DISCUSSION

Upon reviewing the results gained from the experiments conducted and the steps on
using the console pad or also known as the Programming Device, students are able to
understand the flow of the Ladder Diagram and how to program the PLC OMRON trainer kit
using the console pad through the usage of the Mnemonic Code, as these are the most
fundamental on how to understand the concept of the Programmable Logic Controller.
However, as the programs are dependent on the ladder diagram, the possibilities for students
to misunderstand the flow of the ladder diagram can be inevitable, as the symbols used in the
ladder diagram are representatives of the logic gates. Despite of this possibility, students can
prevent this error by understanding the fundamentals of logic gates. The following is one of
the result, taken from the experiment involving the programming of the OR instruction,
which was conducted in the PLC laboratory:-

Address
00000
00001
00002

Instruction
LD
OR
OUT

Data
00000
00001
01000

Diagram 1: Result for the OR instruction

Based on the ladder diagram, students can be easily confused with the flow stated by the
ladder diagram with of that, an electrical schematic. By understanding the differences that
both diagram might have, students will found that it is an obsolete decision to grasp the
ladder diagram as a regular electrical schematic, as both contains an absolute difference in
terms of how the components or programming block is applied.

Binary numbers as
representative for the
open contacts, to be
used as a mnemonic
code

Block diagrams
representing the
OUTPUT and the END
of the programming

The poles are a

representation of a voltage
input into the system

Diagram 2: Description on the ladder diagram

By doing so, the possibilities can be reduced, thus improving students capability of grasping
the idea of any sort of ladder diagram shown in any situation, thus, allowing them to be
capable of making their individual ladder diagrams and mnemonic codes, altogether. Using
the same result, the placement of the open contacts is as important as understanding the logic

functions of the PLC. For instance, the parallel arrangement between the first contact (00000)
and the second contact (00001) is an arrangement for the OR logic sequence. By
understanding such a sequence, students will be able to prevent themselves from producing
an error for their respective desired outputs.
Hence, it is essential for students to understand the arrangement for contacts in the ladder
diagram. Taking another example involving AND logic sequence:-

Diagram 3: AND instruction ladder diagram

The arrangement of the contacts are in series, making their logic function to be called out as
AND logic.
As a conclusion, the necessity for understanding the flow of the ladder diagram and
the steps of how to input the mnemonic codes, are both dependent towards one and another,
as failing to understand how to control the commands of a mnemonic codes, based on the
ladder diagram, the result may cause a severe error output for the desired system, hence,
failing the system from its original objective.