Book Image

Mastering PLC Programming

By : Mason White
Book Image

Mastering PLC Programming

By: Mason White

Overview of this book

Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a new feature of PLC programming that has taken the automation world by storm. This book provides you with the necessary skills to succeed in the modern automation programming environment. The book is designed in a way to take you through advanced topics such as OOP design, SOLID programming, the software development lifecycle (SDLC), library design, HMI development, general software engineering practices, and more. To hone your programming skills, each chapter has a simulated real-world project that’ll enable you to apply the skills you’ve learned. In all, this book not only covers complex PLC programming topics, but it also removes the financial barrier that comes with most books as all examples utilize free software. This means that to follow along, you DO NOT need to purchase any PLC hardware or software. By the end of this PLC book, you will have what it takes to create long-lasting codebases for any modern automation project.
Table of Contents (25 chapters)
1
Part 1 – An Introduction to Advanced PLC Programming
6
Part 2 – Modularity and Objects
10
Part 3 – Software Engineering for PLCs
14
Part 4 – HMIs and Alarms
19
Part 5 – Final Project and Thoughts

What are alarms?

The name alarm will normally conjure up images of flashing lights and critical errors on your machine. In many cases, this is exactly what alarms are used for – their main purpose is to relay information to the operator. As we will see later on in the chapter, in the section Alarm configuration: Info, Warning, and Error setup, alarms relay way more information than just catastrophic errors.

For most PLC applications, alarms have two sections. The first component of an alarm is the PLC logic itself. The PLC logic is the code that will trigger the alarm. The other section is the HMI component that will display the alarm in a logical, user-friendly manner. Therefore, before you can start using alarms, you’re going to want to ensure that you have a decent understanding of PLC programming and HMI layouts for your custom alarms to work.

Alarms are multifaceted. Not only can they display information to the operator, but with the right PLC logic, they can...