LogixPro

Door Simulation
Student
Exercise
Utilizing Relay
Logic

The ProSim-II Door Simulation

From the Simulations Menu at the top of the screen, Select the Door Simulation.

Take the time to familiarize yourself with the components used in the Door
system, and take particular note of the current state of the limit switches. When
the door is in the closed position, both limit switches are in their activated state
(Not Normal). Run your mouse over each switch, and you should see a tool-tip
text box appear, which denotes that the selected switch is wired using a set of
Normally Open contacts. With the door fully closed, what signal level would you
expect to see at the limit switch inputs I:1/03 and I:1/04?

To confirm your assessment of the current limit switch states, place the PLC into
the RUN mode which will initiate scanning. Now open the Data Table display by
clicking on the Data Table icon located on the toolbar (3rd from right) at the top of
the screen.

When you have the Data Table showing, select the "Input Table" from the drop
down Table list box. You should now be able to see the current state of each bit
associated with input card I:1. You should also note that bit I:1/02 is also in a High
or True state. Use your mouse to press the Stop switch on the Control Panel a
few times, and note the results. Don't continue on with the exercise until you are
confident that you understand the rational of the observed results.
Student Programming Exercise #1:

In this exercise we want you to apply your knowledge of Relay Logic Instructions
to design a program which will control the LogixPro Door Simulation. The Door
System includes a Reversible Motor, a pair of Limit Switches and a Operator
Control Panel, all connected to your PLC. The program you create will monitor
and control this equipment while adhering to the following criteria:

 In this exercise the Open and Close pushbuttons will be used to control
the movement of the door. Movement will not be maintained when either
switch is released, and therefore the Stop switch is neither required nor
used in this exercise. However, all other available Inputs and Outputs are
employed in this exercise.

 Pressing the Open Switch will cause the door to move upwards (open) if
not already fully open. The opening operation will continue as long as the
switch is held down. If the switch is released, or if limit switch LS1 opens,
the door movement will halt immediately.

 Pressing the Close Switch will cause the door to move down (close) if not
already fully closed. The closing operation will continue as long as the
switch is held down. If the switch is released, or if limit switch LS2 closes,
the door movement will halt immediately.

 If the Door is already fully opened, Pressing the Open Switch will Not
energize the motor.

 If the Door is already fully closed, Pressing the Close Switch will Not
energize the motor.

 Under no circumstance will both motor windings be energized at the

same time.

 The Open Lamp will be illuminated if the door is in the Fully Open
position.

 The Shut Lamp will be illuminated if the door is in the Fully Closed
 position.

It is your responsibility to fully design, document, debug, and test your Program.
Avoid the use of OTL or OTU latching instructions, and make a concerted effort to
minimize the number of rungs employed.

Ensure that you have made effective use of both instruction and rung comments
to clearly document your program. All I/O components referenced within your
program should be clearly labeled, and rung comments should be employed to
add additional clarity as required.

Student Programming Exercise #2:

In this exercise we want you to apply your knowledge of Relay Logic Instructions
to design a program which will maintain the appropriate door movement once
initiated by the operator. The Opening or Closing operation of the door will
continue to completion even if the operator releases the pushbutton which
initiated the movement. The program will adhere to the following criteria:

 Door movement will halt immediately when the Stop Switch is initially
pressed, and will remain halted if the switch is released.

 Pressing the Open Switch will cause the door to Open if not already fully
open. The opening operation will continue to completion even if the
switch is released.

 Pressing the Close Switch will cause the door to Close if not already fully
shut. The closing operation will continue to completion even if the Switch
is released.

 If the Door is already fully opened, Pressing the Open Switch will Not
energize the motor.

 If the Door is already fully closed, Pressing the Close Switch will Not
energize the motor.

 Under no circumstance will both motor windings be energized at the

same time.

 The Ajar Lamp will be illuminated if the door is NOT in either the fully
closed or fully opened position.

 The Open Lamp will be illuminated if the door is in the Fully Open
position.

 The Shut Lamp will be illuminated if the door is in the Fully Closed
position.
It is your responsibility to fully design, document, debug, and test your Program.
Avoid the use of OTL or OTU latching instructions, and make a concerted effort to
minimize the number of rungs employed.

As before, ensure that you have made effective use of both instruction and rung
comments to clearly document your program.

Student Programming Exercise #3:

In this exercise we want to introduce you to a simple programming technique for

adding a bit of "Flash" to your program. We want you to make use of the PLC's
Free Running Timer which can be viewed in the Data Table Display at location
S2:4. This integer word contains a count which is incremented continuously by
the PLC when it is in the Run mode, and it can come in quite handy at times for
variety of purposes. In this exercise we want you to utilize this word as follows:

With the PLC in the Run mode, Display word S2:4 utilizing the Data Table display.
Ensure that the Radix is set to Binary so that you can view the individual bits
within the word. You should see a binary count in progress where the rate of
change of each bit is directly related to it's position within the word. Bit 0 will have
the highest rate, while Bit 1 will be 1/2 as fast as Bit 0, and Bit 2 half as fast as 1
etc. etc.

We want you to add a Lamp Flasher to your program by monitoring the state of
one of these bits with an XIC instruction. I'm going to suggest using Bit 4 for this
purpose, but depending upon the speed of your computer you may elect to
substitute another Bit. With an actual AB PLC, the rate is consistent, but with
LogixPro it varies from computer to computer.

