ACC Automation: PLC & Industrial Control Learning
Practical Tips and Techniques
Productivity PLC – PID Ramp Soak Instruction The purpose of a ramp soak instruction is to make gradual, controlled changes in temperature (Ramp), followed by a temperature hold (Soak) period. We will be using our Proportional-Integral-Derivative PID Instruction that we looked at last time to apply the ramp/soak instruction. Using the immersion heater in a … Read more
PID Loop (PID) Instruction (Auto Tuning) – Productivity 1000 PLC A Proportional-Integral-Derivative algorithm is a generic Control Loop feedback formula widely used in industrial control systems. A PID algorithm attempts to correct the Error between a measured process variable and the desired setpoint by calculating and then outputting a corrective action that can adjust the … Read more
The C-more Programming Software is a free download from Automation Direct. This fully-functional version of the C-More EA9 Programming Software is now available free of charge. This powerful C-more Touch Panel programming software makes HMI touch screen panel setup and programming quick and simple. Simply drag and drop the objects from the object bar onto … Read more
We will now look at the C-More EA9 system hardware. This will include unboxing and powering up our C-More unit. Human-machine interfaces (HMI) are made to display and control operations for our automation solution. Information is displayed in a graphics format. (Graphical User Interface – GUI) The HMI is usually part of the SCADA (Supervisory … Read more
Secure PLC Email messaging is now available in the latest version of the Productivity Programming suite. SMTP or Transport layer security (TLS) email with an attachment and/or latest data log files can be sent. To be able to use this feature you must have installed Productivity programming suite v3.4 or higher and then load the … Read more
We will now look at communication between the Productivity 1000 PLC (Modbus TCP Server) and AdvancedHMI (Modbus TCP Client). Advanced HMI is a powerful, adaptable HMI/SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) development package that takes advantage of Visual Studio. There is no coding required and you can simply drag and drop items onto the page. … Read more
Firmware is usually PLC operating system code that is written into a read-only memory. The BIOS (Basic Input Output System) of a PC (personal computer) is a good example of firmware. It provides a low-level interface between the hardware and software. The firmware for the productivity series of PLCs must be downloaded separately from the … Read more
The Ethernet Click PLC high-speed counter has seven different modes of operation. In Part 1 we discussed the High Speed Count Mode, Interval Measurement Mode, Duration Measurement Mode and Frequency Measurement Mode. This 100 kHz counter can accept Up, Down, Up/Down, Pulse/Direction, or Quadrature (with Z) inputs. We will be looking at the last three … Read more
The Click PLC family has been updated, and now has the ability to use high speed counting. This is available on all of the Ethernet units that have DC inputs. The faster processor on the Ethernet unit (3 to 10 times faster than the basic unit) allows this capability. There are seven (7) different modes … Read more
We will now look at the programming and wiring of a rotary encoder to the Click PLC input. Rotary encoders are modern digital devices that have taken over from the potentiometer in stereos and many other applications. This is because of their fine digital control, and they can fully rotate without end stops. We can … Read more