Chapter 1

Welcome to the World of

Programmable Logic Controllers

Objectives

Define PLC.
Explain where the PLC came from.
Explain why their use is valuable.
Explain where they are used.
Detail what PLCs can do.
Explain how PLCs know what they are
supposed to do.

What Is a
Programmable Controller?
A programmable logic controller, usually
called a PLC or programmable controller, is a
solid-state, digital, industrial computer.
Simply, a programmable controller is a
computer, much like a desktop personal
computer.
A PLC is an industrially hardened computer.

Where Did the

PLC Come From? (1 of 2)
In the 1960s, electromechanical relays,
timers, counters, and sequencers were the
standard.
Many control panels contained hundreds of
these devices and a mile or more of wire.

Where Did the

PLC Come From? (2 of 2)
Reliability was low and maintenance costs
were high.
Cost was high to modify or upgrade control
panels.
In 1968 the General Motors Hydramatic
division specified a device that would become
what we know today as the programmable
logic controller.

Early PLCs

Only relay replacers

Did not have timers or counters
No sequencer instructions
No math instructions
No data manipulation instructions

Why a PLC? (1 of 2)

Easily changeable
Programmable
Reliable
Smaller
Fast switching

Why a PLC? (2 of 2)

Able to withstand harsh factory environment

Consumes less power
Easier to troubleshoot
Easy to install

Why Use a PLC?

The question why use a PLC? should really
be rephrased to why automate?
The PLC is the tool that provides the control
for the automated process.

Automating Helps a
Manufacturing Facility (1 of 2)
Gain complete control of the manufacturing
process
Achieve consistency
Improve quality and accuracy
Work in difficult or hazardous environments
Increase productivity

Automating Helps a
Manufacturing Facility (2 of 2)

Shorten lead time to market

Lower cost of quality, scrap, and rework
Offer greater product variety
Allow a quick changeover from one product
to another
Control inventory

A PLC Upon First Glance

A black box with wires bringing signals in and
other wires sending signals out
Some sort of magic being done inside that
somehow decides when field devices should
be turned on or off

Actually There Is No Magic

The PLC is a computer and someone has to
tell it what to do.
The PLC knows what to do through a
program that was developed and entered into
its memory.
Without a set of instructions telling the PLC
what to do, it is nothing more than a box full
of electronic components.

What Makes a PLC Work? (1 of 4)

The heart of any computer is the
microprocessor.
The microprocessor, also called the processor
or central processing unit (CPU), supervises
system control through the user program.

What Makes a PLC Work? (2 of 4)

The processor reads input signals and
follows the instructions that the programmer
has stored in the PLCs memory.

What Makes a PLC Work? (3 of 4)

As a result of the solved program, the PLC
writes information to outputs, or fieldcontrolled devices, to turn them on or off.
When the PLC is running and following the
programs instructions, this is called solving
the user program.
The PLC is running or in RUN MODE.

What Makes a PLC Work? (4 of 4)

The user program (ladder program) is the list
of instructions that tells the PLC what to do.
The library of instructions available to the
PLC is called the instruction set.
The instruction set determines how much
flexibility the programmer has.

Common PLC Inputs

Pushbuttons
Selector switches
Limit switches and level switches
Proximity sensors
Photo switches
Relay contacts
Motor starter contacts

An Overview of a PLC System (1 of 2)

An Overview of a
PLC System (2 of 2)
Incoming signals, or inputs, interact with
instructions in the user program to help the
PLC determine when an input instruction is
either true or false.

Conventional Circuit

Representation of
a PLC Program

PLC Ladder Program Rung

Series 90-30 and

90-20 Hand-held Programmer

Image courtesy of GE Fanuc Automation

Interfacing a PC
to an Omron CQM 1 PLC

Image courtesy of Omron Electronics, Inc.

Correlating Ladder Program

Rung to Actual PLC Wiring

Programmable Controller
Block Diagram

Product Sensed in
Position Will Send an Input Signal

Allen-Bradley SLC 500 Fixed PLC

Image courtesy of Allen-Bradley, a Rockwell Automation business

Allen-Bradley SLC
500 Modular PLC

Image courtesy of Allen-Bradley, a Rockwell Automation business

SLC 500 Power Supply

and a Four-slot Rack

Image courtesy of Allen-Bradley, a Rockwell Automation business

Installation of an I/O Module

Image courtesy of Allen-Bradley, a Rockwell Automation business

Allen-Bradley
SLC 500 Modular Processor

Image courtesy of Allen-Bradley, a Rockwell Automation business

Limit Switch Interface

Output Module Wiring to

a Motor Starter Coil