Need some ideas for new student projects

Hi all
I'm after some ideas for some new PLC projects.
We are running S5 95U and S7 313C plcs.

I have classes doing everything from basic PLC's to PID control.
I'm getting bored with the projects we do at the moment , we have a few conveyors and sorting machines for the guys to work on.
I have traffic light controllers , water tanks , machines by Festo etc.
I'm trying to think up some more examples of everyday examples that might interest my students.

I did a search and saw some vending machine ideas , chess clocks etc.

Any other suggestions ?

Any military applications that might capture their attention ?

I usuallly make 4 or 5 variants to stop the copying of whole programs , as I try and get them to their own work.

thanks for any fresh ideas

In school we used to have this really cool program for trains. Model trains to make them do whatever you wanted. Not sure if that fits in but we used Photoeyes and contacts to either make the trains go Foward or Reverse depending on polarity.

Just a random thought that might get something going.

Mostly an algorithm design and programming project, how about a Sudoku solver ?

or how about an Inverted pendulum controller.

One of the things I do at the water plant is control all outdoor lighting based upon the sunrise/sunset time table for our area. Lights on just before sunset, and off just after sunrise. It involves determining the actual times (available on the net) and, the way I do it, is set a fixed time for each evolution at the beginning of each month. Then, adjust those monthly start times (if or as necessary) each day to "track" reality. Works very well.

Another thing we do is automatically backwash large filters. Five valves per filter (Influent, Effluent, Backwash, Surface Wash, and Waste) are controlled in sequence from the time the backwash is initiated via Scada. Involves timers, level transmitter, two flow transmitters (determine inches of rise per minute), valve control outputs and limit switch inputs. To make it a bit more difficult, assume washing three different filters with one PLC using the same program (not simultaneously).

Messaging data via radios connected to the PLC's is becoming more useful as more facilities bring field sites under the control of centralized Scada systems. I have 38 field sites all controlled from here and all the sites have intrusion, level, flow, valve and pump status and control data to share with the Plant. Planning and configuring memory and getting everybody talking can get involved. We are communicating with every field site about three times per minute.

We also use a PLC to compute what is called CT Ratio. Involves knowing the concentration of chlorine in the water, water temperature, pH, and them calculating the amount of time the chlorine is in contact with the water before it reaches the first customer. If confined in a pipe, 100% contact time is used. If in a non-baffled reservoir, only 10% of the time counts. You could easily mix this one up by changing pipe diameters and lengths for each student so you know if they did their own work.

Maybe one of these will give you some ideas.

Bill

A slot machine should be a fun project.

Don

I did a railway model for a company training room years back, with help from the apprentices, and I've seen it used since.

Advantage is you can change the layout regularly, and change the task, so stopping program copying between groups.

Trick is to break the track up into several (as many as you can) sections, I did it using epoxy adhesive and thin plastic, but I think you can buy them.

2 plc ouputs per section, to give ON/OFF and forward/reverse. Dont put the full voltage on to the track, things move too quickly, we found about 6v was fine, on a system which would normally have a max of 12v. Down side is cost, but in the UK there are often bits and peices for sale in the small ads of local papers.

A: a light bulb and measure the temp in a box,
1. make it blink first step
2. switch on/off depending on temp.
3. use a pid algoritm
4. use fuzzy control
5. make it visual
6. control by ethernet

B: Make a portal crane
1. let it stop on several places. with microswitches
2. let them find out the tower of babel game with coins great and small
recursive programming is needed.
3. make swing control on hook
4. make moves with pwm.
5. feedback to computer
6. analog control of moves and joystick.
7. make a button to discharge load on predefined place.

C. vacuum cleaner
1. on a small car
drive a path or joystick

D. stepper motor
1. control a stepper motor with simple relais.
2. control 3 motors
3. make a plotter of it, and a router to make simple namecards out of plastic.

I have a somewhat different idea for a project.

Why not create a project that focuses on the process? Seems like you've got enough projects that students get the understanding of how to use/program a PLC, but how about closing the gap between the real world and the ideal world of school?

Develop and P&ID of a tank system (or something of the sorts) with a very generic outline of a process, tell the students "This system is what we need to control, this is the general process, how can we control it, and what can we do to further automate it?" Everyone knows the process of how traffic lights, elevators...are suppose to work, the goal of this project is to make them develop and control a unique process.

Show them how to develop the IO list, create a BOM(or make it a challenge and give a defined parts list so they have to use what they've got), tell them that fundamentally everything needs to be controlled manually, but as the process evolves begin to bring in the automation components.

Incorporate different types of level, temperature, pressure controls for each tank, use different size tanks, maybe have chemical stoarge tanks, bulk processing tanks, various types of fixed speed variable speed pumps.

It's a bigger project, but it would spice things up and it is applicable to the real world through process.

Just take look at this location:

http://www.automation.siemens.com/microset/html_76/support/maes.htma

It can give you many ideas.

Paully's5.0 said:

I have a somewhat different idea for a project.

Why not create a project that focuses on the process? Seems like you've got enough projects that students get the understanding of how to use/program a PLC, but how about closing the gap between the real world and the ideal world of school?

Click to expand...

I like that idea. You could use a simpler system (ie. chilled or hot water) with requirements like rotating backup pumps to spread wear and tear, controlling pump/fan speeds for temperatures or pressures, interlocks to/from specialized equipment (chiller or boiler).

If you wanted to get really complicated you could setup a mini-production line, with a number of sub-systems (HVAC, process equipment [robots or dip tanks controlled for temperature], conveyors, ovens, blow-off fans, etc).

Sorry about prev. post, but page was wrong

http://www.automation.siemens.com/microset/html_76/support/maes.htm

Coming from someone who has been out of college for about a year:
I love Paully's idea, especially if the students coul do some type of tuning and analysis of the PID outputs, and see how it compares to some of the theoretical stuff.

This is something I wish we had done in my Process Control class, it definitely would have been suitable for a final project.

Ready, shoot aim.

I think it is important to know what the students are studying to become? Is the idea to learn PLC programm or engineering applications solving. Some of the suggestions are complicated to do right. A crane controller is complicated and requires control threory and a maintenance person will not be able to do that. See what I mean.

I like the model train idea but controlling multiple trains. One train is not a challenge.

The inverted pendulum trick is just that. Given a fast enough motor this problem can be solved easily. To model the system and do the inverted pendulum right requires too much control theory.
One can wing it but then you can do that with any PID project.

One of my favorties is the lumber sorter like the ones in the saw mills. This covers a lot of topics. It involves measuring, sorting, encoders, inputs for the bin full, outputs for the diverters. Timing the diverter firings, totalizing counts or production. One can take a whole semester covering how to program a lumber sorter.

Alan Case in Wagga Wagga is an expert at this.

Another project that would require so I/O is to make the PLC play Nim. This would be easier than a Sudoku solver which I think would be too hard.

For small exercises I would search for tidbits. These thread cover bit manipulation. Counting bits, finding the least significant bit set etc.

I certainly don't like the idea of making a BOM for a PLC class. That would be OK for a project management class.