EEE4118

Automation and control

Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs)
Programmable (Logic)
Controllers – PLCs
• History: General Motors used the first PLCs in 1970 to replace existing relay
based control systems in car manufacturing.
• Main motivation: reduce cost of replacing expensive assembly line relays during
annual model change-overs.
• Benefits of PLCs soon filtered through to other industries.
• By the mid 70s: Increased use of microprocessor technologies elsewhere, the
basic on/off type functionality of the PLC was augmented with analogue
functions and the ability to do arithmetic.
• Power and flexibility of the PLC has continued to grow. Today you can purchase a
wide variety of PLCs from simple inexpensive single loop versions to fast powerful
machines approaching the computing power of a server computer.
• Networked together it is possible to fully automate huge plants with PLCs.
2
PLCs
• There is a huge selection of PLCs available now. They are essentially industrially packaged
computers with robust I/O and high integrity firmware.
• PLCs may have high-speed units and high availability tasks for counting, continuous
control, motor control, compressor control, machine interlocks etc.
• The choice of the appropriate PLC depends on technical and other factors (as with micro-
controller selection) based on
• type and number of I/O required,
• processing speed, networking
• future expansion needs
• company standards,
• technician’s skill base
• stores holding
• Modern applications use PLCs as industrial front-ends to automation systems, in other
words as the field interface between actuators and sensors and the user interface which
may be a SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system.
3
 Square D Fuji Electric P8/Nyquist

Manufacturers
ABB/Elsag Bailey/Alfa Laval GE-Fanuc Pilz
Alfa Laval/ABB/Elsag Bailey GE-Fanuc/Eberle (Europe) Pixsys
Allen-Bradley Gefran/SIEI PLC Direct/Koyo/AutomationDirect
ALSTOM/Cegelec Giddings & Lewis Poscon

•
Aromat/Matsushita Gould/Modicon Reliance
Siemens Array Electronics Groupe Schneider Rockwell Automation

• Rockwell AutomationDirect/PLC Direct/Koyo/ Hima Rockwell Software

B&R Industrial Automation Hitachi RTP Corporation
• Allen Bradley Bachmann Honeywell SAIA-Burgess
Beck Electronic/Festo Horner Electric Schleicher
• Mitsubishi Beckhoff Ibercomp Schneider Electric
Berthel gmbh Idec Selectron
• Toshiba Bosch IDT/Cutler Hammer Sharp
Bristol Babcock Industrial Control Links Shihlin
• Honeywell Cegelec/ALSTOM International Parallel Machines SIEI/Gefran

• ABB CNI
Control Microsystems
Jetter gmbh
Keyence Corporation
Siemens/Moore Products
Sigmatek

• Pepperl & Fuchs Crouzet Automatismes Kirchner Soft Sixnet

Control Technology Corporation Klockner-Moeller SMAR
• Delta Cutler Hammer/IDT Koyo/AutomationDirect/PLC Direct SoftPLC/Tele-Denken

