A device panel in Smart Instrumentation is a wiring item that has wiring and instrument tag information, for example transmitters, transducers, sensors, and so forth.
Wiring information consists of a signal (a wire group), signal level, and signal sequence. An instrument generates a signal which is carried through a group of wires. These wires are connected to a device panel associated with that instrument. The software propagates the signal through the wires on different levels. Signal levels can be, for example, plus, minus, and shield. A signal sequence is a method used by Smart Instrumentation to assign numbers, in ascending or descending increments, to connection points along the signal propagation path at the same signal level.
The following diagram indicates how a device panel is associated with an instrument. You may then continue the wiring routing as required.
Each signal level defines a signal routing associated with a particular loop. It is possible to have up to 99 levels within one signal.
Note that Smart Instrumentation automatically tracks signals and assigns the signal, signal level, and signal sequence values when you create a device panel.
Also, if a device panel is a child item of another panel, the software does not duplicate the child device panel when duplicating the parent panel.