PLCs for Beginners : An Introductory Guide to Building Robust PLC Programs with the Structured Text Language / M. T. White.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

White, M. T., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Programmable controllers.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (380 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Birmingham, England : Packt Publishing, [2024]

Biography/History:

White M. T. : M. T. White has been programming since the age of 12. His fascination with robotics flourished when he was a child programming microcontrollers. He holds an undergraduate degree in mathematics, a master's degree in software engineering, and an MBA in IT management. He is currently working as a software developer for a major US defense contractor and is an adjunct CIS instructor, where he teaches Python, C, and an array of other courses. His background mostly stems from the automation industry where he programmed PLCs and HMIs for many different types of applications. He has programmed many different brands of PLCs over the years and has developed HMIs using many different tools. Other technologies that he is fluent in include Linux, Ansible, Docker, AWS, C#, Java, and Python. Be sure to check out his channel AlchemicalComputing on YouTube.

Summary:

Unleash the power of PLCs by understanding and applying essential programming concepts such as structured text, programming logic, and technologies like ChatGPT Key Features Unleash the power of structured text by understanding its syntax, features, and applications Harness the power of programming logic and design by taking a design-first approach to PLC programming Leverage advanced concepts and technologies such as cybersecurity and generative AI with PLC Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free PDF eBook Book Description As smart factories and advanced technology become more prevalent, the demand for PLC programmers with expertise beyond ladder logic is growing. This book introduces a new approach to PLC programming, preparing you for future challenges by exploring automation programming through computer science and text-based programming. The book begins by exploring the basic components of PLCs and how they integrate with other modules, giving you a clear understanding of system functionality. As you progress, you'll delve into PLC program execution, learning about flow and essential components for effective programming. Next, you'll understand program design with pseudocode and flowcharts, vital for planning programs. You'll then explore Boolean logic intricacies, harnessing logical functions and truth tables for precise control statements. Later, you'll delve into structured text, gaining a comprehensive grasp of syntax and features crucial for efficient programming. The journey continues with a focus on advanced topics like cybersecurity in PLC systems and leveraging generative AI (GenAI), such as ChatGPT, to enhance productivity. By the end of this book, you'll be able to design real-world projects using pseudocode and flowcharts, and implement those designs in structured text. What you will learn Explore and understand how to implement PLC programs in structured text Experiment with common functions in structured text Control the flow of a PLC program with loop and conditional statements Discover how to design a PLC program with pseudocode and flowcharts Implement common sorting algorithms such as bubble sort and insertion sort, and understand concepts such as Big O Understand the basics of cybersecurity to protect PLC-based systems Leverage ChatGPT for PLC programming Understand the basics of troubleshooting hardware and fixing common problems Who this book is for This book is for automation engineering students and individuals seeking entry-level knowledge of PLC programming with structured text and other modern computer science concepts to excel in the advanced automation landscape. No prior knowledge of PLC programming is required.

Contents:

Cover

Title Page

Copyright and Credits

Contributors

Table of Contents

Preface

Part 1: Basics of Computer Science for PLC Programmers

Chapter 1: Computer Science Versus Automation Programming

Technical requirements

What is computer science?

Why study computer science?

What is automation programming?

What is a PLC?

Exploring automation through computer science

How does computer science help automation programmers?

Why should automation programmers care?

Cloud technologies

The internet of things

Machine learning

What does this mean for automation engineering?

PLCs versus microcontrollers

What are microcontrollers?

Surface-level differences

PLC and microcontroller programming languages

Use cases

PLC versus computers

What is a computer?

Summary

Questions

Chapter 2: PLC Components - Integrating PLCs with Other Modules

PLC types

Common PLC modules

Power supply

Chassis

CPU modules

I/O modules

Safety modules

Sinking versus sourcing

NPN versus PNP

Sensors

Motors and motor controls

What is a motor?

Open and closed-loop control systems

Stepper motors

Servo motors

Encoders

Motor drives

Communication protocols

What is a communication protocol, and what is it used for?

Wiring diagrams

Final project

Specs

BOM

Further reading

Chapter 3: The Basics of Programming

Understanding what a program is

What is the purpose of a program?

Why use software over hardware?

How to view software and hardware in a system

Software is not a cure-all solution

Understanding programming languages

Syntax

Translators

Machine instruction

Language paradigms

Keywords.

Dos and don'ts of learning keywords and syntax

Program flow

Program iteration

Exploring the IEC 61131-3 standard

IEC 61131-3 pitfalls

Strategy

Chapter 4: Unleashing Computer Memory

What is memory?

Memory

Storage

How computer/PLC memory and storage work

HDDs

SSDs

Volatile versus non-volatile memory

Volatile memory

Non-volatile memory

Memory addresses

How memory works

Computer memory - an analogy

Common storage devices

USB drives

External hard-drives

SD cards

Cloud storage

Obsolete storage devices

Floppy drives

Chapter 5: Designing Programs - Unleashing Pseudocode and Flowcharts

What are pseudocode programs and flowcharts?

