News Blogs

In this installment of the Practicing PLC Technician Series, we continue our investigation into some of the ladder logic instructions that are based on real world field equipment familiar to the technicians of today.  We have covered virtual coils and contacts, as well as timer instructions used for time driven program segments. Here we will be taking a look at a simple Event Driven program segment using another staple of relay logic control systems, the drum sequencer.  T

In this installment of the Practicing PLC Technician series, we are going to look at the basic structure of a PLC and how it operates. 

Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) are general-purpose control devices often used in plants or manufacturing systems. They provide both a useful and efficient control solution for a variety of applications, and can accept inputs from a variety of devices, such as motion detectors, joysticks and buttons, amongst others. In turn, PLCs are able to produce outputs that control lights, motors and sound effects, amongst others.

This is the first in a series of brief articles discussing important topics specific to PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) technicians and technician students preparing for a role in an increasingly automated workforce. In this series we will be discussing skills and knowledge unique to the understanding of PLC’s.