• Omron Delta
Divelbiss
LG Industrial Systems
Liyan Electric
SPLat/Microconsultants
Square D
• Phoenix Contact Eberle/GE-Fanuc (Europe)
Elsag Bailey/ABB/Alfa Laval
Matsushita (Europe)/Aromat
Messung
Teco a. s.
Tele-Denken/SoftPLC
• Yokogawa Elsist
Entertron
Microconsultants/SPLat
Mitsubishi
Telemecanique
Toshiba
Fatek Automation Modicon/Gould Toyoda/Toyopuc
Festo/Beck Electronic Moore Products/Siemens Triangle Research
FF Automation Nyquist/P8 Triconex
Fisher & Paykel Omron Unitronics
Opto22 Yokogawa
PLCs
• Often PLC systems are expensive relative to the component cost of the processor
in them, but consider the Value At Risk in monetary or human terms:
• A motor car production line producing 1 vehicle every 10 minutes, may generate a
profit of say US$100k per hour
• A petroleum refinery may generate a profit of US$1M per day and have strategic
importance to the economy of the country
• A surgical robot, lift automation, manufacturing robot, …
• Traffic lights, lifts, cranes, conveyer belts, …
• PLCs generally have a deterministic cycle time and process inputs, logic,
calculations and outputs.
• Because of the conservative nature of the PLC user industry and manufacturers
not having commercial scale production volumes, PLC’s generally seem to be a
decade out of date.
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Benefits of PLCs
• Flexibility: Compared to hard-wired relay approach PLCs are enormously flexible.
• Relays physically wired according to a particular control strategy. Strategy change 
physical change to wiring.
• E.g. Implementing a delay required electrician to buy a timer, take the plant down
and wire it in.
• PLC solution is simpler. Inputs are wired into input modules. Given a specific set of
inputs and outputs, the programmer can implement and change the control strategy
by downloading a new set of instructions. Connection between inputs and outputs is
soft and is easily changed.
• Maintenance: Programmable controllers allow online monitoring. The status of
contacts (alarms, trips etc.) is readily available to non-engineering users. In places
where skilled people to maintain PLCs are in short supply, because of the
modularity of the units, it is easy to keep them going following a plug and swop
approach.
Benefits of PLCs
• Reliability: Semiconductor technology in PLCs is far more reliable than technology of
relays or other mechanical devices. (Fewer failure modes.)
• Offset by the fact that a single component failure on a PLC can have more widespread
consequences.
• Diagnostics and speed to repair is thus very important
• PLC hardware is industrial grade and reliable.
• PLCs not immune to hardware problems (RF interference caused air compressor PLC to trip)
• Hacking via sophisticated cyberattacks – Stuxnet worm infected PLCs running Siemens Step 7
software and destroyed centrifuges on Iran’s nuclear programme
• Alarming example is a cyber attack against a safety system.
• Environment: The PLC is designed to be rugged, but it isn’t as robust as a relay system.
PLC systems you be mounted in reasonable environments (corrosion, dust, humidity and
temperatures).
• Ensure that you have a good power supply (preferably UPS but spike free as a minimum)
and proper earthing. (Welding, lightning, …)
Siemens S7-2000 Processor

8
Delta UT-12SE-A Starter Kit

• DVP14SS211R (8DI / 6DO relay)

• DOP-B07S410 (7 inch touch panel)
• DVP-PS01 (24Vdc power supply)
• 5502577100 (I/O simulator board)
• Bunch of wires & stuff

9
PLC I/O

10
PLC Architecture Architecture of the PLC

• CPU
• Normally the processor is a standard general CPU

purpose microprocessor running a real time

(often proprietary) operating system Input
module
Memory Output
module
• For continuous control: PLCs that can perform
analogue control, you purchase special PID Comms (Optional)

(Proportional, Integral, Derivative) modules.

These modules are coprocessors that perform
the control algorithms for continuous IO
modules such that PLC CPU is not burdened
with having to perform these actions as well. Power Supply Battery Backup

• Memory
• Usually flash memory (used to be battery
backed up RAM or EEPROM). Protection against
unauthorised changes. Start-up state of
memory must be well defined.

