Activity No.

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COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING - ELECTRICAL
MOTOR CONTROL CIRCUIT DEPARTMENT

I. Objectives:
At the end of the activity, students should be able to:

1. Interpret a simple ladder diagram.

2. Draw a simple motor control circuit using various types of switches.
3. Appreciate the importance of gaining skills in drawing and interpreting a ladder diagram

II. Technical Information:

Understanding motor control systems requires the ability to read and work with relay ladder
diagrams. These diagrams show the relationship among the components in the control circuit.
o A single load (such as a contactor coil, a relay coil, a light, or an alarm) is placed on each rung of
the ladder. All loads are wired in parallel with each other, never is series. To understand the
diagram, imagine voltage flowing from left to right across the rung. When all contacts leading to
a load are closed, voltage will energize it.
o Contacts on switches are indicated by the symbol for the switch. Most switches can be wired as
normally open or normally closed. Switch contacts that are wired normally open are drawn as
open, and normally closed contacts are drawn as closed. When contacts on contactors or relays
are normally open, they are indicated by two vertical lines. When normally closed, a diagonal
line is added.
o When a switch is not actuated or a contactor or relay is not energized, all its contacts are in their
normal state. Normally open contacts are open and normally closed contacts are closed. When
the component is actuated or energized, its contacts change their state: normally open contacts
close, and normally closed contacts open.
o Numbers are often added along the left-hand rail of relay ladder diagrams when the diagrams
have many rungs. Numbers at the right-hand rail indicate the location of contacts controlled by
the load. Comments about the components on a rung are often written along the right-hand rail.
o For example, the rungs of the relay ladder diagram on the previous page are numbered 1 through
5. Along the right-hand rail, the load in Rung 3 is referenced to both Rung 1 and Rung 4 because
the time-delay relay has a contact in each of those rungs. The contact in Rung 4 turns the alarm
off when it completes its timing sequence. The contact in Rung 1 turns the motor on. Rung
references to normally closed contacts are underlined while normally open contacts are not.

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COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING - ELECTRICAL DEPARTMENT

Figure 1Motor Control Ladder Diagram

o Wire numbers are sometimes added to aid in locating the proper connections in the control
system. The numbers on the diagram match real numbers affixed to the wires in the system.

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III. Evaluation:

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING - ELECTRICAL DEPARTMENT

1. This is a ladder diagram of the control circuit for a large ventilation fan started with a maintained –
contact selector switch. In this circuit, if the power of the fan is lost, it will automatically restart when
power is restored. Modify the circuit so that the new circuit will not permit fan to restart if power is
restored after an outage.

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2. Modify the given circuit so that it can be started from three other locations by using pushbuttons.
Draw your diagram and label each part.
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING - ELECTRICAL DEPARTMENT

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3. Modify the circuit you have drawn in No. 2 by adding a temperature switch that will automatically turn
the fan ON when the temperature rises to 110 ° F. The circuit must allow each push button to ON the
COLLEGE OFofENGINEERING
fan independent the temperature switch.- ELECTRICAL DEPARTMENT

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4. Lastly, modify the circuit in a way that the three pushbuttons cannot turn ON the fan until the
temperature reaches 110 ° F
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING - ELECTRICAL DEPARTMENT

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5. In Figure 1, what is the function of the control relay CR for the proper operation of the motor?
A Control Relay which is an electromagnetic switch allows the electrical current to flow through a
COLLEGE
conducting coil which OF ENGINEERING
purpose is to open and close- ELECTRICAL DEPARTMENT
the switch. It is also used for switching multiple control
circuits and for controlling light loads such as starting coils and pilot lights. It is very useful for it doesn’t need
to manually turn the switch to isolate or change the state of an electrical circuit.

6. What is the purpose of connecting a normally closed time relay contact (TDOE) in series with the alarm?
Why a normally open time relay contact (TDOE) in series with the motor contactor coil M?
Since the normally close time open relay contact is usually de-energized or unpowered it is needed to
put the alarm in series connection so that after the coil has powered for the specified amount of time the
contact will open. The normally open time relay contact is also unpowered and closed by the application of
power of the contactor coil, here the timing actions occur upon de-energization of the coil, thus the reason
why it needs to be in series with the motor contactor coil.

IV. Conclusion:
Doing a ladder or schematic diagram is confusing especially when it is your first time to create a
simulation, but it is very helpful for the safety of everyone. In the schematic diagram you will able to visualize
the output needed before doing the on-hand process. The schematic diagram is also important because it
simplify and facilitate communication by visualizing the relationships between objects and making them more
obvious. Everyone must value the existence of any simulator devices, it can make our work faster and more
secured.

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