Introduction
This document is designed to give an overview of what a PLC is, what it
is good for, what it is not best at, an overview of its operation and where to
find more information. A Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) is a ruggedized
special purpose computer that reads a bunch of input signals; runs control
logic, and then writes output signals. After reviewing this mini-tutorial please
feel free to ask us questions or ask about a free seminar and demonstration at
your site.
Pros
- PLCs are good at turning outputs on or off based on the state of inputs.
(control)
- PLCs are good at bringing together and concentrating a lot of data and
status that is uploaded into a computer in a compact form.
- PLCs are more rugged than computers and typically last five, seven, ten
years without needing replacement
Cons
- PLCs are not the best at handling large amounts of data or complex data.
- PLCs are not the best at reading and writing databases.
- PLCs are not the best at outputting resultant data to printers.
- PLCs are not the best at displaying data and information to the operator.
History
Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) have been around since the
dinosaurs. In fact it was PLCs that killed the dinosaurs. Don’t listen to
those people that tell you that dinosaurs were killed off by global warming /
cooling, meteors, or even smoking cigarettes. PLCs killed the dinosaurs. You
see, millions of years ago the cavemen used PLCs for everything they did. All of
the dinosaurs lost their jobs, couldn’t afford to buy food at the local stoney-mart
and just died off.
Okay, okay I guess I have to admit that the last paragraph is not true.
But the PLC has been around since at least the 1960s, which in technology years
makes it a dinosaur. For the real history of the PLC follow this link http://www.barn.org/FILES/historyofplc.html/
to the website of Dick Morley, the inventor of the PLC (just don’t forget
where to come back to).
PLC Example
Let’s start off with a simple example. Suppose you are making a
controller for an overhead crane. The operator has a simple control box with
four push buttons: "left", "right", "up", and
"down". When the operator presses the "left" button (note
that the "left" button is an input to the PLC), then the PLC turns on
the appropriate output to the motor that makes the crane move left. The other
three buttons would operate similarly. Sounds pretty simple – right?
Suppose it takes ten minutes for the crane to reach the full left
position. Soon the operator’s fingers start to hurt (holding that button down
for ten minutes at a time hurts), and they are going to beg / bribe / threaten
you, the programmer, to latch that output on and add a stop button. Instead of
having to press the "left" button for ten minutes, the operator wants
to momentarily press the "left" button and the crane keeps moving left
till the operator presses the "stop" button. So you reprogram the
crane and now the operator picks up a 10 ton container, presses the
"left" button, realizes he forgot to get a drink (of water), and
knowing that the crane will be moving for ten minutes, goes off to get a drink.
Or suppose the crane hits the operator and knocks them out. Who is going to stop
the crane? There are some major safety considerations since you have a 10-ton
container moving around with no one to stop it.
So you start adding safety light curtains and mats around the crane’s
operational area, so that if anything comes into the crane’s operational area
the crane automatically stops. You would also add Emergency Stop (E-Stop)
buttons around the area so that anyone can press one of these buttons to stop
the crane. You would want to add end-of-travel limit switches so that when the
crane moved as far as it can go then the PLC would automatically stop the motor.
You would also want to add some more inputs (feedback) to the PLC so that when a
motor fault occurred the PLC would detect the fault, turn off the motor, and
sound alarms. There are many other safety and diagnostic inputs you should add.
Do you see how a very simple application can grow in inputs and outputs
very quickly? The good news is that by using a PLC for this application the PLC
is very quickly and easily reprogrammed for the new inputs. Other wise you have
to go get more relays and do a bunch of wiring for each new input and output.
Even More Complexity
We can extrapolate this simple crane into more complex systems:
- A "crane" that automatically loads or unloads 55 gallon drums
onto pallets, containers on or off a ship, or adds a finite amount of
reagent to a matrix of test tubes.
- Multiple cranes that have overlapping work envelopes and require
collision avoidance and cooperative handling
- "Cranes" that work in three-dimensional space to store and
retrieve items. Applications from electronics to pharmaceuticals show that
automated storage and retrieval systems reduce errors significantly.
- Two axis controllers that move a video camera around for inspecting
parts
The control systems engineer sees a lot of similarities in these different
applications. All of these applications can use a PLC but these applications are
just a tiny subset of all the control schemes that employ PLCs.
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Basic Signals
There are a lot of
different types of signals that PLCs can read and write. The two most
basic signals are discrete (digital) and analog. Discrete means on or
off, 1 or zero, high or low, etc. Two possible states. Using discrete
signals you could have a switch that when pressed starts a motor
running. Both the switch “input” and the motor start “output” would
be discrete signals. Analog signals are continuous signals varying
between two limits. Analog signals can have a multitude of different
values between those two limits such as pressure, temperature, level,
etc.