Switches, Buttons etc Motors, Solenoidsv etc

PLC Architecture: Plant interface
• Input and output modules are the plant/process interface. They have protection circuitry
to prevent unwanted noise, voltage spikes, and other disturbances commonly found in a
plant environment.
• Input modules translate external signals to digital entities useable by the internal
microprocessor. Examples
• Digital input: 0/24V field signal will be translated by the DI module to an internal binary signal.
May be optically coupled.
• High speed inputs can be used to capture timed events such as shaft encoder signals
• AI (analogue input) module will encode a 4-20mA signal into a number in the CPU number
range. Analogue interfaces include thermocouple inputs (high gain, cold junction
compensation and linearization), strain gauge inputs (high gain), various voltage and current
inputs
• Output modules perform the reverse function
• Digital outputs includes relay contacts, TTL level outputs and open collector transistor outputs.
• Analogue outputs may be 4-20 mA or 0-5V, etc
• High speed outputs
• Network (RS232, RS485, Ethernet, wireless) – is this what is used for the sensors?
• Terminals, keyboards, …
PLC Architecture: I/O
• The quantity of IO that a PLC can handle depends on the model.
• Range from 32 to 1024 signals per PLC.
• The IO in a PLC is attached like a filing system (card file) into which modules are
plugged.
• Type & combination of modules is normally a user configurable option for bigger
PLCs.
• Typically IO modules contain 4, 8, 16 or 32 channels each.
• Sometimes IO modules can be mounted remote from the CPU. This can have
significant cabling cost advantages.
• The cabling technology between the internal PLC components range from twisted
pair cables to co-axial cables and fibre optic connections. Normally there is some
marshalling between field wiring and I/O modules.
PLC Architecture: User Interface
to a PLC
• A PLC normally comes equipped with two types of interface:
• Programming Interface
• Used to enter and display programs stored in the PLC. Before a PLC will do anything it
first requires a program to be written and loaded and then run. There are differences
in available programming units, mainly affecting ease & flexibility of use in
programming and monitoring the running system.
• The simplest programmers were like hand held calculators and could enter, edit or
display only a few lines at a time. Larger PLCs are programmed with special purpose
software from laptops or industrial programming stations. The main advantage of
such a system is that several lines and steps can be viewed at the same time.
• In Programme mode Instructions are input via the programming device.
PLC Architecture: User Interface
to a PLC
• Once a PLC has been installed, a monitoring interface provides insight to the operating
personnel/engineers as to how the control is running. This may take many forms:
• simple LCD from which key parameters can be accessed to screens with graphic interfaces
• A number of PLCs coupled to a computer based supervisory system that has many terminals
• The SCADA can generate reports, alarms and do high level data acquisition and processing
• Increasingly, PLCs convey operator information, alarms
• Run Mode:
• When PLC is switched to run mode, instructions are executed consecutively by the CPU.
Execution continues to the last instruction, when the CPU returns to the first instruction.
• At the start of each instruction cycle the PLC reads all inputs. At the end of each cycle it
refreshes all outputs. One scan cycle (read inputs, perform instructions, refresh outputs)
typically takes between 50 milliseconds and 1 second depending on the PLC.
• PLCs are restrictive in the sense that they do not permit you to program more instructions
than the PLC will be able to execute in its scan cycle. The cycle time is thus guaranteed.
Programming: IEC 61131
• In the past manufacturers had different standards. This meant high costs to
achieve inter-operability, training costs, etc.
• IEC 61131 has standardised industrial automation and made everyone’s lives
simpler.
• Part 1: General Overview
• Part 2 Hardware
• Part 3 Programming Languages
• Part 4 User Guidelines
• Part 5 Communication
• Part 7 Fuzzy Logic
• Part 8 Application Guidelines
• See www.PLCOpen.org
• www.plcopen.org/pages/tc1_standards/downloads/intro_iec.pdf

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Programming: IEC 61131
Configuration
Resource Resource

Task Task Task Task FB

Function
Block

Program Program Program Program

FB FB FB FB

Execution
control path

Access path

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Configuration (plcopen.org)
• At the highest level, the entire software required to solve a particular control problem
can be formulated as a Configuration.
• A configuration is specific to a particular type of control system, including
• the arrangement of hardware, processing resources,
• memory addresses for I/O channels & system capabilities.
• Within a configuration one can define one or more Resources. A resource is a processing
facility that is able to execute IEC programs.
• Within a resource, one or more Tasks can be defined.
• Tasks control the execution of a set of programs and/or function blocks.
• can either be executed periodically or on a specified trigger, such as the change of a variable.
• Programs are built from a number of different software elements written in any of the
IEC defined languages.
• A program consists of a network of Functions and Function Blocks, which can exchange
data. These are basic building blocks, containing a data structure and a algorithm.

