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Integration of Motion Control Teaching Components into the Programmable Logic Controller Course

Abstract

Motion control is an essential portion of industry automation. The integration of motion control teaching components into a programmable logic controller (PLC) course is described in this paper. The programming practice with a PLC trainer provides a limited range of real world experiences which usually involve various motion control components. The PLC trainer typically consists of static components, such as switches as the input devices and pilot lamps and seven- segment LED displays as the output devices. Therefore, various assignments using those input/output (I/O) devices could be given to students to develop ladder logic diagrams. But more dynamic applications with motion control components are necessary to train students to prepare for the real world. The proposed motion control teaching components consist of a human machine interface (HMI) terminal, a commercial industrial control trainer (ICT), a stepper motor drive and an ac servo motor drive. For the first exercise, the lesson on the PanelView HMI terminal from Rockwell Automation is given to the class. The students will practice with PanelBuilder32 software to program the HMI terminal operates with the PLC. In addition to that, the various communication protocols for the HMI terminal and SLC500 PLC are introduced. The programming with an ICT from Bytronic Inc. is the second exercise to help students become familiar with various motion control components such as the permanent magnet dc motor (PMDC) and linear and rotary solenoids. The experiments with the proximity sensors, both capacitive and inductive types, and the photo sensors are also included in this laboratory exercise. The stepper motor control is given to the class as the next laboratory assignment. The students will learn how to use the special module for the stepper motor drive. The next target motor is the ac servo motor. The Ultraware setup and programming software for Ultra series ac servo motor will be examined. The final design project is given to three student groups with four members each. Each group builds a four-level elevator using a stepper motor as the prime mover and necessary sensors. The major criteria for the elevator project are application of HMI terminal for the elevator control and accurate position control of the stepper motor. The assessment method of the developed motion control components is included as the conclusion of this paper.

Introduction

Penn State Berks offers a year-long PLC course for both EET (Electrical Engineering Technology) and EMET (Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology) students. The fundamentals of PLC (EET220) are taught in the spring semester and the advanced topics (EMET430) are covered in the fall semester.

The fundamentals of the PLC course cover introduction of PLC hardware (SLC500 and I/O modules) and PLC programming, with basic instructions such as bit, timer, counter comparison, arithmetic, move and logical instructions.

This paper introduces the newly developed motion control teaching components for the advanced PLC course. The topics of the class and lab are listed in Table 1.

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Lee, S. (2009, June), Integration Of Motion Control Teaching Components Into The Programmable Logic Controller Course Paper presented at 2009 Annual Conference & Exposition, Austin, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--5089