#programmable controller

Sescon 2556-41 Programmable Controller Industrial Automation Module

A coffee table book written by Gautam Kotwal and published by Green World Publication, features Farook Merchant, Chairman & MD, Messung Group.

An excerpt.

HUMBLE ROOTS At the age when most youth get their degree and start hunting for a job, one young man started his own business and within just a few years, caught the attention of international companies. Today, his achievements may not seem like a big thing; after all, it's the age of 'Start-ups'. But our story starts in 1981 when the opportunities for entrepreneurship were limited. Moreover, even the field of electronics and telecommunications was comparatively new and unknown. Bravely entering this field and making a name in it was an impressive achievement. The journey is definitely worth a visit. That dynamic young man was Farook Merchant, today's successful businessman.

Any child brought up with strong values always find the strength to rise above their circumstances and find their own path. This aspect is evident in Farook Merchant's journey. Farook Merchant was born in Pune on 13 April 1956. At the time, his father was employed as a linesman with Pune's electricity board while his mother worked as a school teacher in the Abdul Wahid Urdu Primary School. In those days, there used to be a small ‘Chawl’called ‘5BJ’ in the Agakhan lane opposite the Pune railway station; there in the ‘Agakhan’ Compound, in a chawl of 70 tenements, lived Farook's parents.

Farook's elder brother, Nazim was 13 months older than Farook. Nazim did his primary education at St. Helena's school while Farook studied at St. Mira school. Thereafter, Farook completed his secondary education at St. Vincent's school. Farook's mother was a disciplinarian who enforced a strict regimen for waking up, going to school, playing games, studying, prayers and bedtime. This imposed discipline has stood Farook in good stead.

In those days, the economic condition of Farook's family was extremely modest but his parents never took a loan or accepted financial help from anyone. There was never any compromise with the children's education. Farook's mother always said: "Do not complain; just work hard to get ahead in life." Inspired by her words, Farook's father rented a three-room apartment at Quartergate for Rs.105 per month. The move from the chawl and the new environment definitely helped to motivate Farook. His mother believed that if her son grew up in the chawl, he would never find the impetus to advance in life.

SHINING AT SCHOOL Both Farook and his brother were good in academics. After school, Nazim opted for Medicine and took admission in Pune’s B.J.Medical College. Farook joined Engineering at COEP where his tuition was free thanks to a scholarship his mother received as a primary school teacher, and a stipend of Rs.100 he received from COEP. Farook states, “Rs.100 was a big sum for us in those days and came in handy to pay for Nazim’s books which were expensive. Fortunately, I did not have to buy any text books. My college seniors used to operate a book club of old text books which was available to me.”

Four years later, after graduating with Electronics & Telecommunications, Farook had job offers from Advani Oerlikon, Telco and others. The Telco offer seemed the most attractive – a monthly salary of Rs.1800. When Farook reached his college to share his good news, he met Prof. Prabhu, a senior faculty member of Electronics Design who suggested he go appear for an interview with Electronica who happened to be conducting campus interviews at that time. Farook couldn’t refuse, so he appeared for the interview and was immediately offered a position at Rs. 550. When Farook asked Prof. Prabhu why he was pushing him towards Electronica when he had a more lucrative offer from Telco, Prof. Prabhu said “Farook, you will learn more at Electronica in one year, than at Telco in 10 years!”

FIRST JOB. VALUABLE LEARNINGS.

Soon after Farook joined Electronica, the office closed for 10 days for Diwali. Farook requested his boss’s permission to come to work every day through the holidays. His boss readily agreed and himself came to office during that period.

This ‘holiday’ turned out to be a great learning period for Farook. His boss, Dinesh Sanghvi taught Farook how to use an oscilloscope and Farook also studied all the other products in detail. Farook was also told to solve a problem on a DRO that Electronica was working on, which he did successfully. Farook says “those 8 days at Electronica opened up a world of Electronics for me. I felt I had become a master in Electronics. Sanghvi Sir taught me documentation, how to package a product, mechanical design and many other aspects of the business.” Sanghvi also taught Farook the crucial importance of documentation. He quoted Sumant Moolgaonkar, the then MD of Telco who said “Our documentation must be so perfect that even if the person working on the project meets with an accident or dies, the next person on the project should be able to continue the project without any pause or problem”.