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Configuration vs PLC (also from
plcopen.org)
• Compare a “Configuration” to a conventional PLC: Latter contains one resource,
running one task, controlling one program, running in a closed loop.
• IEC 61131-3 adds much to this: We now expect multi-processing and event driven
programs, distributed systems and real-time control systems.

• Program Organization Units

• Within IEC 61131-3, the Programs, Function Blocks and Functions are called
Program Organization Units, POUs.

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Programming: IEC 61131
• IEC 61131 standardises common elements:
• configurations, resources, tasks, global variables, access paths, data types.
• IEC 61131 also defines a few programming languages:
• Textual:
Instruction List (IL) Structured Text (ST)
• Instruction List, IL
• Structured Text, ST LD A

• Graphical: ANDN B C:= A AND NOT B

• Ladder Diagram, LD ST C

• Function Block Diagram, FBD

Function Block Diagram Ladder Diagram
(FBD) (LD)

AND
A B C
A C
-| |--|/|----------------( )
B

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ISP Soft manual – Page 12-2
Ladder Logic
• A graphical programming language for PLCs
• Was originally designed for the construction of relay racks
• Consists of “rungs” where power flows from left to right
• Each rung can have a number of contacts and a single coil
• The contacts and coils represent Boolean states

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(Relay) Ladder Logic
• Early PLCs were for logic replacement and they emulated relays which had
normally open -| |- and normally closed -|/|- contacts.
• (normally = un-energised condition).
• This allows the implementation of AND and OR functions.
• Relay coils are then represented by -()-.
• There are also timer and latching coils.
• E.g. A motor is energised
• IF ((the start button is pressed)
OR (the motor is already energised))
AND (the stop button is NOT pressed)
I.0
O.1 M1

• Imagine that LHS is energised & RHS is common. M1.1

• This is one rung of a “ladder diagram”
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Traffic Light
• Design ladder logic for a traffic light. Lights are designated NS and EW and have
timing shown.

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Logic Diagrams
TAG FUNCTION
10062 start
00007 run
• Some PLCs offer this form of representation.
10006 power
• The logic of the example above may be 10010 ~trip
expressed as the following logic statement:
10019 ~stop
00007 is on WHEN (10062 OR 00007) AND
10006 AND 10010 AND NOT(10002) AND • The logic diagram would look as follows:
NOT(10019)

• Alternately OR
10062

AND 00007
run WHEN (start OR run) AND auto AND power
AND NOT(trip) AND NOT(stop) 10006
10010
AND
10002
10019
ISP Soft manual
Function Blocks (plcopen.org)
• Standard functions
ADD, SQRT, SIN, COS, GT, MIN, MAX, AND, OR, etc.

• Your own defined functions:

FUNCTION SIMPLE_FUN : REAL
A Q
VAR_INPUT
B
A, B : REAL;
C : REAL := 1.0; C SIMPLE_FUN

END_VAR
SIMPLE_FUN := A*B/C;
END FUNCTION
Function Block example:
Hysteresis (plcopen.org)
FUNCTION_BLOCK HYSTERISIS
VAR_INPUT
Hysterisis
XIN1, XIN2 : REAL;
REAL XIN1 Q BOOL EPS : REAL; (* Hysterisis band *)
REAL XIN2 END_VAR
VAR_OUTPUT
REAL EPS Q : BOOL := 0
END_VAR
IF Q THEN
Q IF XIN1 < (XIN2-EPS) THEN
Q := 0 (* XIN1 decreasing *)
1 END_IF;
ELSIF XIN1 > (XIN2 + EPS ) THEN
0 Q := 1; (* XIN1 increasing *)
END_IF;
EPS EPS
END_FUNCTION_BLOCK
XIN2
RSLogix 500 Example

