Sensor Resources
When I got up this morning, I had fully intended to write a post on sensors and sensing techniques. I was even going to title it “Sensors 101”, similar to the series that I started on PLCs several years ago. …
Category: Hardware
Mechanical and electrical hardware
Ladder Logic 305: ASCII and Strings
Today’s post covers ASCII, string manipulation and how to deal with readable text in a PLC. The picture above is from a ControlLogix program (Allen-Bradley, RSLogix5000 v.16) I wrote back in 2006. The program communicated with a PC-based Cognex machine …
The Difference Between PLCs and Computers
What makes a PLC different from a typical computer? After all, computers are used to control things, they can even run a software PLC. This short video is part of the introduction to a new training course I am producing …
PLC Hardware and Programming – Multi-Platform Manual
Over the past few months I’ve mentioned that I am working on a new online course for PLC’s. Almost a month ago I posted a request for pictures due to some of the publisher restrictions on that sort of thing. …
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Advantages of Re-Usable Code
Recently I’ve seen some good discussions on PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers) vs. PACs (Programmable Automation Controllers), and it got me thinking about what really differentiates the two. Some have said that it is having a more powerful processor, or more …
I Need PLC Pictures!
For the last few months I have been working (slowly) on my new PLC course. Before getting too far into the videos on the Thinkific site, it made sense to me to complete a training manual. Well, I completed the …
PLC Memory
As I have mentioned previously, I have been working on a generic PLC course that I hope to release in some kind of online software format soon. I was able to test a prototype a few weeks ago with a …
Update on Projects – “Why haven’t you written more posts?”
I have been asked by a lot of readers, friends and associates lately about where I’m at on the various projects I’m involved in. There has also been an undercurrent of “why haven’t you posted lately?”, so I figured I’d …
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Ladder Logic 106: One Shots
A one shot, or “differential”, is used to develop a signal that is exactly one scan in duration. As shown in the diagram above, when a signal is applied to a contact (a Pushbutton in the diagram above), no matter …
PLC Platform Sample Request – CLGX Example
In a post back in March, “Request for PLC Information and Samples“, I received quite a few responses offering PLC information on various platforms. Unfortunately after sending e-mails to quite a few of the respondents I haven’t received any info, …