The PLC is where a machine's decisions live. Whether a cylinder extends, how long a dwell lasts, what has to be true before the next step runs — all of it sits in ladder logic that somebody wrote, and somebody else will have to read at two in the morning. This course teaches you to read that logic, write it, and run the controller with confidence.
You will program, configure, adjust, monitor, and operate industrial PLC systems, starting with PLC safety rules, normal startup and shutdown, operating the controller in its different modes, and performing an emergency shutdown and reset. You will monitor operation using both status indicators and PC-based PLC software, configure processor software drivers to enable communication between the PLC and PC, configure discrete I/O, and transfer programs between the PC and the processor. You will also configure and load HMI programs and operate an HMI together with the PLC.
On the programming side, you will interpret basic and intermediate ladder logic using contacts, coils, timers, counters, math, and comparison instructions, create and edit PLC projects, and work through common application logic driving electro-pneumatic actuators and on/off motor control systems.
This course prepares you to test for the Smart Automation Certification Alliance (SACA) C-207 Programmable Controller Systems 1 certification.