Technical quality and top performance of Hiller decanter centrifuges are reflected in the user interface. Busse Design + Engineering puts the finishing touches to the DecaPress machines with a new and coherent user interface.
The term decanting is familiar to connoisseurs primarily from the careful handling of valuable wines, in which disturbing sediment, such as tartar, is removed by careful decanting from the bottle into a new vessel without negatively affecting the desired properties of the beverage.
High-performance decanters are professional industrial products that basically do exactly the same thing. They separate solids from liquids. They can be found in the food and beverage industry, in the energy supply, chemical and pharmaceutical industries, as well as in environmental technology, and also in mining and tunnel construction. In each case, a mixture of solids and liquids produced in the process is conveyed into a rapidly rotating drum, centrifuged by means of the high rotational speed and thus separated. The principle is familiar from the spin cycle of a washing machine.
In this specific case, the concept was to introduce a modular system for the different machine sizes, as well as a reduction in the number of different centrifuge diameters in combination with different overall lengths, accompanied by a further improvement in performance and product quality. The design was to communicate in a convincing way the Hiller brand values of quality and reliability, but also the functionality of the machine.
At this year's IFAT trade fair for environmental technology in September, the new generation of Hiller high-performance decanters was then presented to the public in the form of a first prototype. The response was excellent and promises a high demand.
The realization of the project goals is a success of the close cooperation of marketing and product management, design and manufacturing on the part of Hiller with our Busse Design+Engineering team.
Busse Design + Engineering was commissioned by Hiller to develop a touch-based user interface for the new decanter centrifuges in the DecaPress product family. The interface had to be intuitive, appealing and brand-defining, as well as ensure a consistently high contrast in different lighting conditions. In addition, it must be possible to adapt the displayed information to different user profiles.
As a basis for this user interface project, Busse Design + Engineering drew on the experience already gained in the product design of the DecaPress machines.
In workshops and close cooperation with development, sales and service on the part of Hiller, the Busse experts for industrial design and user interface design developed the optimal solution in several stages. First, operating scenarios and previous user interfaces were examined, then the content for the input and output of information was weighted. This was followed by a new structure for the screen display for improved communication between man and machine and the development of mutually coordinated pictograms. These processes ultimately resulted in a high-quality and inviting user interface. Key benefits include quick recognition of various machine states as well as actual and target values.
The new user interface from Busse Design + Engineering blends harmoniously with the design of the DecaPress machines. It embodies the high performance and quality, easy operation and maintenance, and attention to detail of Hiller's decanter centrifuges.