Place an XIC instruction addressed to S:4/4 on the rung which controls either the
Open or Shut Lamp in your previous program. Now download and Run this
modified program to see the flashing effect achieved. The Lamp should flash at a
reasonable rate whenever your program energizes the selected Lamp.

Now modify your program so that the following criteria is met:

 If the Door is fully open, the Open lamp will be energized but not flashing
as was the case before.

 If the Door is opening, the Open lamp will flash while the door is in
motion.

 If the Door is fully closed, the Shut lamp will be energized but not flashing
as was the case before.
  If the Door is closing, the Shut lamp will flash while the door is in motion.

 The Ajar Lamp will flash if the door is stationary, and is not in the fully
open or fully closed position. The Ajar Lamp will flash at a slower rate
(1/4) then the other lamps.

 The Ajar Lamp will be illuminated in a steady state if the door is in motion.

As before, ensure that you have made effective use of both instruction and rung
comments to clearly document your program.

Student Programming Exercise #4:

In this exercise we want you to add one final touch which will possibly extend the
life of the door hardware. Starting and stopping the door motion obviously puts a
strain on the door hardware, but reversing the direction of the door without giving
it a chance to fully stop causes an even greater strain. We want you to modify
your program to prevent the possibility of immediate reversal. As we don't need
much of a delay, the following additional criteria should suffice:

 If the door is currently opening, pressing the Close Switch will

immediately halt movement. Door movement will remain halted when the
switch is released.

 If the door is currently closing, pressing the Open Switch will immediately
halt movement. Door movement will remain halted when the switch is
released.

 Once movement is halted, and all push buttons have been released, then
door motion in either direction can once again be initiated by pressing the
appropriate Open or Close button.

 The utilization of Binary or Integer Table bits to Flag specific conditions

within your program would be appropriate. Also, the retentive OTL and
OTU instructions may be utilized freely at your discretion.

Hint: If you review the foregoing criteria carefully, you should note the the motor
should only be permitted to start after a specific set of conditions have been met.
The conditions being that the motor is stopped, and all switches are released..
Since this same set of conditions will apply to both the door opening, and door
closing operations, this may be the ideal time to use flagging.... By flagging, I
mean that you will use a bit in the PLC memory (such as B3:0/0) to indicate that a
specific condition, or set of conditions exist.

Example: You might add a new rung to the beginning of your program, and insert
instructions to test that the motor is stopped, and all switches are released...
Latch bit B3:0/0 True (ON) if so, and name it something like "Ready-To-Start"....
Now you can add an XIC instruction addressed to this "Ready-To-Start" bit to
both your existing Motor UP, and Motor Down control rungs, and this will confirm
that the motor may be started.. Of course you will need to unlatch the "Ready-To-
Start bit once the motor is started.

BTW: Almost any unused bit may be used as a flag, but since RSLogix has set
aside the B3: memory area, and this memory area displays in binary format by
default, it's commonly used for this purpose.. N7:1/12 would work however, but
the N7 area is normally used as place for storing integers as this memory area is
displayed in decimal by default... Additionally, it is sometimes possible to use an
Operator Panel lamp as flag if the conditions suit.

For Discussion and/or Research:

The door simulation employs 2 limit switches that have both been wired N.O.
(Normally Open). This might not be the best choice in wiring an actual door
control installation, but we have learned that simple wiring irregularities such as
this can be readily overcome within one's ladder logic program...... But,,, should
we do this?... OR,,, should we rewire?

Upper Limit switch wired N.O., Lower limit switch wired N.O. resulting in:
Upper limit switch (door open) goes False(0) when the door reaches
the fully open position.
Lower limit switch (door closed) goes True(1) when the door reaches
the fully closed position.

The above truth table may offend one's sense of logic, and many might argue that
it would be worthwhile to rewire the upper limit switch so that it is N.C. rather then
N.O. The result would be that this switched input would then go True rather
then False when the position it is detecting (door open) is reached. This in-turn
should make one's final program easier to read, understand, and even
troubleshoot.

Upper Limit switch rewired N.C., Lower limit switch wired N.O. resulting
in:
Upper limit switch (door open) goes True(1) when Door reaches
the fully open position.
Lower limit switch (door closed) goes True(1) when door reaches
the fully closed position.

Sensible!....But!.....

Although rewiring the upper switch to N.C. does appear to make greater "logical"
sense, it may actually result in an inferior installation. Rewiring one of the limit
switches may still be worthwhile, but it's the lower limit switch that we should be
concerned with.

Upper Limit switch wired N.O., Lower limit switch rewired N.C. resulting
in:
Upper limit switch (door open) goes False(0) when Door reaches
the fully open position.
Lower limit switch (door closed) goes False(0) when door reaches
the fully closed position.

Task> Explain why this last rewiring option should result in a safer, more
fault tolerant installation.

Hint: All types of control circuits should ideally be designed to be fail-safe. In

electrical circuits we must take into account how our installation will react to
common electrical faults (short or open) and determine whether the resulting
action is the This is of particular concern in Motor Control Stop circuits Which
common electrical fault (short or open) is the more likely to go un-noticed, and
how should this influence our selection of switch type (N.O. or N.C.) when
designing/wiring Motor Control Stop Circuits?

......