LogixPro Lab 1.

A
Digital I/O Simulator
Objectives:
• To review prior motor control knowledge
• To practice using LogixPro software
• To practice writing/editing PLC ladder logic

Items needed:
- LogixPro Software - -
- -

When completing this project,

1. If you are unsure STOP, and ask for assistance.

2. All PLC rungs must have comments to state the function
3. All PLC instructions must have easy to understand descriptions
4. After finishing each of these experiments, save and submit your progress in the instructed
format.

Part 1 – Starting Your Program and Basic Navigation

1. Open LogixPro and select ‘Simulations’ from the upper menu bar and select ‘I/O Simulator’ from
the drop down. Slide the simulation window to make the whole I/O simulator visible as shown
below. The window on the right is where you will be editing your ladder logic program
 2. There is a dropdown also in the top left that you will use to switch back and forth from ‘Offline’
mode and ‘Online’ mode. ‘Offline’ mode is meant for programming. ‘Online’ in when the
programming terminal is communicating with the PLC.

3. When in ‘Offline’ mode, the instruction pane is visible. This is where you will choose the
program instructions to add to your ladder logic.

4. When in ‘Online’ mode, there is a new pane that will let you switch between program ‘PGM’ and
run mode ‘RUN’ modes. Run mode is selected to begin running the program that has been
downloaded to the PLC.

5. While this is not identical to the PLC programming software you will be using in the lab, it is very
similar in concept. Once you have noted the above information and toggled through the
options, move on to Part 2.

Part 2 – Adding Simple Instructions

1. Ladder Logic is a form of programming that uses Input instructions to control Output actions. In
appearance, ladder logic looks very similar to the relay ladder diagrams you have used in your
previous electrical classes. Here are the common instructions we will be using in every program.
We will discuss others in future lessons.

a. Add Rung. When this instruction is added to the program, it will simply add another
rung to your ladder. Rungs are the lines that we add the input and output instructions
to. With the exception of the ‘End’ rung, a program can not be downloaded to a PLC if
there is an empty rung in the logic.

b. Add Branch. Use this instruction anytime your logic needs more than one condition to
energize an output. Think of it as an ‘OR’ statement in your logic.
 c. Examine If Closed. XIC is an input instruction that asks the PLC to take action ‘IF’ the
condition becomes ‘On’, or ‘True’. It represents a physical field device, a bit in the PLC
memory, or another condition that can be described in a binary way such as on/off, or
true/false. It looks very similar to a NO contact but make this comparison lightly. The
instruction does not indicate how the input device is to be wired.

d. Examine If Open. XIO is an input instruction that asks the PLC to take action ‘IF’ the
condition becomes ‘Not On’, or ‘Not True’. It represents a physical field device, a bit in
the PLC memory, or another condition that can be described in a binary way such as
on/off, or true/false. It looks very similar to a NC contact but make this comparison
lightly. The instruction does not indicate how the input device is to be wired.

e. Output Energize. OTE is an output instruction that asks the PLC to take action based on
the state of the preceding logic on its rung. It represents a physical field device, a bit in
the PLC memory, or another condition that can be described in a binary way such as
on/off, or true/false.

2. All of these instructions are added to the program by dragging and dropping them where you
want them. As you drag an instruction into the program window, small red squares will show
you the possible places to drop the instruction. As you drag an instruction and approach a red
square, it will turn green. This shows you where the instruction will land after you drop it.

3. Inputs will land on the left side of a rung. Outputs will land on the right side of a rung. OTE’s
should always be the last instruction on a rung. The inputs are the conditions that energize the
output. Write this simple rung of logic to test.

• The code on rung ‘000’ asks the PLC to monitor the input and says, ‘IF’ the input changes state
‘THEN’ turn on the output.
• The code on rung ‘001’is the ‘END’ line. Every program must have an end line. It tells the PLC to
go back to the top of the program and scan it again.
 • The question marks above the instructions are showing that we have not yet assigned these
instructions an address. The address will tell the PLC the physical locations that the devices are
wired to, or where to look for data in the PLC memory. A program will not download or run if
there is any missing address data.