Early PLCs were
designed primarily as relay replacements. Those PLCs were
designed completely around discrete applications. They were a
fantastic improvement over the rooms of relays that were used to
operate what would be considered now simple sequences. You can
imagine the improvement it would be to be able to add a new discrete
input and output into your program as opposed to having to wire a new
relay into an existing system.
A single discrete
signal is also referred to as a "bit". Although they sound very
simple, bits can be used in a lot of different ways. For example, by
turning a bit on and off you can generate pulses. By using a bit going
into a counter you can count the number of times the bit turns on. For
example, if you have a motor and each revolution of the motor moves
the crane one foot, and you need to move the crane six feet, then you
would simply count six pulses. You can also have a bit go into a
timer. So if the crane moves one foot per second, then the "crane is
currently moving" bit starts a timer that in six seconds tells the PLC
that the crane moved six feet. Typically however, discrete signals
are used for simple applications. Starting a motor or opening and
closing valves. Not glamorous, but very useful
A single bit can
have two states – one or zero. Two bits can have four states (00, 01,
10, and 11). Eight bits is known as a byte and can represent 256
states or the numbers from 0 to 255. This is how computers represent
numbers and values – by cascading bits. The PLC is no different.
Analog signals
involve detecting different levels of a signal. For example, how fast
you want to run a motor. With analog signals, the user can turn a
potentiometer that generates a varying voltage or current (analog
input) that tells the PLC to send an analog output to the motor
indicating the speed that the motor should run. Technically you would
need something like a motor inverter between the PLC analog output and
the motor to essentially amplify the PLC analog output to control the
motor voltage or frequency and vary the motor speed.
You can represent
the position of the potentiometer using 12 bits (0 to 4095). Zero
voltage (or current) would be represented by 0 in the PLC and 4095
would represent the maximum voltage (or current). Theoretically
(assuming no noise, perfect linearity, and a few other things), the
PLC can run the motor at one of 4096 different speeds. Analog signals
can be used to bring many types of continuous signals into the PLC –
temperature, pressure, level, position, etc. Once in the PLC memory,
these signals can be manipulated to control motors, valves, and other
field devices.
Let me reemphasize
that the function of a PLC is to read these discrete and analog
inputs, run some logic based on those inputs, and then write discrete
and analog outputs to control the available environment.
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System Architecture
PLCs are continuously expanding in
capabilities and the architecture or hardware that is part of that is
also expanding with new functionality. There are some hardware
components that are basic to every system. A PLC system generally has
the following components:
- Processor –
consists of the CPU, main memory, possibly some communications and
interface capability.
- I/O – short for
Inputs and Outputs – sometimes included in small quantities on a
block with the processor
- Power Supply –
Provides power for the various components of the system -sometimes
built into a block with the processor.
- Rack/Chassis –
Modular systems generally need a common backplane to plug into.
Racks are designed to at least accept a processor and multiple I/O
cards. Communication from the processor to the I/O is generally
achieved through connections on the rack and power from the power
supply is generally distributed through the rack.
- Communication
interfaces – used to communicate with the programmer, operator
interfaces, data monitoring tools, SCADA systems, remote I/O, etc.
Sometimes built into the processor.
- Programming Tool –
used to program and access the processor.
 The processor is generally what
most people refer to when discussing a PLC. Many controls specialists
(including myself) tend to interchange PLC, processor and controller
when referring to the module that receives the program and handles
processing the logic. All of the components together are generally
referred to as a PLC system. The processor is where a PLC program
would reside and is responsible for receiving data from the input
cards and distributing it to the output cards
I/O cards or Input and Output
cards are the connections to the real world for the PLC system. As
discussed there are discrete I/O and analog I/O. Both come in many
different types. Discrete I/O can come in various voltages: 24 Volt
DC or AC; 120 VAC; TTL; sourcing; sinking; and on and on. Analog I/O
has even more variety. There are Voltage inputs/outputs, Current
inputs/outputs and cards that handle both. There are cards that just
grab inputs or outputs and cards that have a mix of inputs and
outputs. There are cards that are specially designed to connect to
Thermocouple and RTD sensors and to compensate for the non-linearity
of the signal. I/O can also be local or remote. Local I/O is located
in the same rack or chassis as the processor, whereas remote I/O can
be located in a separate location that is more convenient to wire
into.
The Rack or Chassis is used to
house the PLC processor, I/O cards, and other cards that are needed
with the system. Some smaller block style PLC systems don’t use racks
and even some modular style systems have cards that stack together
with each card having the required connectors to pass processor
communications and power to each subsequent card.
There are many available
communication interfaces ranging from cards designed to communicate
via Ethernet to specialized cards designed to communicate on a
manufacturers proprietary communication link. Generally those cards
are used to allow the programmer to interface with the controller,
another device to interface with the controller, or to allow the
controller to manipulate and read I/O located in a remote location.
Programming interfaces vary from
handheld programmers (yuck) to more modern programs that can be
installed on a laptop to interface and program the PLC.
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