Volume 5, Issue 11, November – 2020 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology

ISSN No:-2456-2165

PLC Based Automatic Cutting Machine

Mathivanan K.E
Madras Institute of Technology, Anna University, Chennai.

Abstract:- In the industrial world, automation is one of II. LITERATURE REVIEW

the most important elements for development. It helps
to reduce the manpower and plays a significant role in Many authors have clearly projected the design of
maintaining efficiency, uniformity and productivity. robotic arm and the benefits of using PLC instead of other
Automatic cutting machine is one of them, which is microcontrollers or processors. As a whole, among many
widely used in industrial proposes. authors PLC stands as a most customized, reliable and
flexible. The details of the literatures referred for this project
The main objective of this project is to design a three work and abstract of the reported work is discussed in this
axis cutting machine by using PLC which gives a good chapter.
precision and accuracy in cutting the objects compared
to the manual cutting machine Kanchan Pandita, Yamini Sharma, Vijay Kumar
Kamble 'Stepper Motor Driven Three Axis Robot using PLC'
Keywords:- PLC, Automatic Cutting Machine, Cutting [1] describes how to prepare a PLC program that calculates
Machine. the path coordinates and also drives the stepper motor. They
have also prepared a HMI program that allows the user to
I. INTRODUCTION control the system directly using buttons. Here a joystick has
been used. Initially, a joystick is used to teach the robot learn
 Three Axis Control the path and then the robot will perform the same function
In this fast growing smarter world, automatic cutting after some desired accuracy.
tools are of great need. Three axis control of a robotic arm
would include control of the arm on the entire three axes (x, Leonard Sokoloff ' PLC Stepper Motor Controller' [2]
y and z). Control on the entire three axis would help the arm has clearly projected how to control a stepper motor using
to move freely draw figures. This robotic arm holds a blade PLC. They have concentrated on both the hardware
which moves up and down (z axis) with the help of connections and software programs. The logic for the
pneumatic supply. The base movable plate slides in both the programs are clearly depicted using flowcharts. They have
axis (x and y) driven by two stepper motors. The left and used a PLC whose outputs are of transistors type (Darlington
right movement is given by X axis stepper motor and the pair). They have explained the internal structure of the motor
forward and backward movement is given by Y axis stepper as well as the stepping angle using phase exciting timing
motor. Apart from this, 6 inductive proximity sensors have waveforms. They have projected the software programs using
been installed (3 on each axis), to have position adjustment Ladder logic.
for the base plate so that the drawing of the figure could be
started from where the user wishes to. The entire system is Abhishek Kumar Mishra, Karan Muley, Lakshmi
controlled by MITSUBISHI PLC (GX developer software). Gautam 'Interfacing Stepper Motor with PLC' [3] has focused
The control of the length to be drawn is done by controlling on how to interface a stepper motor using PLC. In this paper
both the speed of the stepper motor and duration for which it they have used a stepper motor driver similar to that of what
has to be driven. PLC based robotic arm would be a highly has been used in this project. The connections between the
customized system and would have the facility for extensive motor driver to the PLC as wellas the connections between
input/output arrangements. The programs (ladder logic) the motor driver and motor is clearly explained with suitable
written produces a computer file that is interpreted to extract diagrams. The software part has also been explained with
the commands needed to operate the system. This would suitable waveforms. The software part focusses on how to
allow cutting in the required shapes and sizes. send the pulse and direction signal from the PLC. They have
explained the coding part with ladder logic and functional
 What is PLC? block diagrams.
A Programmable Logic Controller (PLC or
programmable controller) is a device that a user can Amer Ali Ammar 'Step Motor Control by Using PLC '
program to perform a series or sequence of events. These [4] a thorough theoretical and practical study of PLC control
series of events are written as logics in the program. The is presented to provide information required to understand the
entire system can be divided into three parts. PLC, its main hardware component and how these
• Ladder Logic components interact with each other. It aims to study the
• Sequential Flow Chart stepper motor, how it works and how it can be interfaced with
• Functional Block Diagram PLC. This paper focuses to drive the motor without using a
• Structures text driver. They have written the program in Ladder logic using
• Instruction list GLOFA simulation software.