4. Take a moment to review your understanding of rack/slot-based addressing in your PLC

textbook.

a. In the output address O:2/1, what does the 2 represent? It is the ouput in the 4th slot.

b. In the input address I:1/2, what does the 2 represent? It is the terminal number.

Part 3 – Addressing, Comments and Descriptions

1. In this simulation software, addressing instructions is a fairly simple process. All you need to do is drag
the labeled address from the simulation window and drop it on the instruction in the program widow.

In real word practice, the programmer would already have planned where these devices have been wired
and select the address information from their records.

a. Choose a random input between 1-14 from the input card in slot 1 of the I/O simulator. Drag
and drop the address to the input instruction in your program. In the space below, record the
address used for this input.

I:5/14

b. Choose a random output between 1-14 from the output card in slot 2 of the I/O simulator. Drag
and drop the address to the output instruction in your program. In the space below, record the
address used for this output.

O:6/14

c. To add descriptions to instructions, right click the instruction and select ‘Edit Symbol’ from the
drop down, type description in the text box and press enter to confirm. In the space below,
record an original description for the input and output.

In practice these descriptions would be short, relevant terms that would describe the physical
device it represents for example; START PB, or E STOP. This helps anyone reading your program
to understand your ladder logic and how your program is to function.

I put "XIC 1" for the closed condition "OE 1" for the Output Energize
 d. Rung comments are used to state the function of the logic in the rungs below them. Comment
help others to further understand the flow of your program and the function of one, or multiple
rungs of logic. To add rung comments, right click the rung number to the left of the ladder.
Select ‘Edit Rung Comment’ from the drop down, type rung comment in the text box and press
enter to confirm. Using your own words, write a comment for rung ‘000’ that describes the logic
of that rung. Translate what the PLC is reading when it scans that line. Record your comment
below and apply it to your program. Comment rung ’001’ with your full name.

I put "THIS IS THE CLOSED IF AND THE OUTPUT for line" '000' and "MATTHEW GASKIN" for '001'

e. Your program should look like the one below before you proceed. The addresses, comments and
descriptions should not match mine. Use the information you entered in a., b., c., and d .

Part 4 – Testing Your Logic

1. Change to ‘Online’ mode to initiate communication with the I/O Simulator, download your
program to the simulated PLC by pressing ‘Download’. Switch the PLC to ‘Run’ mode. Your
program is now running in real-time

2. Click on the switch symbol located beside the simulators’ input. Describe what is happening on
the simulator and on your program as you open and close the switch to turn your input ‘on’ and
‘off’.

Because my rungs are on 14, using the I:5 BCD when I toggle the left number to the different
values activates specific PLC numbers. When 14 is enabled, a Yellow highlight appears over the
text title in LAD 2. If I play with the numbers, only the rung 14 turns on for the output and the 4
digit board on the BCD turns to 4 when #14 is True. If I set the value to 6, 13 also lights up in
the input but there is no output signal, only for the 14 input.
Part 5 – Submission Instructions

1. Print your program ladder to PDF by clicking File, Print and follow to prompts. Save your
program and submit the program file to the ‘LogixPro Lab 1.A Submission Folder’ in the
‘Evaluations’ module in eConestoga for assessment. Program files will be named using the
specific format in the example below.

✓ LogixPro Lab number, period (1.)

✓ LogixPro Lab letter (A, B, or C)
✓ Underscore, Your first initial and last name (all upper case)
✓ Save with the proper file extension (this is done automatically)
✓ Write your file name of your submission in the space provided at the end of this lab (example
for this lab, 1.A_MKEENAN.pdf)

2. Also submit scans of these completed lab sheet in a PDF format to the same folder. The lab
sheets are worth 20% of lab grade. Incomplete submissions will not be graded.

3. The submission folder will close at the specified date/time. Late submissions will not be
accepted