PLC Programming

• Contents:
• What is PLC Programming
• Types of PLC Programming
• Ladder Logic Programming

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 PLC Programming
• PLC Programming
• PLC programming is a crucial task of implementing and designing control
applications as per the user requirements.
• It is the set of instructions that can be in the graphical or textual form.
• The programming is carried out in the PLC software.

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 Types PLC Programming

• The control logic of the PLC can be programmed using different

programming languages.
• Out of all the programming languages, Ladder is the most common
programming language used for PLC. Therefore, we will discuss
Ladder programming in detail.
• The standard-based programming language to program PLC is called
the Ladder diagram.
• ST and IL are the textual programming language, while Ladder, FBD,
and SFC are the graphical programming languages.

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 Types PLC Programming

• There are about five programming language most commonly use

• Ladder diagram (LD)
• Sequential flow chart (SFC)
• Structured Text (ST)
• Function Block Diagram (FBD)
• Instruction List (IL)

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 Types PLC Programming

• Sequential flow chart (SFC)

• The Sequential Flow charts are defined by the function of charts in a
sequence. We can use it if the process can be divided into steps.
Sample Program:

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 Types PLC Programming

• Structured Text (ST)

• The Structured Text is a block-structured language that is based on Pascal. It is
a high-level language. It is also a text-based language.

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 Types PLC Programming

• Function Block Diagram (FBD):

• The functions in the FBD diagram are described as the set of elementary
blocks. The variables (input and output) in the Function Block Diagram are
connected to blocks by the lines.
• Instruction List (IL):
• The instruction List is a text-based and a low-level language.

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 Types PLC Programming

• Ladder Logic:
• It is defined as a graphical programming language that uses symbolic notation
for expressing the logical operations.
• We can program the PLC on any software using the ladder logic.

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 Types PLC Programming

Basic concepts.
• Push Buttons
• The pushbuttons are the simple buttons to control the machine or a process.
• We are required to push the button to change its electrical state from ON to
OFF or vice-versa.

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 Ladder Logic Programming
• Push buttons are further categorized as NO (Normally Open) and NC
(Normally Closed), as shown below:

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 Ladder Logic Programming
• NC: The Normally Close is the default state of a circuit that makes
electrical contact with the circuit. It means the circuit is in ON state.
• NO: The Normally Open is the state of a circuit that makes no
electrical contact with the circuit. It means the circuit is in the OFF
state. It opens the terminal of the circuit to interrupt the flowing
current.
• NOTE: We will use pushbuttons for programming in PLC.

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 Ladder Logic Programming
Symbols used in Programming
• Various symbols are used to create a ladder circuit for PLC
programming.
• Let's consider some essential symbols.
• The symbols are shown below:

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 Ladder Logic Programming
• The concept of NO and NC.
• The output of NO and NC buttons when the input is 0 or 1.
1. NO
• The NO button turns NC when it is pressed. It means, when the input is 1, NO
turns NC. It means the current can pass through.
• Consider the below image:

• It clearly shows that when the input is 0, NO remains NO. It turns NC when
the input is 1.

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 Ladder Logic Programming
2. NC
• The NC button remains the same when the input is 0. It turns NO when the
input is 1.
• Consider the below image:

• NOTE: We can arrange NO and NC in parallel or series according to

the requirements.

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 Ladder Logic Programming
• The logic gates with their ladder diagram.
• The concept of using NO and NC in a ladder diagram will help in building the
circuits of PLC. The ladder diagram of Logic gates are discussed below:

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 Ladder Logic Programming
• Logic Gates
• Logic gates with their circuit using NO and NC buttons are discussed here:
• Basic Gates
• The Basic Gates are AND, OR, and NOT.
• The truth table of OR and AND Gate is given below:

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 Ladder Logic Programming

The truth table of NOT Gate is given

below:

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 Ladder Logic Programming
• Ladder Diagram of AND Gate
• The ladder diagram of AND Gate is given below:
• Here, A and B are the inputs, while L is the lamp. The lamp
will glow when the current flows through the circuit and
reaches the lamp. Otherwise, the lamp will not glow.