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Volume 5, Issue 11, November – 2020 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
Patidar, Virentra and Tiwari Ritu 'Survey of robotic the cylinder. The stepper motors are driven using the DDRVI
arm and parameters'[5] gives a technical discussion on command and the cylinder works on simple on/off command.
robotic arm and the development. It focuses on axis degree The DDRVI command includes specifying the number of
of freedom, working envelope and space, kinematics, pulses, speed and the pulse and direction of the stepper motor.
payload, speed and acceleration, accuracy and readability of Initially based on the sensors output, position adjustment is
robotic arm. done . Once it is done, the stepper motors are driven based on
the logics to cut the required figure.
AR.Suhas ' Design and implementation of robotic arm
using Proteus design tool and Arduino Uno'[6] have  Mode of Operations
designed a robotic arm where it would be controlled by the There are two modes of operation that is , the figures
interaction with the human hand using flux sensor , Arduino can be obtained in two ways.
Uno, RF module and servo motor. The signals are
transmitted and received by the Wi-Fi modules. One is manual and the other is automatic.

Kadiyam Sasidhar, Shaik Faiz Hussain 'Design and  Manual Mode

development of a PLC based automatic objects sorting'[7] In Manual mode of operation, the user assigns the input
have developed sorting system which has color sensors, switches to drive each motor and also the cylinder. Timers are
proximity sensors and stepper motors. This paper has clearly not required in this mode. The user operates the switches for
projected both on hardware and software part of PLC. They the required duration in order to obtain the desired length.
also have implemented on SCADA.

Yujie Chong, Haimei Feng ' One kind of control

method based on PLC or stepper motor'[8] have
implemented a precise control of stepping motor steps has
been discussed with ladder logic and block diagrams. They
have also focused on the wiring of stepper motors along
with its control actions from PLC.

J.Swider, K.Foit 'The use of Mitsubishi PLC systems

for realizations of industrial task'[9] explains on the internal
structure of Mitsubishi PLC. It also focuses on the
specifications and feature of all FX series. They have also
projected a real time interface with lift. Fig 1:- MANUAL MODE

X. Y. Bu and P. Liu, 'PLC applied in the three-phase The code shown in the figure 1 is for manual mode
stepper-motor control system' [10] gives the introduction of operation, the switches and their corresponding functions are
characteristics and the working principle of three phase tabulated below.
stepper motor. They have done both the position and speed
control of the motor using Siemens PLC. Table 1 Input switch and its function
SI. No Input Switch Function
III. PROJECT DESCRIPTION 1 X005 Drive X axis motor in Reverse
direction
The project consists of several hardware and software 2 X006 Drive Y axis motor in Forward
parts whose specifications and features have been discussed direction
here. Mitsubishi is a programmable logic unit (PLC), which 3 X004 Drive X axis motor in Forward
is a digital computer to control various processes in the direction
external world. It consists of a microprocessor whose 4 X007 Drive Y axis motor in Reverse
programs are written on suitable software. It has a provision direction
to connect various inputs and outputs. The suitable software 5 X002 Cylinder moves down
used for programming is GX developer. Version 8 has been
used in this project. The inputs are the proximity sensors of  Automatic Mode
inductive type connected to the three axis setup. The six In automatic mode of operation, the switches are used
proximity sensors provide the position of the base plate to only to Start and Stop the operation. The programs are written
the PLC. The logics are written in GX developer software in for each shape (rectangle, square, triangle, and trapezium).
ladder logic. Timers and proximity sensors used in order to get the
required length. For example, to obtain a line of 5cm in X
The logics are written using various functions such as axis direction, X axis motor has to be driven either in forward
timers and DDRVI. These logics are then dumped into the or reverse direction for a duration of 100ms. Hence
PLC. The PLC then interprets the logic into system calculations for the figures are made based on the speed and
understandable. The outputs are the two stepper motor and the timer value.

