The first logic machine

The Development of Programmable Logic Controllers

The original logic machines employed relays to regulate the machine's logic, which had various drawbacks. They were unreliable, the switching of contacts caused delays, and the relays were hard-wired, making the devices less versatile and difficult to fix. This resulted in the development of Programmable Logic Controller software and hardware. This is utilized in the automation of industrial processes. PLCs, or Programmable Logic Controllers, are digital devices that operate electronically and employ programmable memory to store instructions in a machine that will be used to conduct or execute some functions. The logic that is used by these apparatuses includes; timing, sequencing and arithmetic logic. These are used in controlling the machine processes or the machines themselves. The PLC uses analog or digital input and output devices to perform their functions. The PLC is designed to be used with multiple data and give numerous outputs and can be used even when the conditions for working are adverse. The PLC has the following components; power supply, since the device is electronic, it has to be connected to a power supply for it to function correctly. It has an input and output model; the Programmable Logic Controllers depend on data that are either digital or analog to control the process of a machine. They also are programmable devices; they take instructions that are used in automation of functions. The PLC has a CPU and memory, the memory is required for storing the instructions that are used in executing the tasks, and the CPU is responsible for the processing of the instructions.

The h2-wplc3-en Programmable Logic Controller

The h2-wplc3-en is a Programmable Logic Controller that runs on Windows→CE operating system machines. This is an open platform CPU, and it can be used in the automation of tasks using the programmable logic. The CPU is plugged into the slot of DirectLogic DL205 base and can be able to act on the standard analog and digital output and input modules of the computer. The Windows → CE operating system can be used in carrying out a variety of functions making the h2-wplc3-en a widely used central processing unit. Using this processing unit and the operating system makes it more flexible and a control system that can be used to perform a broader range of industrial services. The h2-wplc3-en can be able to run many instructions, and the instructions can be written in different programming languages such as Visual Basic and Visual C. The operating system characteristics depend mainly on how the control system of the software executes tasks. These are some of the characteristics of the h2-wplc3-en CPU that depend on the software implementation. The features include; the use of DIP switches, the CPU has the capability of using the LEDs, the CPU provides support for the RS232C serial communication services, and lastly the frequency of updates of the input and output devices is different. The h2-wplc3-en when used with the Windows → CE operating system, a software development kit is provided. The primary purpose of this software development kit is to help in the writing of the instructions that control the operations of the computer. The software development kit uses the Visual Basic and Visual C programming languages.