Omron Host Link Protocol Part 2 – VBA Excel

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

Three Free PLC Programming Software Tools

Three Free PLC Programming Software Tools

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

What are the Different PLC Programming Languages

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

PLC Program Example – Shift Register (Conveyor)

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

PLC Programming Example – Process Mixer

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