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

Final project – creating a unit converter

In automation programming, it is very common to have to convert between different units of measurement to support clients around the world. This is especially true if you have a single codebase that supports a specific machine that is deployed to many different regions. To accommodate the different units of measurement, it is common to create a function block that can do this. For our final project, we are going to create a very simple function block that can convert the following units:

  • Lbs -> kgs and kgs -> lbs
  • Feet -> meters and meters -> feet

Depending on what you’re working on, there will probably be many more units; however, this is just an example.

The first thing we need to do is create a function block called UnitConversion and add two methods called weight and length to it. Both methods should have a Return type value of REAL and an Access specifier value of PUBLIC. When you’re...