ACC Automation: PLC & Industrial Control Learning
Practical Tips and Techniques
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
Manufacturers have software to program the programmable logic controller (PLC) or the human-machine interface (HMI). However, there are a few free tools that will help in the development of your PLC programs. We will look at three software tools and show how beneficial they can be to you. Free PLC Software Tools Synergy – Share … 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
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 apply the five steps of PLC development to a plc shift register example. This PLC programming example will use a shift register to reject a product on a conveyor. When programming a PLC, you need to track what has previously happened. Shift registers allow you to do just that. We will look at a … Read more
We will apply the five steps to PLC Program development to our following programming example of a process mixer. The process mixer will be programmed using ladder logic. We will discuss each step of the PLC program development. 1 – Define the task: How does the process mixer work? A normally open start and normally … 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
Simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP) is the email protocol for sending information. We can use this ability to email from our data logged from the PLC. Faults or errors the PLC detects can be emailed to individuals for correction. Shift reports on productivity can be automatically emailed to recipients. Note: Google is removing “Less Secured … Read more
Process control can be a bit intimidating. We will try and break down both On/Off and PID control in a fun way. This is a simple analogy without any math. On-Off Control Explained On/Off control can be used effectively with temperature control. Everyone’s house usually has a temperature controller that uses an On/Off control. The … Read more