plc's selecting

warner

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Feb 2013
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manchester
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Hey all, hope im posting in the right place, anyways im a studen i have posted before, i am currently working on an assignment and no i dont want the answers put to learn about it myself so i can figure them out myself, i think if someone else does the word it will show your your work, so i prefer to be taught :D , anyways my asisgnment is on selecting a plc plus writing about the different type of plc's the inputs outputs, describing what normally open /closed etc but i have to do it in 150-300 words, all the binary and decimal i have done , i have looked through this forum and have managed to get some decend pdf's and a few books, and i do have a plc program and simulator so i can test bits out, the problem i am having is although im finding bits on the different types, unitary,modular and rack, which ones are upgradeable and what they do im struggling to make it upto 300 words, also one of my questions ask me when explaining all 3 types to include scanning time versatility cost and input output specifications, most of that im actually ok with , but from what i have read there no real way ( unless you actually have one) that you can determine that due to different models have different processors and some with multiple processors, some older than others, plus also depends on the size of the program rungs, and the actual plc type itself, and the flag i understand correctly are, like statuses of whatever an output or something like that, like i say im not after someone telling me have to do my assignments i like to learn it myself, just looking for as much info as possible onto the different types, extras for them upgrades, expansions inputs outputs etc etc thank you
 
Unitary, Modular, and Rack - again and again!

...The problem I am having is although I'm finding bits on the different types, unitary, modular and rack,...I'm struggling to make it up to 300 words,...
That question about "unitary, modular, and rack" has been around so many years that it is infamous. Your problem is that the question is obsolete, and is from another age when things were simpler and many PLCs could then easily be classified. Now there are few models that easily fit into one of those obsolete classes. The best you could do would be to find examples of specific brand and catalog numbers that could be crammed into one of those classes. For example the exact Eaton EZ-512-AB-RC could not fit into the modular (it is one enclosure with no modules) or rack (it has no racks) category, so then it must be a unitary type. BUT on the other hand, the broader class of EZ-500 devices CAN be expanded with add-on I/O Expansion Modules, as can about 98% of all PLCS that are made in current times, so is it Unitary, or Modular? Who knows? Who cares?

...due to different models have different processors and some with multiple processors, some older than others, plus also depends on the size of the program rungs, and the actual plc type itself,...
The "unitary-modular-rack" question is not so much about the INTERNAL construction as it is about the EXTERNAL appearance - whether the PLC Central Processing Unit (microporcessor) and the Inputs and Outputs and Power Supply are housed in one (Unitary means a unit of 1) self-contained box or enclosure, or spread out into modules (Modular type), or plugged into a frame (rack that contains modules). All Programmable Logic Controllers must have the same basic functional building blocks, however they are contained, organized, or classified. You should learn what those building blocks are and that might help you understand the differences.

300 words? I have written that much without breaking a sweat!

PLC_Parts.JPG
 
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awesome thank you, the info you gave was awesome and i love the diagram very handy thank you so much, i have a question if i may what is the actual purpose of flags i understand are interchangeable with the term "bit", "boolean", etc. They are very important, but thats it its something i would reall ylike to understand
 
and my appols with my spelling i have dyslexia and often tend to switch letters :$ which means i have to triple check my word every time i do an assignment
 
What is the actual purpose of flags? I understand that flags are interchangeable with the term "bit", "boolean", etc. They are very important, but that is something that I would really like to understand.
A flag as used in a PLC program is usually a bit (1 or 0), although there is no technical reason that a flag could not also be an entire word value. In this context I think of a flag bit as simlar to the early use of fabric flags, as a signal device. Armies used flags to keep track of where each regiment was in the battle. Ships used flags to signal to other ships, specially naval ships. You can used PLC program flag bits to signal certain states, a status, or shich step number is active for a process or system.
 
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A flag as used in a PLC program is usually a bit (1 or 0), although there is no technical reason that a flag could not also be an entire word value. In this context I think of a flag bit as simlar to the early use of fabric flags, as a signal device. Armies used flags to keep track of where each regiment was in the battle. Ships used flags to signal to other ships, specially naval ships. You can used PLC program flag bits to signal certain states, a status, or shich step number is active for a process or system.


That's a really great analogy...
 
Thanks. In spite of my best efforts, some typographical errors were left. I think that the editing features on this site are often "behind" the screen display. For example, in my post, I left an "s" off the end of "ships". I went back and inserted the s in the right spot, and everything looked good, but then after posting, a s got stuck in front of "which", overwriting the original "w". A similar thing happened on "device" where I edited and added the "d", which again somehow also wound up at the end of "use", making it into "used" and now the incorrect verb tense. Oh, well, maybe the correct message was signaled even with the incorrect flags!
 

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