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Volume 5, Issue 11, November – 2020 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
Logics are also written in such a way that the cylinder
moves up whenever it is not necessary .The inputs here
include only the sensor. A snapshot of this mode of
operation is shown in the figure 2.

Figure 4 MITSUBISHI FX SERIES

Some of the features of FX3U are as follows

• 64K program memory standard
• Input Power supply 230 VAC
• Control Supply is 24 VDC
• RS 232 Communication
• Program memory - 64000 steps
Figure 2 AUTOMATIC MODE • Cycle time per log is 0.065 (µs)
• Special function instructions -218
IV. HARDWARE IMPLEMENTATION • Maximum Special function modules -18 (8 right, 10 left)
• Extension capacity I/O- 384
 PLC (MITSUBISHI) • More data registers and file registers
The PLC used here is MITSUBISHI FX3U series. The • Maximum of 3 serial communication ports.
micro programmable logic series requires a power supply of • New left side adapter bus for new analog, pulse input, pulse
100-240 VAC or 24 V DC. The number of inputs and output, and communication options.
outputs it can support is 8 -64. The digital outputs are of • Full featured Ethernet module available
relay and transistor types. The program cycle period per • Profibus master available
logical instruction is 0.065µs.The power consumed is 25W. • 6 sizes are available
• Even number of inputs and outputs
• 16 I/O
• 32 I/O
• 48 I/O
• 64 I/O
• 80 I/O
• 128I/O

Fig 3 MITSUBISHI PANEL

The MITSUBISHI PLC used here is shown in the

figure 3. It consists of 16 input pins, out of which 8 are of
switch type and remaining 8 are of push button type. It also
has a provision to connect 24 input and outputs from
external and an emergency stop button. The PLC used in Figure 5 PLC AND POWER SUPPLY
this project is FX series whose specifications are explained
in the next section. There are 6 basic programming devices. Each devices
has its own unique use. To enable quick and easy
 FX3U CONTROLLERS identification each device is assigned a single reference letter
The FX3U processors (in figure 4) are designed as the which are shown below,
next evolution of the FX2N. The FX3U is more expandable, • X: This is used to identify all direct, physical inputs to the
has more memory, and is faster than the FX2N. PLC.
• Y: This is used to identify all direct, physical outputs from
the PLC.

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Volume 5, Issue 11, November – 2020 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
• T: This is used to identify a timing device which is
contained within the PLC.
• C: This is used to identify a counting device which is
contained within the PLC.
• M : This is used as internal operation Flags within the
PLC.

 GX DEVELOPER SOFTWARE
GX Developer supports all MELSEC controllers from
the compact PLCs of the MELSEC FX series. GX
Developer supports the MELSEC instruction list (IL),
MELSEC ladder diagram (LD) and MELSEC sequential
function chart (SFC) languages. A Snapshot of the software
is shown in the figure 6. It involves the following features in Figure 7 STEPPERMOTOR
whole:
• Standard programming software for all MELSECPLCs The count for rotating the shaft of the stepper motor
• Comfortable prompting under Microsoft Windows through a specified angle may be calculated from the no. of
• Ladder Diagram, Instruction List or Sequential rotor teeth.

Function Chart C = No. of rotor teeth / 360 * ϴ Where ϴ is the

• Changeable during operation specified angle.
• Powerful monitoring and test functions
• Offline simulation for all PLC types They have multiple coils that are organized in groups
• No hardware needed called "phases". By energizing each phase in sequence, the
motor will rotate, one step at a time. With a computer
controlled stepping one can achieve very precise positioning
and/or speed control.

