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What is a PLC?
 5 minute read

5:54

If you're familiar with industrial automation, you may have heard of PLCs. So,
what are PLCs and why are they so important in the world of automation?

PLC stands for Programmable Logic Controller. They are industrial computers

used to control different electro-mechanical processes for use in
manufacturing, plants, or other automation environments.
PLCs vary in size and form factors. Some are small enough to fit in your
pocket while others are large enough to require their own heavy-duty racks to
mount. Some PLC’s can be customized with back planes and functional
modules to fit different types of industrial applications.

PLCs are widely used in a variety of industries because they’re fast, easy to
operate and are considered easy to program. PLCs can be programmed in
several ways, from ladder logic, which is based on electromechanical relays,
to specially adapted programming languages of BASIC and C, to name a few. 

Most PLCs today use one of the following 5 programming languages: Ladder
Diagram, Structured Text, Function Block Diagram, Instruction List, or
Sequential Function Charts.

SCADA and HMI systems enable users to view data from the manufacturing
floor and provide an interface for users to provide control input — and PLCs
are an essential hardware component element in these systems. 

PLC’s act as the physical interfaces between devices on the plant or

manufacturing floor and a SCADA or HMI system. PLCs communicate,
monitor and control automated processes like assembly lines, machine
functions, or robotic devices. 

A PLC’s functions are divided into three main categories: inputs, outputs and
the CPU. PLCs capture data from the plant floor by monitoring inputs that
machines and devices are connected to. The input data is then processed by
the CPU, which applies logic to the data, based on the input state. The CPU
then executes the user-created program logic and outputs data or commands
to the machines and devices it is connected to.
There are two main types of inputs: data inputs from devices and machines,
and data inputs that are human-facilitated. The input data from sensors and
machines are sent to the PLC. Inputs can include on/off states for things like
mechanical switches, buttons, and encoders. High/low states for things like
temperatures, pressure sensors, and liquid-level detectors, or opened/closed
states for things like pumps and values.

Human-facilitated inputs include button pushes, switches, sensors from

devices like keyboards, touch screens, remotes, or card readers. Outputs are
the physical actions or visual results that are based on a PLC logic in
response to those inputs. Physical outputs include starting motors, turning on
a light, draining a valve, turning the heat up or a pump off. Visual outputs are
sent to devices like printers, projectors, GPSs, or monitors.

PLCs operate in cycles. First, the PLC detects the state of all input devices
that are connected to it. The PLC applies the user-created logic, and then
executes it based on the input states. The PLC then outputs commands to
any output device connected to the PLC either turning them on or off. After
completing all these steps, the PLC does a safety check by communicating
with internal diagnostics and programming terminals, to ensure that everything
is within normal operating conditions. The PLC resumes the cycle each time
the process is completed. 

With a wide range of available Ignition device drivers, you can connect Ignition
with just about any modern or legacy PLC. Once the device driver is installed,
data can be viewed or sent to the PLC. With PLC data now available to
Ignition’s tag system, you can do so much more with Ignition’s robust core
modules. 
Create a comprehensive SCADA and MES system, HMI system, Alarming
and Reporting solution, or an enterprise-wide solution that allows you to view
and control data on a PLC at any level of an organization. 

Traditionally, PLC’s communicate using the the poll-response

method. Normally, in local plant and manufacturing environments, this type of
communication method is perfectly fine, since the communication distances
are short and predominantly hardwired. With poll-response, PLCs are
constantly communicated with to check for any data changes.

As the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) becomes more popular, there is an

increased need for data from remote locations. This translates to more PLCs
and computing devices at the edge of the network. Communication with edge
devices involves long distances in which cellular networks are used more
frequently. Due to the high frequency of poll-response communication, cellular
network would incur an incredibly high cost. 

To address this issue, solutions such as MQTT employ a publish-subscribe

protocol to streamline communications from the edge of the network. While
modern PLC’s employ modern communication protocols, legacy PLCs that
are still at the edge-of-network require additional hardware to bring them up to
speed. Edge gateways such as Ignition Edge IIoT along with an MQTT broker,
pull data from legacy PLCs using poll-response and then transmits the data
using a publish-subscribe protocol. 

This IIoT architecture allows industrial organizations to build IIoT solutions on

top of brownfield systems. This improves bandwidth usage and makes PLC
data from edge-of-networks widely available throughout the organization.
The industry continues to see new products entering the market ranging from
devices like Programmable Automation Controllers (PACs) which combine the
functionality of PLCs with higher-level PC functionality all the way to industrial
embedded hardware. 

Even with these new products, PLCs remain popular because of their
simplicity, affordability, and usefulness. And software like Ignition will enable
organizations to maximize their usefulness for many years to come.

 
Posted on February 24, 2020

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