វទ្យាស្ថ

ិ ា នជាតិពហុ បច្ចេកច្ទ្យសកម្ពុជា ម្ហាវទ្យាល័

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What is PLC?

PLC stands for Programmable Logic Controller (can be understood simply: the
control device allows the user to program) In the past, controllers were only made to serve
a control purpose and cannot be changed (called the hard connection controller), this has
created huge limitations and disadvantages in programming control, so PLC was born.
Through the PLC controller, users can completely change the control algorithm through
PLC programming (written in programming languages).
Some famous PLC manufacturers in the world: Simens (Germany), ABB
(Switzerland), RockWell (US), Omron (Japan), Keyence (Japan), Mitsubishi (Japan), Delta
(Taiwan)….

Figure 1: Programmable Logic Controller Company

Advantages of PLC over hard-connected control systems

# Features of the hard connection control system (using relay, timer, counter, contactor …):
+ Lots of wires.
+ Replacement is very complicated.
+ Need skilled repair workers.
+ It is difficult to update the diagram, making it difficult for maintenance and
replacement.
+ There is no high aesthetics.
+ Takes the area of the control cabinet, large power consumption.
+ Time to repair or change operating procedures takes a lot of time.

What is PLC? 1
វទ្យាស្ថ
ិ ា នជាតិពហុ បច្ចេកច្ទ្យសកម្ពុជា ម្ហាវទ្យាល័
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# Characteristics of PLC control system:

+ Reduce 80% the number of extension cords.
+ PLC power consumption is very low.
+ Has a self-diagnosis function so that the repair work is quick and easy.
+ Control functions can be easily changed by programming devices (software,
programming device) without hardware changes if there is no requirement to add or
remove devices.
+ Communicate with other smart devices such as computers, networking, expansion
modules.
+ Large memory capacity to accommodate complex programs.
+ The number of relays and timers is much less than the classical control system.
+ The number of contacts in the program used is not limited.
+ The time to complete a control cycle is very fast (several ms ).
+ Easy to learn programming languages> easy programming and changing programs.
+ Compact > easy to maintenance, repair.
+ High reliability, small size, completely reliable in industrial environments.
+ Adaptation in harsh environments: Temperature, humidity, voltage fluctuations …

Structure of Programmable Logic Controller

Figure 2: Structure of Programmable Logic Controller

# Central Processing Unit (CPU): It is a microprocessor that controls all PLC activities
such as program execution, Input/Output processing and communication with external
devices.

# Memory (RAM / ROM): Used to store programs and data. Most PLCs have to use
batteries to feed memory, but newer PLCs do not need batteries to store programs and
data.
What is PLC? 2
វទ្យាស្ថ
ិ ា នជាតិពហុ បច្ចេកច្ទ្យសកម្ពុជា ម្ហាវទ្យាល័
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# Input Signal: The intelligence of a control system depends mainly on the ability of the
PLC to read different data from the sensors as well as by manual input devices
+ Manual input devices: Push buttons, keypads and switches, …
+ Sensor: Cruise switch, photoelectric sensor, fiber optic sensor, magnetic sensor,
pressure sensor, …
The input signal to the PLC can be a digital or analog signal, these signals are
communicated with the PLC through different input modules DI (Digital Input) or AI
(Analog Input), …

Figure 3: PLC Input Devices

# Output Signal: A control system will have no practical meaning if it is not possible to
communicate with external equipment, common external devices such as motors, valves,
relays, indicator lights, electric bells, etc. just like the equipment. In, external devices are
connected to the output ports of the output module. These output modules can be DO
(Digital Output) or AO (analog output), Relay output or Transistor / Triac output.

Figure 4: PLC output Devices

# Other Modules: There are many modules with special functions that help the PLC to
communicate with peripheral devices
Ethernet Module, CC-Link Module, RS232/485 Module, Position Module, Modbus Module,
Ether-CAT Module, …

What is PLC? 3
វទ្យាស្ថ
ិ ា នជាតិពហុ បច្ចេកច្ទ្យសកម្ពុជា ម្ហាវទ្យាល័
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ិ ត្តូនិក

Working principle of PLC

The signals from external devices (sensors, contacts, etc.) are first fed to the CPU
via the input module. After receiving the input signal, the CPU will process and send the
control signals through the output module to external controlled devices according to a
preprogrammed program.

Figure 5: PLC Program Scan Cycle

A cycle consists of reading input signals, executing programs, internal

communication, checking errors, sending updates to the output signal called a scan cycle
or a scan cycle (Scan Cycle). Usually, a scan takes a very short time (from 1ms to 100ms).
The time taken for this scan depends on the speed of the PLC’s command processing, the
short length of the program, the communication speed between the PLC and peripheral
devices.

>>> The first PLC was created in 1968 by General Motors, so far PLC has become
an integral part of industrial automation. Currently with the Industrial Revolution 4.0,
the PLC has more modern features (IoT, SCADA) and is becoming cheaper, so the PLC will
become increasingly popular in the future.

What is PLC? 4