PLC - PLC Programming & Automation

PLC I/O Modules: Sinking, Sourcing, Keying, Scaling

Timing chart of a 24V DC input: the field sensor edge, the module input filter delay, and the controller tag updating at the next RPI

How to pick discrete and analog I/O, get sinking and sourcing right, set RPI and electronic keying, wire a 4-20 mA loop and scale the raw counts.

PLC Robot Integration: Handshakes, Safety and Cycles

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Timing chart of a pick cycle handshake between PLC and robot: cell ready stays high, part present rises, the PLC raises start cycle, the robot answers with busy and leaves home, then sets cycle done while the PLC drops start cycle

Map FANUC, ABB and KUKA signals into a PLC, build a pick cycle handshake that cannot drop, select the program by number, and set a sane RPI.

Counting Runtime Hours and Trending Vibration in the PLC

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Timing chart of condition monitoring sampling: the machine starts, a warm-up delay blocks sampling, one-second sample pulses run only while warmed up, and the level 1 alert sets after the average crosses the limit

Build PLC predictive maintenance on hardware you own: vibration and motor current inputs, runtime hours, moving averages, baselines and alarm levels.

RFID PLC Integration: Read and Write Tags from Ladder

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Timing chart of an RFID read cycle: the trigger bit, the reader busy bit, the done bit, and the UID landing in the UDT before the trigger is cleared

Pick HF or UHF, connect the reader over EtherNet/IP or Modbus, map the data into a UDT, and run a trigger, busy, done handshake that does not drop reads.

PLC Safety Interlock: Dual-Channel E-Stop on GuardLogix

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Timing chart of a dual channel E-stop: channel A opens, channel B follows shortly after inside the discrepancy time, the safety output drops at once, the E-stop is released, and the output only returns after the reset button is pressed and released

When a standard interlock is not enough, how to wire and configure a dual-channel E-stop on GuardLogix safety I/O, and the reset rule nobody may break.

OEE and Downtime Reason Codes from the PLC

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Ladder rung with four contacts, Auto examined on, Fault, Starved and Blocked examined off, driving the Running output coil that feeds the availability run timer

How a PLC state model feeds OEE, downtime reason codes and SPC triggers on a rotary filler: the ST block, the tag structure and the classic mistakes.

PLC Simulation and Virtual Commissioning: A Working Setup

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Timing chart of a simulated conveyor: the run command, the simulated photoeye going true three seconds later, and the drive feedback reaching the speed reference

Build a Logix Emulate chassis, run PLCSIM Advanced, test the HMI offline, and learn which parts of a machine you can trust a simulation to prove.

BPCS, SIS and the Cause and Effect Matrix on a Reactor

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Timing chart of a reactor high temperature trip: two of three jacket thermocouples vote high, the SIS trip relay trips, the feed valve closes and the quench valve opens

How the BPCS, the SIS and the package PLC split the work on a batch reactor, with a cause and effect matrix, cascade temperature control and IS barriers.

Wellhead ESD Logic and RTU Polling on a Remote Pad

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Ladder rung for a wellhead ESD permissive: reset push button sealed in, high pressure and high level switches healthy, emergency stop normally closed, driving the SDV permissive coil

Wellpad controller choice, an ESD permissive rung that will not auto restart, Modbus poll budgets over radio, flow computers and tank farm level control.

How to Create a Project in Studio 5000 (Step by Step, v33)

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Start/stop rung with seal-in: XIC Start in parallel with XIC Motor, XIO Stop, OTE Motor

Create a new Studio 5000 Logix Designer project the right way: pick the controller, match the firmware revision, add I/O, write the first rung, download and go online.

Assembly Line Station Logic: State Machine, Takt, Downtime

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Ladder rung releasing a body from an assembly station: body present, torque batch complete and vision result OK in series, with a normally closed contact for the downstream station blocked, driving the release output

Station and line PLC split, a PackML state machine in Structured Text, torque tool error proofing, andon stops and downtime that blames the right station.

PLC Sustainable Manufacturing: Measure, Then Shut Off

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Timing chart of idle shutdown and staggered restart: part flow stops, the idle timer completes five minutes later, the conveyor, vacuum generator and extraction fan switch off in sequence, and when parts return the fan starts first, then the vacuum, then the conveyor

Meter energy, air, water and scrap per part, write idle shutdown in Structured Text, stagger the restart, and report numbers that survive an audit.