Pseudocode

What does pseudocode look like?

Flowcharting

What do flowcharts look like?

Why use pseudocode and flowcharts in PLC programming?

Why use pseudocode?

Why use flowcharting?

When to use one over the other?

Tools needed for flowcharts and pseudocode

Pseudocode tools

Flowchart tools

Whiteboarding

Design exercises

The quadradic equation

The beer program

Final project - Robot startup system

Design requirements

Design logic

Wait sequence

Flowchart

Chapter 6: Boolean Algebra

What is Boolean algebra?

Boolean operators

The basic operators

The OR operator

The NOT operator

Boolean expressions

Exploring NOT

The AND operator

Operator laws

Idempotent law

Solving Boolean equations

Examples

Getting to know truth tables

Basic operators

Final project: Creating custom truth tables from scratch

Row 1

Row 2

Row 3.

Row 4

Final truth table

Part 2: Introduction to Structured Text Programming

Chapter 7: Unlocking the Power of ST

What is ST?

Area of a circle program in ST

Why is ST important?

ST versus LL

Example 1 - The area of a circle program - LL

Example 2 - Toggling a light

What is CODESYS?

Installing CODESYS

A CODESYS exploration

Exploring the PLC_PRG file

The final project - Hello World

Step 1 - Creating a new project!

Step 2 - Code implementation

Step 3 - Running the program!

Chapter challenge

Chapter 8: Exploring Variables and Tags

What are variables/tags?

Applications of variables

Variables/tags under the hood

Why use variables?

Data types

What is a data type?

The IEC 61131-3 data types

Bits and bytes

Common data types

How to declare variables

Variable section of a file

Declaring a variable

Initializing a variable

Variable naming

Rules to naming a variable

Naming conventions

Final project - declare the variables of a triangle

Code implementation

Challenge - declare the variable for a rectangle's perimeter

Chapter 9: Performing Calculations in Structured Text

Math in ST

Assigning numbers

Basic calculations

Solution variable

The four basic functions

Basic operation demonstration

Complex mathematical functions

Square root function

Exponent function

ABS function

Trigonometric functions

Arc functions

Order of operations for math calculations

Computing complex equations

Distance between two points

Final projects

Final project 1 - programming the perimeter of a rectangle.

Final project 2 - Pythagorean theorem

Chapter 10: Unleashing Built-In Function Blocks

What are prebuilt function blocks?

Functions, function blocks, and keywords

Function blocks under the hood

What is a function block?

Rising and falling edges

Common PLC function blocks

Counter function blocks

Timer function blocks

Variables

Chapter 11: Unlocking the Power of Flow Control

Exploring what flow control is

Exploring why flow control is important

Exploring logical expressions

Exploring the IF statement

IF statement syntax

Checking if two values are the same!

Exploring the not equals operator

Designing control statements

Overdraft program

Exploring the CASE statement

State machines and CASE statements

Implementing the state machine

Flowcharting and CASE statements

Real-world applications for the CASE statement

Requirements

Program design

Final challenge

Chapter 12: Unlocking Advanced Control Statements

Nested control statements

ELSE statements

ELSIF statements

Challenge

Logical operators

Exploring the OR operator

Exploring the XOR operator

Exploring the NOT operator

Color and shape sorter logic

Testing conditions

Chapter 13: Implementing Tight Loops

Exploring the different types of loops

Counter loop

Precheck loops

Post check loops

Infinite loops

Exploring loops in pseudocode and flowcharts

Exploring loops with pseudocode

Representing a loop in a flowchart.

Implementing a FOR loop

Implementing the WHILE loop

Exploring the REPEAT loop

Exporting the EXIT keyword

Understanding nested loops

Challenge - creating a behavior report

Design

Testing the program

Part 3: Algorithms, AI, Security, and More

Chapter 14: Sorting with Loops

How to use this chapter

What is sorting?

Exploring what arrays are and how to use them!

What is an array?

Array elements

Initializing an array

Retrieving the number of elements in an array

Why are arrays important for sorting algorithms?

Exploring sorting algorithms

What is an algorithm?

What is a sorting algorithm?

Algorithm efficiency metrics

Exploring the Big O notation

Exploring the Big Ω notation

Common sorting algorithms

Exploring bubble sort

Exploring insertion sort

Challenge - Merge sort

Final project - cement bag sorter

Analysis

Implementation

Chapter 15: Secure PLC Programming - Stopping Cyberthreats

What cybersecurity is and why it's important

The basics of cybersecurity

Vulnerabilities, threats, and risk

Threat actors

Exploring AAA

Air-gapped systems

Common cyberattacks

Exploring information gathering

Exploring social engineering

Exploring password hacking

Malware

Attack prevention methods

Stopping social engineering

Defending against password crackers

Password length

Malware defense

Final project - a PLC-based activation system

Certifications

Chapter 16: Troubleshooting PLCs - Fixing Issues

Common causes of PLC issues

Broken software.

Exploring environmental issues.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Tools needed for flowcharts and pseudocode

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781801814348

1801814341

OCLC:

1434170655