A year and a half into his tenure at Electronica, there were problems between the seniors, and both his bosses (Dinesh Sanghvi and Ashok Saraf) quit. The company head, Prakash Ratnaparkhi decided to promote Farook to the post of HOD. When Ratnaparkhi asked Farook what more he could do for him, Farook asked for an experienced engineer. For the first time ever, a 24 year-old HOD was given an assistant who was older and more experienced than him!

As HOD, Farook learned a great deal. Handling material stocks, purchase, HR, production dept – he learned how to handle all these various business functions.

AN INNOVATOR IS BORN During this period, Farook read about the ‘programmable controller’ in a technical catalogue. With his own ingenuity and use of Logic, he realised he could develop a PLC which could be used as a sequence controller for special purpose machines like the Kirloskar’s. He designed the schematic and showed it to the Management but they rejected it saying the company was not interested in such projects.

Farook was disappointed and decided then that he would soon quit the company. Little did he know there was a surprise gift coming his way. Some engineering students approached him for help with their college project. Farook offered them his concept and complete design to work on, on condition that they would give him the model in the first semester itself, and not to wait till the second semester.

Soon after Farook got the PLC prototype from the students, he had to visit Hyderabad for some personal work. He took the opportunity to meet B.N.Rao, the design manager at HMT, and show him his PLC prototype. Rao appreciated the design, saw its potential, and guided Farook how to give concrete shape to this design.

On his return to Pune, armed with new confidence, Farook presented his model to Kirloskar Oil Engines. For their three ‘spindle boring facing’ machine, they were planning to use a Siemens electro mechanical contactor panel which was delayed as there was a strike on at Siemens. Kirloskar gave Farook a chance saying ‘if your PLC works on our machine, we will not use the Siemens contactor’.

While working on this project, Chandrakant Kirloskarreferred Farook to MMT a SPM manufacturer from Hyderabad who in turn recommended him to Escorts MSD in Faridabad. Farook went to Delhi and bagged orders from Escorts. One thing led to another, and when Farook returned from Delhi, he had orders from Escorts, Eicher precision, and Parisudh Sadan Yantra as well.

The momentum was building up. It was time to venture out. Farook decided to resign from Electronica and start his own industrial automation company, Messung Systems, a company registered as a SSI. The year was 1981, and the office was a humble rented garage in a bungalow at Mukund Nagar, Pune.

Modern industrial automation systems are smarter and more advanced than ever before. But have you ever wondered how did they get this way? What gives them the power and capability? What drives them? The answer is the PLC.

So now the questions are ‘What does PLC stand for?’;‘What does a PLC do?’ Read on for a detailed introduction to PLCs.

What is a PLC?

First let’s learn the PLC full form. PLC stands for Programmable Logic Controller. According to Wikipedia, “A programmable logic controller (PLC) or programmable controller is an industrial computer that has been ruggedized and adapted for the control of manufacturing processes, such as assembly lines, machines, robotic devices, or any activity that requires high reliability, ease of programming, and process fault diagnosis.”

The PLC or Programmable Logic Controller is the heart and brain of industrial automation.It is a specialised computer control unit that continuously monitors the internal components and gets them to function together as a seamless, coordinated unit. 

The PLC control system automatically controls the different processes, devices and components in an industrial system, and makes decisions based on a custom programme.

PLCs come in different sizes and shapes. Some can fit easily in your palm or pocket, some others need to be mounted on heavy-duty racks. They are used in a variety of applications and industries as they are fast, easy to operate and generally easy to programme.

What's inside a PLC?                                                                

The PLC design contains some basic hardware, with each adding its own function to the PLC. The components of PLC system are:

1.    CPU (central processing unit or microprocessor)This is the part that runs the PLC – the brain of the microprocessor. This is where the PLC processes all the input and output signals, and saves information. The PLC has 3 types of memory:

·         RAM (random access memory): this is temporary memory in use while the program is running. This memory is volatile which means it will be erased every time the power is switched off.

·         ROM (read only memory): the operating system of the PLC is stored here as this is the permanent memory of the CPU. The operating system enables the PLC to execute your PLC program.

·         EEPROM (electronically erasable programmable read only memory): this is a permanent memory just like the ROM, but it can be erased electronically and reused. The PLC program is stored here. EEPROM does not require a power source to maintain the memory contents, and will retain the contents of memory indefinitely.

2.    Input/Output (I/O) section

PLC Input and Output (I/O) section functions as the sensing organs. All field devices are connected to this section. PLC input devices receive incoming signals from external sensors such as pressure or proximity switches, converts them to low-voltage digital hints before sending them to the processor.