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PID in Delta

2023/02/27 30
Structured Text
A high-level language that is block structured and syntactically
PROGRAM Monitor_Start_Stop // Actual Program
resembles Pascal, on which it is based
VAR_EXTERNAL
Start_Stop : BOOL;
// PLC configuration
ON_OFF : BOOL;
CONFIGURATION DefaultCfg
END_VAR
VAR_GLOBAL
VAR // Temporary variables for logic handling
b_Start_Stop : BOOL; // Global variable to represent a boolean.
ONS_Trig : BOOL;
b_ON_OFF : BOOL; // Global variable to represent a boolean.
Rising_ONS : BOOL;
Start_Stop AT %IX0.0:BOOL; // Digital input of the PLC (Address 0.0)
END_VAR
ON_OFF AT %QX0.0:BOOL; // Digital output of the PLC (Address 0.0). (Coil)
END_VAR
// Start of Logic
// Schedule the main program to be executed every 20 ms // Catch the Rising Edge One Shot of the Start_Stop input
TASK Tick(INTERVAL := t#20ms); ONS_Trig := Start_Stop AND NOT Rising_ONS;

PROGRAM Main WITH Tick : Monitor_Start_Stop; // Main Logic for Run_Contact -- Toggle ON / Toggle OFF ---
END_CONFIGURATION ON_OFF := (ONS_Trig AND NOT ON_OFF) OR (ON_OFF AND NOT
ONS_Trig);

// Rising One Shot logic

Rising_ONS := Start_Stop;
END_PROGRAM

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Advantages/Disadvantages
• Advantages
• Low memory usage
• Straightforward to implement complex algorithms
• Code is portable
• Syntax is familiar for anyone who has programmed in Basic, Pascal, C++, C#, Java,
Python?)
• Version control simple via comments in code
• Disadvantages
• Harder to understand than FBs
• Therefore harder t debug
• Many programs nowadays consist of FBs with code added where necessary

2023/02/27 32
Grafcet (Sequential Function
Chart SFC)
• Grafcet is a higher level programming technique that
uses state and state transition approach. It is an
excellent technique for specifying PLC code, although Step 1 N FILL
there are only a small number of PLC manufacturers
that support it. Nonetheless it is a valuable tool for Transition 1
defining the system specification, even if it is then
manually translated into ladder logic. Step 2 S Empty

Transition 2
• Grafcet essentially consists of two symbols, the step
and the transition, which are joined by directed links. Step 3
The Step
• A step may be either active or
inactive.
Input to step
• If active its associated action
list will be executed.
• The actions may affect
Step 12 12. Action List outputs directly or involve
internal operations (timers,
arithmetic, internal coils
Note: the . next to 12 indicates that the etc.).
Output from step step is active
• At any point in time the set
of active steps defines the
state of all inputs and
outputs of the PLC
The Transition
• Each step has a transition preceding and
following it.
• A transition allows control to pass from one
Input to step to the next when the receptivity for
Transition the transition is satisfied.
• A transition is either enabled or disabled.
• It is enabled when all preceding steps are
Start Button Pressed (Receptivity) active.
Output
• Each transition has an associated receptivity.
• This is a logical proposition than can be true
or false. This logical proposition is a
function of external inputs and or internal
information (counters, the result of a
comparison etc.)
• When the logical proposition for an enabled
transition becomes true i.e. the receptivity is
satisfied, then all immediately preceding
steps are deactivated, and all immediately
following steps are enabled.
• The transition is cleared and becomes
disabled.
ISP Soft manual
SCADA
• Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition – the HMI for PLCs
• On the right we have a mimic – part of a display used by the
plant operators
• All about gathering data from the field, processing it in a
way that makes it easy to act e.g. trends
• Includes the structure to build alarm systems
• Provides data to the historian – for smaller plants can be the
historian
• Includes the tag database – the objects you defined!

