Basics of PLC Programming

EE 100 – Intro to EE
Fall 2004
Dr. Stephen Williams, P.E.
Overview
 How did we get where we are today?
 How does a project at GM in 1968
relate to the work of Henry Leland in the
late 1800s?
PLC SLC
AB

Autos GM Ford

Bus Sensor
Drive
Vocabulary
 Programmable Logic Controllers
 Definite-purpose computers design to
control industrial processes and machines
 Drives
 Solid-state devices designed to control
motors
 Sensors
 Transducers used to obtain information
First Programmable Controller
 General Motors Corporation
 Hydromatic Division
 Replacedrelay-controlled system
 PDP-8 minicomputers?
 MODICON 084
 Modular Digital Controller
Information Flow
Genesis of Automation
 Operation sheets
 May date back to the 1830s
 Listing of:
 All
machining operations
 The machine tools employed

 Tools, jigs, fixtures, and gauges

 Organization and flow of work

Industrial Revolution
 High-volume production
 Interchangeable parts
 Transportation system
 Inexpensive energy (coal)
 Frederick W. Taylor
 Scientific management
 Henry Ford
Purpose of Automation
 Increase productivity
 Standardize
components or
processes
 Free workers from
repetitive, and
sometime
dangerous, tasks
Early Automation Applications
 1869 – Refineries in
Pennsylvania
automatically covert
crude oil to kerosene
 1937 – Pictured is the
loading and unloading
of stators via an
overhead conveyor for
dipping in continuous
process oven
The Case Against Automation
 Las Vegas Sun, August 2, 1961
 Jimmy Hoffa saw a new industrial revolution
forming with automation being a threat to his giant
union more menacing than the Justice
Department, Attorney General Bobby Kennedy
and the president himself.
 He felt he could cope with the Senate committees,
the FBI, and all the new legislation being written,
which he thinks is aimed at unionism. It is with
automation that all his talents, energy and ability
must be directed.
Forces Driving Automation
 Lower costs
 Faster production
 Better quality control
 How have they remained relevant
today?
Engineering Resources
 Why do you need all
of these engineers
running around to
make all of this stuff
work?
Breakthroughs and Plateaus
 Where have we seen breakthroughs,
and then plateaus of technology?
 Microprocessors

 Graphical User Interfaces

 Power Electronics

 Software Systems
Brief Review of Technology
 Traditional (ancient?) devices
 Still used in many plants
 If it ain’t broke …

 Where are we going?

Traditional Relay Logic
 Used since …
 Control via a series of relay contacts
 On and off inputs
 Race conditions on the outputs
 Very expensive
 Hard to design and construct
 Difficult to maintain
Traditional Devices
 Relays
 Contactors
 Motor Starters
 Manually operated switches
 Mechanically operated switches
 Electrically operated switches
Relays
 Original
control elements
 Now used as auxiliary devices
 The PLC is not designed to switch high
currents or voltages

CR1-1

CR1
Contactors
 Used for heavy-duty switching
 Provides isolation from high voltages
and large currents
 Usefully for large inductive currents,
such as motor starting
Motor Starters
 Contactors + Overload Relay
 Overload relays were usually heaters
and bimetal strips
 The bimetal strip separates when heated
 Next steps:
 PLCs and motor starters
 Electronic overloads
 Intelligent starters
Manually Operated Switches
 Pushbuttons
 Normally open
 Normally closed

 Break-then-make

 Make-then-break

 Selector switches
 Maintained or spring return
Mechanically Operated
Switches
 LimitSwitches
 Temperature Switches
 Pressure Switches
 Level Switches
Electrically Operated Switches
 PhotoelectricSwitches
 Proximity Switches
What's ahead?
 Solid state devices to replace motor
starters
 Distributed smart sensors
 Micro- and nanomachines
 Adaptive control
 Smart maintenance
Summary
A very brief history of industrial
automation
 Overview of some of the older
technologies
 Some thoughts on the future
PLC Systems
 CPU
 Processor
 Memory
 One Module
 Power Supply
 Part of the chassis or
a separate module
 Programming/
Monitoring Device
 I/0 Modules
Small Logic Controllers
Input and Output
 Input Modules
 Convert “real world” signal to PLC input
 24 V, 120 V, Analog, etc.
 Output Modules
 Convert PLC signal to “real world” output
 24 V, 120 V, Analog, etc.
 Limiting values
 PLC power supply
Configurations
 Fixed I/O
 Limited expandability
 Rack
 Many modules, with the possibility of
chaining many racks together
 SLC 500 is a fixed I/O device
 SLC 5/02 uses a rack configuration
Chassis Versus Rack
 One “Rack” is 128
inputs/outputs
 A chassis is the outer
shell of the PLC
 Chassis ≠ Rack
 SLC 5/02’s in S-340
have a ten-slot chassis
 Slots are numbered from
0 to 9
SLC Image Tables
 Hex numbering
 Addressing
 I1:2.0/01
I is for the file type
 1 is the file number
 2 is the element number
 .0 is the sub-element number (>16)
 /01 is the bit number
“Real World” Address
 I1:3.0/01
I is the module type
 1 is redundant

