Ladder Logic Plc Programming Languages
The most common language used to program plcs is ladder diagram ld also known as relay ladder logic rll.
Ladder logic plc programming languages. Iec 61131 3 is the third part of 10 of the open international standard iec 61131 for programmable logic controllers and was first published in december 1993 by the iec the current third edition was published in february 2013. One of the best visual programming languages is a plc programming language called ladder logic or ladder diagram ld. The most commonly used plc programming language is the ladder logic diagram. The great thing about ladder logic is that it s much more visual than most programming languages so people often find it a lot easier to learn.
This iec standard allows some ground rules that standardize plc s and their languages. This is a graphical language showing the logical relationships between inputs and outputs as though they were contacts and coils in a hard wired electromechanical relay circuit. As programmable logic controllers became more sophisticated it has also been used in very complex automation systems. Ladder logic is one of the top 5 most popular types of plc programming languages used in manufacturing environments.
Ladder logic is widely used to program plcs where sequential control of a process or manufacturing operation is required ladder logic is useful for simple but critical control systems or for reworking old hardwired relay circuits. Before programmable logic controllers manufacturing plants employed relay based circuitry to energize different loads based on how the relays were wired together. Part 3 of iec 61131 deals with basic software architecture and programming languages of the control program within plc. The reason for its popularity is that relay logic diagrams were closely resembled by the ladder logic diagrams.
When the plc was invented designers found a way to use the existing knowledge of the relay control system designers for programming the plc. Generally the ladder diagram is most popular all over the world including. Ladder logic is a graphical based industrial programming language used to program and configure programmable logic controllers or plc s. Once compiled and downloaded to a plc the ladder program is scanned like a book.
Ladder diagram ld programming. It is used with programmable logic controllers. Let s take a deeper look into all these popular plc programming languages. In the ladder diagram the programming language use to create the program to control the plc system is known as ladder diagram language or ladder logic language.