When A = 0 and B = 1, the circuit will appear as:

The lamp will not light because the starting
button is OFF. The current will not flow.

But, if A = 1 and B = 1, the circuit will appear

as:
Here, the lamp will light. Hence, the condition of the AND gate
is satisfied.

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 Ladder Logic Programming
• Ladder Diagram of OR Gate
• The ladder diagram of OR Gate is given below:

When A = 0 and B = 1, the circuit will appear as:

When A = 1 and B = 1, the circuit will appear as:

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 Ladder Logic Programming
• Ladder Diagram of NOT Gate
• The ladder diagram of NOT gate is a simple NC.
• It will give output 1 if the input is 0 and vice versa.
If the input is 0, the circuit will appear as:

If the input is 1, the circuit will appear as:

The lamp will not light because NC will become

NO.

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 Ladder Logic Programming
• Universal Gates
• The Universal Gates are NAND and NOR.
• The truth table of NAND and NOR gate is given below:

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 Ladder Logic Programming
• Ladder Diagram of NAND Gate
• The ladder diagram of NAND Gate is given below:

When, A = 1 and B = 0, the circuit will appear as:

Here, the lamp will light.

If A = 1 and B = 1, the lamp will not light because both NC will

become NO.

Hence, the condition is satisfied.

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 Ladder Logic Programming
• Ladder Diagram of NOR Gate
• The ladder diagram of NOR Gate is given below:
When, A = 1 and B = 0, the circuit will appear as:

Here, the lamp will not light because the first NC will become
NO.

If A = 0 and B = 0, the lamp will light because both NC will

remain the same.

Hence, the condition is satisfied.

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 Ladder Logic Programming
• Exclusive Gates
• The Exclusive Gates are XOR and XNOR.
• The truth table of EX-OR and Ex-NOR gate is given below:

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 Ladder Logic Programming
• For XOR For XNOR

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 Ladder Logic Programming
• Ladder Diagram of XOR Gate
• The ladder diagram of XOR Gate is given below:

When A = 0 and B = 1, the circuit will appear as:

Here, the lamp will light.

But, if A = 1 and B = 1, the circuit will appear as: Here, the lamp will not light because both the NC of the circuit
becomes NO.

Hence, the condition is satisfied.

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 Ladder Logic Programming
• The ladder diagram of XNOR Gate is given below:

When A = 0 and B = 1, the circuit will appear as:

The lamp will not light. The circuit is incomplete for the current
to flow.

But, if A = 1 and B = 1, the circuit will appear as:

Here, the lamp will light.

Hence, the condition is satisfied.

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 Ladder Logic Programming
• Examples
• Example 1: We have three pushbuttons. If A, B, and C are pressed, the
red LED goes ON. If A and B are pressed, the green LED goes ON. It
means that only one LED is on at a time.

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 Ladder Logic Programming
• Solution 1:
• Given: Here, there are two LEDs: green and red. At a time, one LED light. It
can be either green or red.
• Push buttons: A, B, C
• We will create a ladder diagram based on the above logic.
• The ladder diagram is shown below:

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 Ladder Logic Programming
• Here, we have inserted both NO and NC of the same button 'C' in the
ladder diagram. When we press a NO button, it turns NC.
• When we press NC button, it turns NO.
• When we press the C button, we are pressing both the NO and NC of
button C.

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 Ladder Logic Programming
• Case 1: Press all A, B, and C buttons together.
• The circuit will now appear as:
Here, the red LED will light, as shown above.

Case 2: Press only A and B button.

NC always allows the current to pass through the circuit. It only

becomes NO, when we press it.

The circuit will now appear as: Here, the green LED will light. Since, the C button was NC,
it also allows the current to pass.

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 Thanks for Listening

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