Figure 6 GX DEVELOPER SOFTWARE

Figure 8 EIGHT WIRE MOTOR
 STEPPER MOTOR
A stepper motor is a motor used to have precise angle The 8-wire unipolar as shown in the figure 8 is the most
control. It is a brushless DC motor which can control the versatile motor of all. It can be driven in several ways:
angular position without a closed feedback loop. It is a • 4-phase unipolar - All the common wires are connected
simple , accurate and open loop system. The most together - just like a 5- wire motor.
commonly used stepper motor is variable reluctance type • 2-phase series bipolar - The phases are connected in series -
motor. Unlike AC or DC motor which rotates the shafts just like a6-wire motor.
continuously, the stepper motor rotates the shafts in steps. • 2-phase parallel bipolar-The phases are connected in parallel
The number of pulse required for one complete rotation is .This results in half the resistance and inductance - but
equal to the number of internal teeth present on its rotor. require twice the current to drive.
The stator and the rotor teeth uses the locking principle to
fix the angle of the shaft. The angle ‘A’ can be calculated as The advantage of this wiring is higher torque and top speed.
A= 360 ° / No. of rotor teeth.
 STEPPER MOTOR DRIVER
Where ‘A’ denotes that the rotor rotates by one teeth The stepper motor cannot be connected directly to the
position. PLC, an interfacing component has to be present to drive the
motor. The 2DM 542 stepper motor driver is used in this
Two steppers motors as shown in the figure 7 are used. project. This driver has been used because of its low
The internal structure is shown in the figure 7. vibration, low noise and low heating. The features of the
driver are as follows –
• 15 kinds of micro step.
• Maximum step number is 25600 steps/ rev .

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Volume 5, Issue 11, November – 2020 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165

Figure 9 2DM 542 STEPPER MOTOR DRIVER Figure 11 PROXIMITY SENSOR

The stepper motor driver 2DM 542 as shown in the V. BLOCK DIAGRAM
figure 9 acts as an interface between the PLC and the
stepper motor. Q0, Q1, Q2 are the inputs of PLC which are
connected to pulse, direction and enable of driver
respectively. Any motor should not be directly connected to
the microcontroller or microprocessor, a driver has to be
interfaced. The 2DM 542 driver has pulse, direction and
enable signal. The connections between the PLC and the
driver are shown in the figure 10.

VI. HARDWARE SETUP

In this setup as shown in the figure 12, the base plate

moves left and right when X axis motor is driven and it
moves front and back when Y axis motor is driven. Six
inductive type proximity sensors have been installed, with
Figure 10 CONTROLLER STEPPER MOTOR three on either side.
CONNECTIONS

 PROXIMITY SENSOR (INDUCTIVE TYPE)

A proximity sensor (as shown in the figure 11) is a
device used to detect the presence of objects without being
in contact with it. In this project, proximity sensor is used to
detect the position of the base plate. There are two
proximity sensors, one is of inductive type and another is of
capacitive type. The proximity sensor of inductive type
which is used in this project can sense only metal objects. It
uses the principle of electromagnetic induction. The
proximity sensor consists of an inductor in which current is
passed through it. Due to this current a magnetic field is
produced around the coil. When a metal objects comes near
this magnetic field, eddy currents are produced. The eddy
current electromagnetic field will oppose the magnetic field
in the conductor. This opposition acts as an indicator for the
presence of the metal object. Figure 12 THREE AXIS SETUP

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Volume 5, Issue 11, November – 2020 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
The proximity sensors are used to detect the position Table 3 Y axis Inputs and Outputs
of the base plate. With the help of these sensors, the user Number Description Type
can decide from which position, the drawing has to be
carried out. The pen moves up and down with the help of X25 Y axis Forward Input
pneumatic supply. The pneumatic supply is turned on with X24 Y axis Home Input
the help of a compressor.
X23 Y axis Reverse Input

Y0 Y axis pulse Output

Y1 Y axis Direction Output

Figure 13 X AXIS DIRECTION

The stepper motors are driver by the command DDRVI
The X-Axis direction of the plate is shown in the as shown in the figure 15
figure 13 . The description of the sensors and the motor
terminals are shown in the table 2.

