Import HMI symbols into Weintek EasyBuilder Pro
This is the fastest path from a symbol you drew in the Symbol Builder — or downloaded from the community library — to a working Multi-state Lamp in Weintek EasyBuilder Pro. Tested on EBPro 6.07 and later, on cMT-X (recommended), cMT and eMT/iE/MT8000 series. The same flow applies to the icon library (state badges, alarm badges, navigation icons).
Step-by-step
Get your symbols as transparent PNGs
Weintek wants bitmaps. Three ways to get them, all ending in the same kind of file:
- Draw it: open the Symbol Builder, pick the 256 × 128 canvas (or 512 × 512 for square equipment), compose the motor / valve / pump from shapes, ISA elements and stamps, set BG → Transparent and click
↓ PNG. The PNG is rendered at 2–4× the canvas size, so it stays crisp on retina cMT-X displays. - Reuse it: browse community motors, valves, pumps or conveyors, open the symbol page and click Download PNG. Community symbols are CC BY 4.0 — note the author in your project documentation. If it is close but not quite right, Open in builder and adjust before exporting.
- Badges and icons: state badges, alarm priority badges, arrows and navigation icons come from the icon library, also as transparent PNG.
Composing in the Builder needs no account. Downloading does: a free account gives 5 downloads a month, Starter 50, Studio unlimited. Symbols you publish yourself are always free to download.
Create the state variants and name the files
The Builder works on one symbol at a time, so you produce the states yourself. Two patterns that both work well in EBPro:
- One image per state (simplest to bind): build the base symbol, Save it as a template, then change the body fill to the state colour (gray stopped → white or green running → yellow no-feedback → blue manual → dark gray disabled), export each. For the alarm states, stamp the P1 / P2 badge from the icon library on the running or stopped variant and export again. Nine files per equipment kind.
- Base image + badge overlay (fewer files): export the base symbol once per colour state (six files) and put a second, smaller Multi-state Lamp on top of it that shows nothing / P1 badge / P2 badge from the icon library. Better when you have many equipment kinds and few alarm variants.
Name the files {kind}_{state}.png — for example motor_3ph_running.png, motor_3ph_running_p1.png — and keep each kind in its own folder (motor/, pump/, valve/). EBPro turns each folder into a sub-library, which makes the mapping in step 5 much faster.
Import into the Picture Library
In EasyBuilder Pro: Library → Picture Library → Picture Manager → Import. Point it at the folder. EBPro will create a sub-library per folder; rename to your project conventions (e.g. HMI_LIB_MOTORS).
Tip: save the imported set as a single User Library (Library → Picture Library → Save as → User, file extension .flb) so you can drop it into other EBPro projects without re-importing.
Place a Multi-state Lamp object
From the toolbar: Object → Lamp → Multi-state Lamp. Bind Read Address to the PLC tag holding the equipment state code (recommended: 1 word per equipment, encoded 0-8 for the 9 ISA-101 states).
Map state values to images
In the Multi-state Lamp dialog, switch the shape to Picture. For each state value (0..N), select the matching PNG from the imported library. Recommended encoding:
| PLC value | State | File suffix |
|---|---|---|
0 | Stopped | _stopped |
1 | Starting | _starting |
2 | Running | _running |
3 | No feedback | _nofb |
4 | Manual | _manual |
5 | Disabled | _disabled |
6 | Run + alarm P1 | _running_p1 |
7 | Run + alarm P2 | _running_p2 |
8 | Fault | _stopped_p1 |
For Starting you can reuse the running image and let EBPro blink it (Multi-state Lamp → Blinking on that state) instead of drawing a separate file.
(Optional) Overlay the tag with a Text Object
Export the symbols without the equipment tag — leave the tag text out of the Builder canvas, or delete it before exporting. Weintek already manages the tag through a Text Object, so it stays editable without re-importing the picture. Place a Static Text or Dynamic Text on top of the Multi-state Lamp at the centred position.
If you prefer the tag baked into the image, add a text element or an ISA instrument bubble in the Builder before exporting. In the icon library the same thing is the Tag on top checkbox in the sidebar.
Recommended PLC encoding
The simplest pattern: 1 INT word per equipment, with bits or value enums driving the state. Example for a motor with VFD:
Sizing for different cMT models
Draw on a 256 × 128 canvas for the classic wide equipment footprint (motor + label) or 512 × 512 for square symbols (valves, tanks). Because the Builder renders PNG at 2–4× the canvas size, you set the Multi-state Lamp frame to the size you need on the panel and let EBPro downscale — it stays crisp. Community PNGs are exported the same way (2× the canvas).
For small panels (cMT-iPC15, MT8071iE 7"), 192 × 96 px on screen is enough; for the big cMT-X displays, 320 × 160 reads well from two metres.
| Model | Lamp frame on screen | Source |
|---|---|---|
| cMT-X 15.6" | 320×160 or 512×256 | Builder PNG, 512×512 or 640×360 canvas |
| cMT3092X 9.7" | 256×128 | Builder PNG, 256×128 canvas |
| cMT3072X / 3092X 7" | 192×96 to 256×128 | Builder PNG, 256×128 canvas |
| MT8071iE 7" | 192×96 | Builder PNG, 256×128 canvas |
Common pitfalls
- Tag drift between picture and text: if you bake the tag into the picture, you have to re-export when the tag changes. Use a Text Object overlay instead.
- Bitmap blur on cMT-X retina: import the PNG as exported (2× or more). Don't downscale in an image editor before importing — let EBPro do it at the frame size.
- Colours drifting between states: when you recolor variants by hand, stick to the palette:
#9E9E9Estopped,#2E7D32running,#FBC02Dno feedback,#1976D2manual,#616161disabled,#D32F2FP1,#F57C00P2. The Builder's fill swatches are exactly these. - State 0 rendered as Stopped instead of "no value": initialise the PLC state register on power-up. Otherwise an undefined state shows as "stopped" even when the equipment is unreachable. Map state 3 (No feedback) to comm-fail.
- Multi-state Lamp doesn't refresh: check the Read Address scan rate is fast enough (typically 250 ms). For critical alarm states, use Event Display instead.
What's next
- Read the 9 motor states every HMI should show to understand why the encoding above matters.
- Browse the ISA-101 reference for the design philosophy behind the calm colour palette.
- Need the badges and indicators in a vendor house style? The icon library sidebar has style presets (ABB, Siemens, Rockwell, Ignition) that recolor them before you download. In the Builder you choose the fills yourself — keep the state colours semantic.
- Stuck on a specific EBPro version or model? Ask in the forum — Weintek questions land in the vendor-tooling category.
Build the symbol, then bind it
The Symbol Builder needs no account to compose. A free account gives you 5 downloads a month; publish your own symbols under CC BY 4.0 and download them free. Or start from what other engineers already drew.