2023/02/27 37
 ISA 101 HMI Design

Clean Design – not too crowded and limited use of colour

References
• Good introductory material
• https://plcopen.org/
• https://plcopen.org/sites/default/files/downloads/intro_iec_oct2016.pdf
• Coding details
• https://www.fernhillsoftware.com/help/iec-61131/index.html
• On line PLC editor for simple ladder code
• https://www.plcfiddle.com/
Backup Slides

2023/02/27 40
 Type Device name Number of devices Range
1024（AHCPU500） X0.0~X63.15
2048（AHCPU510） X0.0~X127.15
Input relay X
4096（AHCPU520） X0.0~X255.15
8192（AHCPU530） X0.0~X511.15
1024（AHCPU500） Y0.0~X63.15
2048（AHCPU510） Y0.0~X127.15
Output relay Y
4096（AHCPU520） Y0.0~X255.15
8192（AHCPU530） Y0.0~Y511.15
16384 (AHCPU500) D0.0~D16383.15
Data register D 32768 (AHCPU510) D0.0~D32767.15
Bit device
65536 (AHCPU520/530) D0.0~D65535.15
16384 (AHCPU500) L0.0~ L16383.15
Link register L 32768 (AHCPU510) L0.0~ L32767.15
65536 (AHCPU520/530) L0.0~ L65535.15
Auxiliary relay M 8192 M0~M8191
Special auxiliary relay SM 2048 SM0~SM2047
Stepping relay S 2048 S0~S2047
Timer T 2048 T0~T2047
ISP Soft manual
Counter C 2048 C0~C2047
32-bit counter HC 64 HC0~HC63
 Type Device name Number of devices Range
Input relay X 512 X0~X511
Output relay Y 512 Y0~Y511
16384 (AHCPU500) D0~D16383
Data register D 32768 (AHCPU510) D0~D32767
65536 (AHCPU520/530) D0~D65535
Special data register SR 2048 SR0~SR2047
Word device 16384 (AHCPU500) L0~L16383
Link register L 32768 (AHCPU510) L0~L32767
65536 (AHCPU520/530) L0~L65535
Timer T 2048 T0~T2047
Counter C 2048 C0~C2047
32-bit counter HC 64 (128 words) HC0~HC63
Index register E 32 E0~E31
16 bits: -32768~32767
Decimal system K
32 bits: -2147483648~2147483647
16 bits: 16#0~16#FFFF
Hexadecimal system 16#
32 bits: 16#0~16#FFFFFFFF
Constant*
Single-precision floating- 32 bits: ±1.17549435E-38 ~ ISP Soft manual
F
point number ±3.40282347E+38
Non Retentive Coils (Rockwell
Automation notes)
• The referenced bit is reset when processor power is cycled
• Coil -( )-
• Sets a bit when the rung is true(1) and resets the bit when the rung is false (0)
• Negative coil -( / )-
• Sets a bit when the rung is false(0) and resets the bit when the rung is True(1)
• Not commonly supported because of potential for confusion
• Set (Latch) coil -(S)-
• Sets a bit (1) when the rung is true and does nothing when the rung is false
• Reset (Unlatch) Coil -(R)-
• Resets a bit (0) when the rung is true and does nothing when the rung is false

43
Contacts (Rockwell Automation
notes)
• Normally Open Contact -| |-
• Enables the rung to the right of the instruction if the rung to the left is enabled and
underlining bit is set (1)
• Normally Closed Contact -|/|-
• Enables the rung to the right of the instruction if the rung to the left is enabled and
underlining bit is reset (0)
• Positive transition contact -|P|-
• Enables the right side of the rung for one scan when the rung on left side of the
instruction is true
• Negative transition contact -|N|-
• Enables the right side of the rung for one scan when the rung on left side of the
instruction is false
• http://www.ibiblio.org/kuphaldt/electricCircuits/Digital/DIGI_6.html
Love, J., Process Automation Handbook: A guide to
theory and practice ”, Springer, 2007

45
Timers (Rockwell Automation
notes)
• There three timer instructions in IEC1131 Pulse (TP) Timing
• TP - Pulse timer
• TON - Timer On Delay IN
• TOF - Timer Off Delay Q
• Time values PT

• Time base is 1 ms ET |
0

Pump_Tmr
On-Delay (TON) Timing

TON IN
IN Q
Q
T#200ms PT ET 178
• IN = Rung input condition PT
ET |
• Q = Comparison output results 0

• Varies with timer types

• PT = Preset Time Off-Delay (TOF) Timing
• ET = Elapse Time
IN
Q
PT
ET |
0