Table 2 X axis Inputs and Outputs

Number Description Type

X22 X axis Forward Input

X21 X axis Home Input

X20 X axis Reverse Input

Y2 X axis Pulse Output

Y3 X axis Direction Output

Figure 15 DDRVI Command

The Y axis direction of the plate is shown in the figure The direction of the stepper motor can be reversed by
14 . The motor terminals and the sensors are shown in the adding a ‘-ve’ sign in the pulse number ( k-9999999). By
table 3. appropriate selection of the speed and the duration for which
the motor has to run , required length for figures can be
obtained. The time for which the motor has to run can be
decided by specifying the timer value in timer function. To
have diagonal lines, two stepper motors have to be driven
simultaneously at the same time. By properly selecting the
direction of both the motors, required diagonal lines can be
obtained.

The additional input and output pins used are shown in

table 4.

Table 4 Additional inputs and output

Number Description Type

X7 Start Input

X5 Emergency Stop Input

Figure 14 Y AXIS DIRECTION Y10 cylinder Output

Forward

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Volume 5, Issue 11, November – 2020 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
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 STEPS TO PROGRAM AND UPLOAD
• Open GX Developer Version 8.
• To create new project , select Project -> New Project.
• Click Ok to create new project.
• Program the required logic suitable using ladder
diagram.
• Convert the program Convert -> Enter.
• Go to online and select transfer setup, Online -> Transfer
Setup.
• Select the suitable COM Port
• After selecting the COM Port , do the connection test.
• Assure successful connection with PLC.
• Transfer the program to PLC.
• Select Online -> Write to PLC.
• Select all the options and execute.
• Go to Online -> Monitor -> Monitor Mode. SQUARE
• Check the results using the ON/OFF switches in PLC
and observe the expected results in the LED panel in the
PLC.
• The results can also be visualized in the GX Developer
by means of the green glow on the output coil.

VII. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Control of three axis setup with MITSUBISHI PLC

has been done and the cutting of the following shapes has
been implemented.
• Rectangle
• Square.
• Triangle.
• Trapezium.

Separate program has been written for all the above TRIANGLE
shapes. Position adjustment has been done for all the
programs. Initially the setup adjusts itself for the home
position, once the home position has been reached, the
cylinder comes down and starts cutting. Lifting of the blade
whenever not necessary while cutting figures has been done.

TRAPEZIUM

RECTANGLE

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Volume 5, Issue 11, November – 2020 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
VIII. CONCLUSION

This project includes interfacing of the three axis setup

with Mitsubishi PLC both in hardware and software. The
software part involves programming in Ladder logic
diagram. The programs include finding the logics to drive
both the stepper motor as well as the cylinder in each case.
The work done so far includes manual and automatic cutting
of shapes such as Rectangle, Square, Trapezium and
triangle. Further this project can be extended to obtain non-
symmetrical and three dimensional shapes by utilizing the
timers and positioning functions.

REFERENCES

[1]. Kanchan Pandita, Yamini Sharma, Vijaykumar

Kamble ''Stepper motor driven three axis robot using
plc'', International Journal of Enginnering Research
and General Science , Vol.4 (2): pp: 5-8.
[2]. Leonard Sokoloff ''Plc stepper motor controller''
International Journal of Advanced Research in
Computer Engineering, Vol.7(5):pp:525-527.
[3]. Abhishek Kumar Mishra, Karan Muley , Lakshmi
Gautam ''interfacing of stepper motor with plc''
International Journal of advanced Research in
Computer Engineering and Technology , Vol.7(5):pp:
1-4.
[4]. Amer Ali Ammar ''step motor control by using plc'',
Industry Research conference , Vol. 2(16):pp:23-58.

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