Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) for Industrial

Control

PLC – Programmable Logic Controllers for Industrial Control

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PLC (Programmable Logic Controllers) are widely used in industrial and manufacturing automation
systems for improved operational availability and extendable production rates.

As industry increasing its production rates without compromising product quality, PLCs are widely
accepted by the industry so as to minimize the time and cost of developing a large quantity of
products and also for developing new products. Applications of the PLCs vary from simple stand-
alone installations to complex machine control.

What is PLC (Programmable Logic Controller)?

Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) is a digitally operating electronic system or it can be termed as
industrial computer which is designed especially for use in industrial environment. It can be easily
integrated into the industrial control systems to expand and enhance the performance of industrial
processes.

PLCs replaces the conventional relay logic control where a set of relays is hardwired to perform a
specific task and also if the system needs any changes then relay wiring has to be modified
accordingly.

PLCs overcomes such hardwiring associated with relay control circuits not only by performing such
switching tasks, but also performing the operations like processing analog signals, counting, timing,
sequencing, comparing, etc. The principle operation programmable logic controller is illustrated in
figure below.

PLCs continuously monitors various sensor outputs connected to its input modules and produces
output decisions to the actuators connected to output modules according to the control function
implemented in its program.

Since the PLC has some memory, once the program is written, tested and downloaded to the PLC, it
takes charge control of a process, thus increases the reliability.

A PLC can communicate with other PLCs or computers or any other smart instruments via a
communication network to perform the functions like downloading of programs, remote monitoring
the devices, facilitating supervisory control, etc.

Types of PLCs

PLCs can be placed into two categories, namely fixed and modular. Fixed PLCs are cheaper, smaller
and easier to install. It consists of predetermined digital and analog modules (of a fixed number of
channels) along with processor and power supply units.

For an expanding number of I/O channels, fixed PLC requires separate interconnectable
components. However, modular PLCs offers flexibility to the user in order to match the controller
components to the specific application needs. It has an extendable I/O capacity, larger memory size
and communication with remote unit capability.

Parts of PLC

The components or parts of PLC are housed in a suitable cabinet designed especially for the
industrial environment. The following are the main components of a PLC.
Power Supply Unit:

It converts AC mains voltage to PLC operating low DC voltage and supplies the power to the
modules that are plugged into the rack. The specification of the power depends on the type of PLC
being utilized in the application.

In some PLCs, power supply is the part of processor module that can deliver all required power to
the system. In such cases, additional power source is needed if excessive current or voltage is
required by some modules (analog and external communication modules).

In some PLCs, power supply is the separate module that can deliver a current greater than the sum
of all currents needed by other modules.

Mounting Rack

It provides the means for mounting processor, I/O modules, communication modules and power
supply module. It is a metal framework with PCB backplane consisting of several racks for all the
modules.
These racks specify the number of modules that can be required to implement the system. The
power and data connections are provided by these racks to the processor via the backplane. This
rack also holds the power supply module if processor does not consist a power supply unit (inbuilt)
as stated above. Modular PLCs can be extendable to large number of I/O modules because
mounting racks are cascadable.

Processor or CPU

This unit consists of microprocessor, system memory, serial communication ports and LAN link. In
some cases it consists of a power supply to deliver the necessary power to CPU and I/O modules. It
is the brain of the PLC which executes the control logic (implemented on its program) by accepting
the inputs from various I/O modules and then determines the appropriate output signals to output
modules.

The CPU also consists of data and program memory, i.e., EPROM and RAM for storing instruction for
logic control and for storing results of logical operations respectively.

PLC Input/ Output (I/O) Modules

I/O modules interface the field devices (both input and output devices) in the control environment to
the processor. These input devices include sensors, push buttons, limit switches, etc. and output
devices include motors, relays, solenoid valves, etc. I/O devices fall into two major categories i.e.,
discrete or digital and analog modules.

Digital I/O modules can be individual digital input or output modules or a combination of both digital
input and output points on same unit. Depending on the manufacture or the application requirement,
each digital module has a number of channels like 8 or16 or 32 channels with specified voltage
values (of only AC or only DC or AC/DC) for connecting a number of ON-OFF type inputs and outputs.
Similar to digital modules, analog I/O modules can be individual analog input or output modules or a
combination of both analog input and output channels on same unit. These channels are specified
with particular voltage or current range and desired resolution. The number of channels in each
analog input or output module depends on the PLC’s manufacture.

PLC Ladder Programming

The main advantage of a PLC is that it offers five different programming languages to program
control logic for the application. These languages are instruction list (IL), structure text (ST), ladder
logic diagrams or ladder logic (LD), sequential flow control and function block diagram.

Among these languages, ladder logic is the very common method of programming a PLC. This
ladder diagram resembles hardwired relay logic diagrams.

Structure Ladder Programming:

The ladder diagram consists of two vertical lines called as power rails between which logic
circuits are connected as shown in below figure. The left side rail is the line power rail (L) which
resembles hot or live side of the power supply. The right side rail is the neutral power rail (N)
which resembles common side of the power supply.
The horizontal lines are called rungs which are connected between two vertical lines (power rails).
Each rung provides electrical continuity between rails if there is uninterrupted electrical path. And
also each rung specifies one operation in the control process.
Each rung must start with one or more input instructions at L power rail side i.e., on rung left-hand
side) and must end with one or more output instructions at N power rail side i.e., on rung right-
hand side). These input and output instruction must have specified address in the memory for
which notation depends on the PLC manufacture.
A ladder diagram is executed or read from left to right and top to bottom as shown in figure. This
means top rung is read from left to right and then next down rung from left to right and so on till
end rung. This is termed as PLC cycle.
Basic Symbols used in PLC Programming

XIC (Examine If Closed): True when its associated bit is at logic 1 state.

XIO (Examine If Open): True when its associated bit is at logic 0 state.

Invert: It inverts the power applied before it.

One-shot rising contact: If the conditions change from OFF to ON before

Output: If any rung passes the power from left to right the output is
energized otherwise de-energized.

Set: If any rung passes power to the set output, it (set) remains
energized even no power is passed through that rung.

Reset: If any rung passes power to the reset output, it (reset) remains
de-energized even no power is passed through that rung.

Along with these input and output instructions, various functions like timers, counters, PID blocks,
compare, move and arithmetic operation blocks in the PLC function library helps to create required
control logic for the application.

Examples of Ladder Logic Diagrams for PLC

Example 1.

1. The ladder logic diagram that turn ON switch 1 and switch 2 for controlling lamp1 and either
switch 3 or switch 4 or both for controlling lamp2 is shown below along with wiring diagram.

Here in this example, switches are connected to the input module and lamps are connected to the
output module. Processor gets these I/O address and depending on the logic program, it will drive
the lamps.

The logic program for this example is given below in which switch 1 and switch are connected in
logical AND fashion while switch 3 and switch 4 are connected in logical OR fashion.

Example 2.

1. The ladder diagram for motor turn ON and OFF with emergency stop button using a relay and a
PLC is shown below.

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