ACC Automation: PLC & Industrial Control Learning
Practical Tips and Techniques
ACC Automation is growing — and part of that growth is bringing in voices from outside my own experience. I want to introduce you to Chris Urban, an automation educator and PLC trainer based near Montreal, Quebec, who has been teaching technicians and engineers for over 30 years. Chris reached out after finding the ACC PLC Simulator, and … Read more
The ACC PLC Simulator is a free, browser-based ladder-logic editor and PLC scan engine. There is nothing to download or install. You open it in Chrome, Edge, or Firefox and start programming immediately. I built this simulator so that anyone learning PLC programming can get hands-on practice without needing hardware. It uses standard PLC register … Read more
If you’ve ever wanted to practice PLC ladder logic without buying hardware, the ACC PLC Simulator is built for you. It’s free, it runs in your browser, and it uses standard PLC register conventions. No downloads. No license fees. Just open the page and start programming. In this tutorial, I’m going to walk you through … Read more
We will now look at the tag numbering systems used with the Productivity Mini PLC P1-M622-16DR. The Productivity Suite Software allows us to use tags in the PLC. Tags are a method for assigning and referencing memory locations (numbering systems) within the programmable logic controller. They allow a more structured programming approach and are stored … Read more
One of the most powerful features of the Productivity Suite software is the built-in PLC simulator. If you don’t have the physical P1-M622-16DR hardware yet—or you’re developing logic at your desk before heading to the plant floor—the simulator lets you program, modify, and test your ladder logic without a single piece of hardware connected. This … Read more
The Productivity Suite Software allows us to modify our existing program and execute the new code without stopping the PLC scan. This is referred to as online editing. We change the ladder logic code, and when we save it to the P1-M622-16DR PLC, the current PLC scan is held until the new code is written … Read more
We will now look at wiring and testing our first ladder logic program with the P1-M622-16DR Mini PLC. Having created our start-stop motor circuit and learned about the monitoring tools in the Productivity Suite Software, it’s time to connect real-world devices and see our program in action. We will wire a start pushbutton, a stop … Read more
We will now look at monitoring and testing our Productivity Mini PLC program. The Productivity Suite Software provides powerful tools for us to monitor and test our programs. Last time, we created our first program—a simple start-stop motor circuit—and transferred it to our connected P1-M622-16DR Mini PLC. We will monitor our ladder using the ladder … Read more
We will now create our first program on the Productivity Mini PLC P1-M622-16DR. Last time we connected the Mini PLC with our computer running the Productivity Suite Software. An Ethernet (RJ45) connection was established to our programmable logic controller. We will now create our first program for our Productivity Mini PLC. Our program will be … Read more
We will connect the Productivity Mini PLC P1-M622-16DR to our computer running the Productivity Suite Software. An Ethernet (RJ45) communication link will be made to our programmable logic controller. The P1-M622 series packs six communication ports into a standalone package smaller than your hand. That’s USB-C programming, dual Ethernet ports, RS-232, RS-485, and a microSD … Read more