Programmable Logic

Controllers

Dr. Anurag Dixit

 PLC’s Are ...
• Similar to a Microcontroller:
– Microprocessor Based
– Onboard Memory for Storing Programs
– Special Programming Language: Ladder Logic
– Input/Output Ports
 PLC’s Are...
• Dissimilar to Microcontrollers:
– Intended for Industrial Applications
– I/O Designed to interface with Control Relays
– Emphasis on Maximum Reliability
 PLC’s
• Widely Applied in Every Industry
• Were Developed to Simplify the
Implementation of Control Automation
Systems in Plants and Assembly Lines
• Designed to Minimize the Number of
Control Relays in a Process and Maximize
the Ways Relays can be Used
• First Applied to Automobile Industry in the
Late 1960’s
• Flexible, Reliable and Low Cost
PLC Components
 I/O Modules
• Input Modules: Input Signals can be AC or
DC, Analog or Digital
• Output Modules: Outputs are either AC or
DC Analog Signals (Although it is possible
to ‘Construct’ Digital Outputs)
• Modern PLC’s have Expansion Ports to
Increase the Number of Available Inputs
and Outputs
 Examples of I/O Signals
• Inputs:
– Pushbutton (Energizing or Grounding an Input)
– Relay Contact Output
– DC Voltage Level
– Digital Logic Signal (+5V or 0 V, etc)
• Outputs:
– 24 V ac
– 120 V ac
– 120 Vdc
– etcetera
 PLC’s Use Ladder Logic
• Ladder Logic Diagrams Provide a Method
to Symbolically Show How Relay Control
Schemes are Implemented
• Relay Contacts and Coils, Inputs and
Outputs lie on “Rungs” Between the
Positive and Ground Rails
Example of Ladder Diagram
 Relays
• In General, Relays Transform a Control
Signal into a Control Action
• Relays Provide:
– Isolation Between Input and Output
– Leverage (Small Signal Can Control Large
Action)
– Automation (Minimize Human Interaction with
a Control Process)
Relay Components
Basic Relay Symbols
 Relay Applications
• Relays can be Designed to Perform Many
Functions
– Detect Out of Limit Conditions on Voltages
and Currents
– Start Motors
– Prevent Motors from Over Heating
– Control Assembly Lines
– Adjust Lighting
PLC Timers and Motor
Protection
 Industrial Communications
• RS-422 (EIA 422): Asynchronous Serial
Communications , similar in many respects
to RS-232
• Faster (up to 100 Kbps) than RS-232
• Better Noise Immunity
– Differential (Balanced signal) Protocol
– Makes use of Twisted Pair lines - 1 pair for
transmit, one pair for receive (4 Lines vs. 3)
 EIA-422 Basics
• Can be 1 Master Transmitter feeding up to
10 Slave Receivers
• Can be Peer-to-Peer, like RS-232
• Data is sent and received via Differential
Ports - Common Mode Rejection (Noise
common to both inputs is attenuated)
• Twisted Pair also reduces EMI at low cost
Common Mode Rejection
 EIA 485 (RS-485)
• More Modern, Faster and Flexible (supports TCP/IP)
• Since it uses a differential balanced line over twisted
pair (like EIA-422), it can span relatively large
distances (up to 4000 feet or just over 1200 metres).
• In contrast to EIA-422, which has a single driver
circuit which cannot be switched off, EIA-485 drives
need to be put in transmit mode explicitly by
asserting a signal to the driver. This allows EIA-485
to implement linear topologies using only two lines.
 IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet)
• Star Topology (Hub and spokes)
• Standard for computer networks since the
1990’s
• Becoming more and more popular in
Industrial settings
• Uses twisted pair data cables terminated in
8P8C (sometimes incorrectly called RJ45)
modular plugs, wired according to TIA/EIA-
568-B
 Twisted Pair Cables
• Twisting a pair of wires that act as a communication
channel will:
– Minimize the loop area between the pair (minimize the
self-inductance and capacitance)
– Which in turn tends to cancel out much of the
electromagnetic interference from external sources and
crosstalk from adjacent pairs
– Improve the efficiency of the channel
 PLC Special Features
• Time Delay Relays
• Counter Relays
• Special Functions
• User Defined Functions
• Special Bits
 Time Delay Relays
• When TD Relay Pick-Up Coil is Energized,
a Delay is Initiated
• Normally Open Contacts Wait to Close
until Delay is Completed
• Normally Closed Contacts Wait to Open
until Delay is Completed
• Very Useful for Creating a Sequence of
Control Events
 Time Delay Symbol
• Can be Constructed With or Without a
Reset Input
 Making Use of Delays
• Delay Motor Start While Alarm Sounds for
Safety
 Counters
• Counter Relays must “Count” a pre-
determined number of events before
changing contact status
• Can Count Up (UpCounter) or Count Down
(DownCounter)
• e.g. An UpCounter is set to 8 and is
programmed to detect every occurrence of a
5 Volt pulse. When it has detected 8 such
occurrences, the NO Contacts close and the
NC contacts open.
• Great for making Real-Time Clocks, etc
 Special Functions
• Modern PLCs can perform many Math and
Logic Functions without additional Ladder
Logic Programming
– Differentiation, Integration
– +, -, *, /
– Boolean Logic Functions (AND, NOT, OR)
– Master Control Functions (Reset, etc)
 Motor Protection
• Essential Part of Motor Control
• Protect against:
– Under Voltage
– Under Frequency (AC Machines Only)
– Over Current
– Over Heating
– Over Speed
– Over Load
 Motor Protection Schemes
• Incorporated Directly in Ladder Logic
Control Schemes
 References
• Skvarenina/DeWitt, Electrical Power and
Controls, Pearson-Prentice Hall, 2004