Mech470/970 Lab No.
3 – Warehouse Lift System
Zengxi (Stephen) Pan
10/07/2024
Introduction
This lab focused on the design, programming, and testing of a PLC-based control system for a
warehouse lift. The lift allows transport between four floors using a Siemens CPU 1214C PLC.
Pushbuttons are used to request floors, indicator lamps provide user feedback, and a laser
distance sensor measures lift position. The motor controller is driven by an analog voltage
output from the PLC.
The primary objective was to implement safe, reliable movement between floors while
providing feedback to the user. The design also aimed to include basic safety checks such as
position limits and fault detection.
Main Tasks Completed
1. Sensor Scaling
o The laser distance sensor (DT20) provides a 4–20 mA signal.
o A 500 Ω shunt resistor converts this to 2–10 V, which is read at analog input
%IW64.
o The raw PLC input (0–32767) was scaled using NORM_X and SCALE_X to
engineering units (0–30000 mm).
2. Floor Requests
o Pushbuttons F1–F4 were connected to %I0.0 – %I0.3.
When pressed, the requested floor height was stored as a target value
o
(%MD200).
3. Control Logic
o The actual position (%MD100) was continuously compared with the target.
o The error value (target – actual) was scaled into a motor control signal.
o A deadband of ±50 mm was applied to prevent oscillations near the target.
4. Indicators
o Floor lamps connected to %Q0.0 – %Q0.3 indicate when the lift has reached the
requested floor.
Extra Tasks Attempted
• Fault Detection: Monitored sensor and motor performance. A fault flag is raised if the
sensor does not update or if movement does not occur when commanded.
• Travel Limits: Top and bottom limits were implemented in software to avoid unsafe
movement.
• Deadband Optimization: Tuned deadband to ensure the lift stops smoothly at each
floor.
Control Strategy
The control strategy is shown in the diagram below.
Inputs:
• Pushbuttons (floor selection, %I0.0 – %I0.3)
• Laser sensor (position feedback, %IW64 scaled to mm)
Control Logic:
• Select target floor and assign target position.
• Compare position vs target, calculate error.
• Apply deadband to stabilize stopping.
• Generate motor command (%QW80, 0–10 V).
• Monitor for sensor/motor faults.
Outputs:
• Motor controller command (%QW80).
• Floor indicator lamps (%Q0.0 – %Q0.3).
• Fault alarm signal (optional).
Discussion
The system design is straightforward, reliable, and compatible with the hardware setup used in
the previous elevator lab. The same I/O addresses are used, which ensures that the program
can run on the existing lab PLC without rewiring.
Strengths of the design include simple implementation, clear floor selection logic, and fault
monitoring. However, there are also some limitations:
• The system does not use full PID control, so movement may be less smooth at higher
speeds.
• Lamps are driven directly from PLC outputs; external relays may be required for higher
current loads.
• Fault detection is basic and could be extended to cover more failure modes.
If more time were available, improvements could include advanced motor control (PID),
integration of an emergency stop circuit, and enhanced diagnostics with user alerts.
Conclusion
The Warehouse Lift System was successfully implemented in simulation and is expected to run
reliably on the lab hardware. Pin configurations match the tested LAB3 elevator project, and
the scaling and logic were verified. With the applied deadband, safety limits, and basic fault
handling, the system is both functional and extendable.
The project demonstrates the application of PLC programming to a real-world industrial task,
combining analog scaling, digital control, and safety checks into one integrated system.
