ACC Automation: PLC & Industrial Control Learning
Practical Tips and Techniques
We will now look at the Game of Simon for our part 5 in this series of building a PLC program. Learning all about bit manipulation and sequencers Simon is a memory game introduced in 1978. It has four colored buttons, each producing a particular tone when it is pressed or activated by the device. … Read more
Utilizing the CX Server DDE Manager will allow us to provide a link to the information in the Omron PLC. This link can be placed on an Excel spreadsheet. Charts, graphs, etc., can be made from the data. We will create links on an excel spreadsheet from a CQM1H and a CP1L PLC. The information … Read more
We will use VBA in Excel to communicate to an Omron PLC. This will use the serial host link protocol. ACC Omron Host Link VBA In Part 1, we used VB6 to communicate from the computer to the PLC (Host Link Protocol). We will now use Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to accomplish the same … Read more
Sending email messages from the PLC sounds like an easy task. However, very few applications do this on the production floor. This is probably due to the networks involved, and authentication can be complicated. In our example, we will use a restricted Gmail SMTP server so that no authentication will be required. We will walk … Read more
Takt time is the beat of manufacturing. It is the rhythm of the company for making products or delivering services. Do you know what yours is? Let’s look at takt time and determine how to use it to our advantage. What is Takt Time? (Discover Takt Time) This is a German word taken from beats … Read more
PLC programs are typically written in a particular application on a personal computer, then downloaded to the PLC. This downloaded program is similar to compiled code to keep the program efficient. The program is stored in the PLC in battery-backed-up RAM or non-volatile flash memory. Five Different PLC Programming Languages Albert Einstein said, “The world … Read more
We will look at a PLC basic tutorial of a paint spraying station. Following the five steps to program development, this PLC programming example should fully explain the procedure for developing the PLC program logic. Ladder logic will be our PLC programming language. We will use the Do-more Designer software, which comes with a simulator. … Read more
Programming a PLC can sometimes be a daunting task. The best method is to break the task into smaller steps. These are the steps that I have used for years to develop PLC programs. We will apply them to a die-stamping application. Step 1 – Define the task: What has to happen? This is written … Read more
A data logger is also known as a data recorder or data acquisition. It is a method to record data over some time and events. The recorded information can come from sensors in the field. They can be digital or analog. Digital data can be used for counts, times, events (motor overload), etc. With the … Read more
I have been writing PLC programs for over 20 years. I often get asked what the best way to learn PLC programming is. Programming in the way I was taught in college was with the Motorola 6809. (Yes, I know that I am dating myself) This was microprocessor programming, but it was the best way … Read more