|
| Engineering | Fully integrated into Automation Studio |
| Widgets | Comprehensive widget library with the option to develop custom widgets |
| Variants | mapp View WEB (browser-based) and mapp View EMB (running directly on the Power Panel) |
| Community | B&R Community for knowledge sharing among developers |