PowerPoint® Presentation

Chapter 7
PLC and System Interfacing
Systems • Primary Systems • System Interfacing •
Electrical Circuits • Basic Electrical Circuits •
Improving Basic Electrical Circuits • Complex
Electrical Circuits • Interfacing Circuits • Interface
Devices • Electromechanical Relays • Solid-State
Relays • Contactor Interfaces • Motor Starter
Interfaces • Electric Motor Drive Interfacing
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

Primary systems transmit and control

the movement of energy.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

Electrical systems use

alternating current (AC)
or direct current (DC) to
produce power.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

Electronic systems monitor and control electricity to

send and/or receive information, produce sound or
vision, store data, control circuits, or perform other
work.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

Fluid power systems produce work

by transmitting fluid under pressure
through pipework.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

Mechanical systems transmit

power using gears, belts, chains,
shafts, couplings, and linkages.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

Informational systems display electrical, electronic,

fluid power, and mechanical quantities and conditions
to indicate the status of a circuit, process, or
application.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

Interfacing systems
interconnect primary
systems of various types.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

Combination systems such as

industrial robots interconnect
two or more primary systems
(hydraulic, pneumatic,
mechanical, electrical,
electronic, digital, and welding),
combining the individual
advantages of each system to
meet the requirements of a
given application.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

System interfacing permits

devices and components of
various levels of voltage,
current, and power to work
together as a system.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

Circuit conditioning is required any time the existing

electrical power is not at the proper phase, voltage, or
current level for the application.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

Interface devices are

required any time an
input device or output
component is not directly
compatible with a PLC.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

Interface devices
change or condition a
system in a variety of
ways.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

Basic electrical circuits must

include a source of electricity,
a method of controlling the
flow of electricity, and a
component that converts
electrical energy into some
other usable form of energy. A
circuit must also include
protection device(s) to ensure
that the circuit operates safely
and within designed electrical
limits.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

Basic PLC-controlled
circuits with multiple loads
wired in parallel have the
loads wired separately to
the PLC output terminals
and the output terminals
programmed to be parallel.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

Basic circuits are improved

by adding additional
protection, instrumentation
for monitoring circuit
parameters, and finer
controls, and by
interconnecting all basic
circuits into a system.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

PLCs and PCs are

interconnected through
communication lines to
form various types and
levels of networks.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

Sensors and switches are typical input devices to a

PLC, with lighting, motors and information displays
being typical output components for a PLC.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

Relays, contactors,
and motor starters are
the most common
interface devices used
to control high-power
loads.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

Electromechanical relays have sets of contacts that

are closed by magnetic force.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

Solid-state relays have an input

voltage range, such as 3 VDC to
32 VDC, that allows a single solid-
state relay to be used with most
electronic circuits and PLC output
modules.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

The type of relay used depends

on the life expectancy, electrical
requirements, and cost
requirements of the application.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

Any load that can cause

a problem to the output
section or module of a
PLC must include an
interface device between
the PLC and the load.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

The output side of a solid-state relay can be used to

control high-voltage medium-power loads such as 3f
heating elements.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

Contactors are designed

to control high-power,
non-motor loads.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

Contactors allow PLC output circuitry to be rated

much lower than the loads that the PLC is controlling.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

Magnetic motor starters

use a small control current
to energize a coil to send
high power to a motor.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

When the coil of a motor starter and the control circuit

require lower voltage, a step-down transformer is
used to reduce the high voltage to a low voltage.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

Electric motor drives control motor speed by

controlling the frequency of the electricity to a motor.
 Chapter 7 — PLC and System Interfacing

Any type of switch contacts

(pushbutton, pressure switch,
PLC output contacts) can be
used to control an electric
motor drive.