The output section receives the low-voltage digital signals from the processing unit and converts them into high-power hints. These high-voltage signals from the output section drive the industrial functions such as lighting, rotation, heating, movement, etc.

3.    Power SupplyA power supply provides the essential power to the PLC. Different PLCs use different kinds of power supplies, ranging from 24V DC to 120V AC.

4.    Programming sectionThis section enables inputs into the PLC controller via a keyboard. It is used to program and troubleshoot the PLC. Many a time, you will use a Windows-based computer to run the software from the manufacturer. However, programming devices can come in varying sizes, functions and capabilities.

How does a PLC work?

All PLCs operate as per the following steps:

·         Input Scan – CPU detects the status of all input devices that are connected to the PLC (e.g.mechanical switches, proximity switches, sensors, transducers, encoders, etc.)

·         Programme Scan – executes the user created program logic

·         Output Scan – energises or de-energises all connected output devices connected to the PLC (e.g. relays, lights, motor starters, etc.)

·         Housekeeping – this includes communications with programming terminals, internal diagnostics, etc.

Which software is used for PLC programming?

There are different types of plc programming languages but the most common programming language for PLCs is Ladder Logic. A PLC program is usually written on a computer and then downloaded to the PLC control unit.

Ladder Logic mimics control circuit schematics with ‘rungs’ of logic read left to right. Each rung represents a specific action controlled by the PLC, starting with an input or series of inputs that result in an output (coil).

Logic programming software can be easier to implement than many other programming languages because of its visual nature. The intuitive interface of ladder logic made the transition from relay logic to PLC device much simpler for many in the industry.

‘C’ programming is a more recent innovation; some PLC manufacturers provide control programming software.

Types of PLCs

In terms of physical hardware, there are two types of PLC: Compact/Fixed PLC and Modular PLC.

In compact PLCs, the power supply, CPU and communication card are contained within a single case. Compact PLCs have a fixed numberof Input/Output modules.

Modular PLCs, as the name suggests, consist of various modules and easily expanded Input and Output modules which are fitted in the rack. That’s why,this type it is also known as‘rack mounted PLC’.

PLC Applications

PLCs have replaced the traditional Relay Control system in industrial automation. Today, the PLC is used in a wide range of applications in almost all types of industries because of their rugged nature, flexibility, and reliability. Industrial Applications of PLC controllers

·         Process automation

·         Automatic operation and control of the air compressor system

·         Bottle and liquid filling industry

·         Automatic temperature control

·         Belt conveyor system

·         Energy monitoring system

·         Production line control

·         Raw material handling

 Industry types

·         Automotive

·         Pharmaceutical

·         Petrochemical

·         Oil and Gas

·         Steel

·         Power Plant

·         Food Manufacturing

·         Cement Industry

·         Paper Industry

·         Glass Manufacturing

·         Raw Material Handling Industry

Messung: Pioneer of India’s first indigenous PLC

As industrial automation & control systems continue to advance, growing in function and sophistication, PLCs too will have to evolve to keep pace. To build a future-ready system with best-in-class PLCs and automation system components, contact Messung, pioneer and leading PLC manufacturer in India.

Messung was founded in 1981 when the founder began developing a prototype PLC in a humble garage. By 1984, India’s first indigenous 1-bit processor-based PLC was launched – and went on to transform industry, replacing the traditional relay contactor logic.

Since then, it’s been one continuous journey of innovation and excellence in industrial automation.

Messung’s programmable controllers, Remote I/Os, HMIs and SCADA solutions have enabled industries, OEMs and automation system integrators achieve top-of-the-line performance and efficiencies. Messung’s rugged, IoT-enabled industrial controllers are gamechangers with their inbuilt I/O, integrated HMI panels and advanced features while Messung’s Process Automation, Servo & Motion Control Automation, and General Purpose Automation solutions have proven themselves across the gamut of industries with their flexibility, efficiency and long service life.

可编程序控制器使用经验简析 [Programmable Controller Using Experience Analysis]

…国际电工技术委员会IEC（International Electrotechnical Commission）分别于1982年11月和1985年1月颁布了PLC的第一稿和第二稿标准。以后PLC开始向小型化、高速度、高性能、高可靠性方面发展，并形成多种系列产品，编程语言也不断丰富，使其在80年代工业控制领域中占据着主导地位

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