19. PLC Forcing: When to Use It and When Not To
In PLC troubleshooting, one of the most powerful and dangerous tools is forcing.
A PLC force allows a technician or programmer to manually override the normal state of an input or …
Read More18. Program Control Instructions: JSR, MCR, JMP, and Fault Routine
In PLC programming, not every instruction directly turns on a motor, counts a box, or starts a timer.
Some instructions are used to control how the PLC program executes.
These are called …
Read More17. High-Speed Counters and Encoders
In the previous post, we covered standard PLC counters such as:
CTU = Count Up
CTD = Count Down
CTUD = Count Up / Count Down
Those counters work well for many basic counting …
Read More16. PLC Counters: CTU, CTD, and One-Shots
In industrial automation, PLC counters are used when a machine needs to count events.
A counter can count:
Parts
Boxes
Bottles
Cycles
Machine strokes
Rejects
Pallets
Sensor pulses
Production totals
A counter does not count time.A counter counts how many times …
Read More2. FANUC Teach Pendant Navigation: The Screens Every Technician Must Know
Introduction
Once you understand what the FANUC Teach Pendant is, the next step is learning how to navigate the most important screens.
For an automation technician, the goal is not to memorize …
Read More15. Cascading Timers and Practical Timer Applications
In the previous post, we covered the basic PLC timer instructions:
TON = Timer On Delay
TOF = Timer Off Delay
RTO = Retentive Timer On
Now we are going one step deeper.
In real …
Read More3. Pneumatic Directional Control Valves Explained: 3/2, 5/2, and 5/3 Valves
Introduction
Directional control valves are among the most important components in an industrial pneumatic system.
The compressed-air supply provides energy, but the directional valve determines where that air goes.
By changing the airflow …
Read More2. Pneumatic Air Preparation: Filters, Regulators, Lubricators, and FRL Units
Introduction
A pneumatic system can only operate correctly when the compressed air supplied to the machine is clean, dry, and maintained at the proper pressure.
A PLC may activate the correct output, …
Read More1. Industrial Pneumatics Fundamentals: From Compressed Air to Machine Motion
Introduction
In industrial automation, pneumatic systems are one of the most commonly used technologies for creating fast, reliable, and repetitive mechanical movement.
From simple box pushers on conveyors to complex filling, packaging, …
Read More14. Timers in PLC Programming: TON, TOF, and RTO
Timers are one of the most common instructions used in PLC programming.
A timer allows the PLC to use time as part of the control logic.
In simple words:
A PLC timer waits …
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