 3 is the slot number

 .0 is for terminals above 15

 /01 is the terminal number

Remote Racks
 I/O racks located close to the equipment
being monitored
 Simplifies wiring
 Communication modules
 Similar to LAN
 Fiber Optic
 Coaxial cable
Discrete I/O Modules
 Either “on” or “off”
 Bit oriented
 Various ratings
 24 V
 120 V

 TTL

 4 – 20 mA
Special I/O Modules
 Analog
 High speed counter
 Thumb-wheel
 TTL
 Encoder
 PID
 Servo
Memory Organization
 Not the same on all manufactures
 Allen Bradley uses two main types
 Memory Maps
 Data table
 User program
 Internal registers

 Memory allocation could be fixed or

variable
SLC Program File Structure
Program File
Use
Number
0 System Functions

1 Reserved

2 Main Program

3-255 Subroutines
RSLogix 500 Screen
 Define controller
attributes
 Model
 Memory
 Communication
 Program files
 Main program
 Subprograms
SLC Data File Structure
Data File
Use
Number
0 Output Image Table

1 Input Image Table

2 Status Table

3 Bit Table
SLC Data File Structure
Data File
Use
Number
4 Timer Table

5 Counter Table

6 Control Table

7 Integer Table
SLC Data File Structure
Data File
Use
Number
8 Reserved
(Floating Point Value Table)
9 Network Table

10-255 Any combination of Bit, Timer,

Counter, Control, or Integer
Tables
RSLogix 500 Screen
 Access to
input and
output tables
 Access to
timer and
control control
files
Address Format
 What type of device or module
 Where is it located physically or in
memory
 For example, T4:0/DN is the done bit for
timer 0 in file 4
 I:2.0 is an input module in slot 2
 Word versus bit addresses
 I:3.0 is a word, I:3.0/04 is a bit
Multiword Elements
 Timers,counters, and control elements
 Three words used
 Control word to store status
 Preset word to store desired value

 Accumulated word to store present value

 Control file store a length and position

value (on functions other than counters
and timers)
Counter Element Example
Name Address Example

Control Word C5:0 C5:0/DN

Preset Word C5:0.PRE 5000

Accumulated C5:0.ACC 1240

Word
RSLogix 500 Screen
 Counter C5:0
Program Scan
 Each cycle through
the program and
I/O process is
called a scan
 Scan times vary
with the length of
the program and
the speed of the
processor
Programming Environments
 Languages available
 Ladder logic
 Boolean

 Function chart

 Ladder logic is the most common

 Function chart is the future
 C, BASIC, etc., are also possible
Transducers
 Converts energy from one form to
another
 Input transducers
 Real world into the PLC
 Output transducers
 PLC to real world
Sensors
 Sensors are transducers used to
measure or detect
 Convert mechanical, magnetic, thermal,
or optical variations into electrical
quantities
 Sensor input is the basis for most of the
decisions made in a large system
Proximity Sensors
 Detect the presence of a object (target)
without physically touching the object
 Solid-state devices
 Completely encapsulated
 Used when:
 Detectingsmall objects
 Rapid response is required
Inductive Proximity Sensors
 Senses a metallic object
 A change in the magnetic field occurs
when a metallic object enters into range
 This type of sensor can “see” through
cardboard boxes and other enclosures
 Current-sourcing or current-sinking
output
Manually Operated Switches
 Pushbuttons
 Normally open
 Normally closed

 Break-then-make

 Make-then-break

 Selector switches
 Maintained or spring return
Counter Instructions
 Count Up or Down
 Similar to timers, but without an internal
source
 Two methods used: block and coil
 SLC 5/02s use the coil format
 PREset and ACCumlated values
 RESet similar to RTO
How Counters Work
 Increment or decrement on a false to
true input transition
 They are retentive
 The accumulated value remains when the
rung goes false
 PREset can be changed by the program
 Move a new value into C5:0.PRE
Control Bits
15 14 13 12 11 10

CU CD DN OV UN UA

 CU = Count Up
 CD = Count Down
 DN = Done
 OV = Overflow, UN = Underflow
Integer Limits
 PREset and ACCumulator values must
be integers
 Integers on the SLC 5/02 range from
32,767 to -32,768
 Cascade counters to go beyond these
limits
Cascading Example
Down Counters
 The
SLC 5/02 does not have a true
down counter
 The counter does not start at a value and
become true when the ACCumulator is
zero
 TheSLC 5/02 CTD works with another
counter with the same address
Down Counter Example
Types of Data Instructions
 Math Functions
 Add, subtract, multiply, etc.
 Data Conversion and Comparison
 Integer to BCD, Less than, Equal, etc.
 Logical Operations
Bits, Words, and Files
A bit is the smallest unit of information
 T4:0/DN is a bit
A “word” is another name for a register
 T4:0.PRE is a word
A “file” is a block of words, also known
as a table
 T4 is a file
Data Transfer – Move
 The move instruction takes a
value from a register, or a
constant value, and places it
in another register
BCD Move Into a Register
 Moves an integer value into a BCD
device.
 In lab, the LED Display
BCD Move From a Register
 Moves an BCD value into an integer
register.
 In lab, the thumb-wheel inputs
Comparisons
 Greater than, less than, equals,
etc.
 When true, output is true
Today’s Task
 Use what you have
learned to “break
the code”
 Each bench has a
PLC program
 The first bench to
turn on all five lamps
wins!