🧭 1. Introduction

In the development of scalable SCADA systems, engineers often seek flexible solutions that can grow alongside a plant’s increasing complexity. Rather than redesigning individual views for every new machine, the goal is typically to build a dynamic interface that can adapt effortlessly. Ignition Perspective’s Flex Repeater and embedded views provide an ideal foundation — enabling the reuse of a single, well-structured view across all machines while keeping the core logic centralized and easy to maintain.

Traditional approaches, where each machine has its own dedicated view, quickly become unsustainable. As new machines are introduced, the process of duplicating views, rewriting scripts, and managing separate popups often leads to inconsistencies, errors, and an ever-growing maintenance burden.

With just five machines as a starting point, such systems are usually manageable. However, as the plant scales to hundreds of machines, a modular design becomes essential. By treating each machine as a data-driven instance within a repeater, the interface remains lightweight, consistent, and highly scalable — ready to meet future demands without compromise.

🧱 2. The Concept of Modularity in SCADA

Modular design in SCADA refers to the creation of reusable, self-contained components — such as machine views or popups — that can be dynamically applied across multiple systems. Instead of hardcoding individual layouts for each machine, engineers typically rely on parameters, session properties, and data bindings to drive functionality. This approach allows a single base view to serve many machines, significantly reducing redundancy.

The benefits of modular SCADA design are well recognized:

• Scalability: New machines can be integrated without rewriting code or creating new views.
• Maintainability: Logic updates made in one place are instantly reflected across the system.
• Consistency: A uniform user interface and behavior is maintained across all components.
• Faster development: Engineers can focus on refining a single, reusable template rather than duplicating views for each use case.

Common use cases for this approach include systems like machine like compressors (for monitoring runtime, faults, and pressures), machine control units (spread across different zones of the plant), and status of components like pumps and fans (for real-time status, control logic, and performance tracking).

🔁 3. Using Flex Repeaters to Scale the Interface

Use Flex Repeaters as a clean, scalable solution for displaying multiple machines. Instead of copying and pasting identical views per machine, design one reusable base view. This saves hours of redundant work and ensures consistency across all machines — ideal for growing plants where machine count may increase over time.

Example 1:

Design the base view to include:

• Machine ID for quick identification
• Live status and key metrics such as runtime, temperature, or pressure
• Control buttons that launch popups for deeper insights
• A responsive layout that adapts to various screen sizes without breaking structure

Control the number of instances dynamically:

Bind the repeater to a dataset or named query pulled from the database or memory tags. Each row in the dataset should represent a machine and feed parameters into the base view. This keeps the setup dynamic and automatically scalable.

🎛️ 4. Smart Dropdown Logic for Dynamic Filtering

Use dropdowns to allow users to filter data and actions based on selected machines and parameters. This keeps the interface dynamic, responsive, and user-friendly.

Implement two key dropdowns:

• Machine selection → Machine 1, Machine 2, Machine 3

• Parameter selection → Pressure, Temperature, Energy

These dropdowns let users quickly focus on what they want to monitor or control, without overwhelming the interface with all options at once.

Apply conditional logic to handle view selection:

Set up logic that dynamically displays the appropriate view based on dropdown selections. For example:

• If a user selects Machine 1 and Energy, then load the M1Energy view.

• Apply similar mappings for other machine-parameter combinations.

This ensures only the relevant view is shown — no need for multiple static buttons or manual navigation paths.

UX benefits of this approach:

• 🧹 Reduced screen clutter by removing unnecessary buttons and views

• 🧭 Improved navigation with smoother, context-aware transitions

• 🎯 Focused interaction where users only see relevant actions and data based on their selections

🧩 5. Parameterized Popups for Detailed Views

Use popups to deliver focused, on-demand machine insights without crowding the main interface. This approach keeps the layout clean and workflow uninterrupted.

Why use popups instead of navigation or embedded views:

• Popups prevent the main screen from becoming cluttered with too many views.

• Page navigation disrupts workflow and context.

• Embedded views for every machine increase resource load and slow down performance.
  Popups allow users to focus on one machine at a time — clean, lightweight, and non-intrusive.

Pass parameters dynamically to each popup:

Include key parameters like:

• Machine ID to retrieve the correct machine’s data

• Component type (e.g., fan, pump, sensor) for view logic

• Operation mode (Auto, Manual, Standby) to adjust control visibility and behavior

This ensures every popup is session-specific and displays only the necessary content for that machine.

Handle visibility and logic based on machine type:

Use internal view logic to show or hide components conditionally. For instance, machines without temperature sensors will automatically hide temperature-related sections — keeping the UI clean and relevant.

Make popups reusable across machines and contexts:

Design each popup to serve multiple purposes:

• 🔍 Diagnostics → Display live sensor data and fault indicators

• 📈 Historical trends → Bind to named queries for graphing past performance

• ⚙️ Settings panels → Allow operators to configure operational parameters

With this modular approach, a single popup view can adapt to different machines and use cases with minimal configuration.

⚙️ 6. Backend Logic: Sessions, Bindings, and Properties

A well-organized backend is essential for maintaining a modular and responsive SCADA interface. Use session properties and clean data structures to manage global state, user selections, and dynamic behavior across views.

Manage global state with session properties

Use session properties to store key selections such as the currently selected machine and parameter. This allows different views to share and react to global changes without repetitive scripting. It ensures consistency and simplifies cross-view data flow.

Use nested dictionaries for checkbox and component states

To handle multiple component states per machine (e.g., sensors, energy metrics), structure your session property using nested dictionaries:

session.custom.selections = { "Machine1": {"sensor": true, "energy": false},

"Machine2": {"sensor": false, "energy": true} }

This format keeps logic organized, scalable, and easy to reference — especially as machine count increases.

Prefer property bindings over scripts in Flex Repeaters

In the Flex Repeater, prioritize property bindings instead of using scripts to update individual views. Bindings automatically sync each instance with the dataset, reducing manual updates and minimizing potential errors.

Result

This approach results in a modular, state-aware interface with centralized logic. It enhances performance, improves reliability, and makes the system easier to scale and maintain as plant complexity grows.

📈7. Results, Insights, and Final Thoughts

Implementing a modular SCADA design using Ignition Perspective brought measurable benefits across the entire system. By using Flex Repeaters, parameterized popups, and centralized session logic, engineers achieved a uniform and responsive interface that scales seamlessly from 5 to 100+ machines. This approach drastically reduced development time, simplified maintenance, and delivered consistent user experiences across all views.

The modular architecture enabled real-time performance even at scale, with optimized data bindings ensuring smooth updates without lag. Operators reported a more intuitive, streamlined workflow, allowing them to focus on machine behavior rather than navigating the interface.

Several key lessons emerged from this process:

• Keep logic abstracted and reusable using parameterized views, named queries, and scripts.

• Use clear naming conventions for view parameters and session properties to enhance readability and collaboration.

• Test performance early, especially under higher machine counts, to identify bottlenecks before deployment.

• Limit polling intervals and use on-demand loading where possible to preserve system responsiveness in large setups.

Ultimately, modular SCADA design is the future. It offers unmatched flexibility, scalability, and maintainability — essential for modern industrial systems. With the right tools and structure, it's possible to build intelligent, resilient interfaces that adapt to growing operational demands without adding complexity.